NBA reporter Brian Windhorst got involved in the 1992 Dream Team vs. 2024 USA Team debate in Monday’s first take.
The panel compared the two great basketball teams after Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green’s suggestion that LeBron James and company would dominate Michael Jordan’s team.
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Green said he would “take the 2024 team seven days a week” on a recent episode of his podcast.
He predicted that the Paris 2024 group would beat the Dream Team in five of the seven games.
The Warriors star claimed that Jordan’s team would not be able to handle the versatility and star power of coach Steve Kerr’s men, noting that “the game is better now.”
Reporting from Paris, Windhorst said the Dream Team is “indisputable” when commenting on Green’s opinion.
The NBA reporter noted that the debate requires careful consideration of nuances before pointing out that the 1992 team included many players at the end of their respective careers.
Among them were Boston Celtics icon Larry Bird, who would retire after the Barcelona Games, and Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson, who retired after an HIV diagnosis until his return in 1996.
Windhorst suggested that “there is a case” for the 2024 team to be labeled as a better team when considering the strength of the entire roster, but not necessarily if we compare the starting 5.
“Draymond was a little too aggressive for my taste on this,” he said of Green’s prediction that the current version of Team USA could beat the Dream Team five times out of seven.
“I am not confirming that opinion.”
However, Windhorst said the Paris-bound hoopers were still writing their story with three games left in the tournament — while competing against many All-NBA players on opposing teams.
He then emphasized the depth of the 2024 team again by noting that Kerr had the luxury of benching 2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid at the start of the Paris Games.
Embiid was pulled from Team USA’s opening 110-84 victory against Serbia while the Philadelphia 76ers star struggled when he faced Nikola Jokic.
He then watched the entire 103-86 victory over South Sudan from the bench.
‘Ego and other nonsense’
US basketball team for Paris 2024 Olympics faces “disaster”
According to DailyMail.comthe team could face an “embarrassment” in their quest for Olympic gold this summer.
They quoted a source as saying: “They will never hear the end of this if they lose, they are supposed to be the best in the world so act like it and don’t let ego and other bullshit take control of what should be automatic. .
“The ego that is within the team, everyone thinks for themselves and not for the team as a whole.
“This can and will be a disaster if they all don’t change their thought process, they will have to play as a team.”
This year’s US team is one of the most star-studded in history, with players like LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant making up the roster.
The Americans entered the knockout stage of the Olympic tournament as the No. 1 seed overall.
They will face Brazil in the quarter-finals on Tuesday, August 6.
If they win, the USA will face either Serbia or Australia for a place in the final.
France, Canada, Germany and Greece were on the other side of the bracket.
Kerr acknowledged the high level of competition for men’s basketball gold, noting that a lot can still happen in the tournament.
“In the spirit of the Olympics and the marathon/sprint metaphor I used, now that we’ve been through that, I would call it 800 meters,” he said ahead of the clash with Brazil, via ESPN.
“We’re running a lot, but it’s not the 100 meters.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
