Since the announcement of the Team USA roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics, fans, analysts, and former players have been comparing it to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics unit, better known as the Dream Team. Most believe a game between the two would go down to the wire. However, Baron Davis is backing the Dream Team to take down the 2024 roster, despite believing they’d be the underdogs.
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During an appearance on The Draymond Green Show, the host and the retired star discussed a hypothetical game between the two squads. Davis claimed that Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson’s alpha mentality and the roster’s superior size would ensure a win for the Dream Team. He said,
“The Dream Team would be underdogs. Imagine Michael Jordan walking into a game and LeBron is the guy and it’s like, ‘You’re not better than him,’ or ‘Larry Bird, you are not better than KD,’ or what not. Or ‘Magic, you are not better than Steph’… They’re going to play smarter, different, collectively… You gotta give advantage to Dream Team because of size factor.”
Green rebutted that the 1992 roster does not have the size advantage. He argued that Joel Embiid has a bigger frame than Patrick Ewing and is also more skilled.
Davis reminded the Warriors star that the Dream Team had the Knicks legend as well as David Robinson. He claimed the duo would stick to their strengths in the post and dominate the 2024 roster’s centers.
While the retired star believes the Dream would outplay the Paris Olympics team, Paul Pierce believes the opposite to be true.
Paul Pierce backs LeBron James’ team to beat Michael Jordan and Co.
On an episode of Undisputed, the Hall of Famer backed the 2024 team due to their superior shooting ability. He claimed that the current unit could counter any maneuver that the 1992 roster had up its sleeve. However, the Dream Team would get shot off the court. He said,
“First of all, style of play would’ve been too much for this Dream Team. They couldn’t shoot the three and then… Who they had down low? David Robinson, Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley? We can counter that with Embiid, AD and Bam. I mean, pretty formidable defensive lineup against them.”
He also noted that Bird and Magic were at the tail-end of their careers in 1992, while every superstar on the current roster is still in their prime or near it. Davis and Pierce made fascinating arguments in their pick’s favor.
However, they both seemingly believe it’d boil down to how well each superstar plays their role. If the centers on the 2024 team can contain the Hall of Famers on the 1992 roster, the Paris Olympics unit would have the edge.
But if the current team shot poorly from beyond the arc, the Dream Team would have the edge. While it’s tough to predict who’d emerge victorious, it’s a fascinating subject to debate.
