The USA provided us with two of the most iconic teams we’ve witnessed – Michael Jordan and the 1992 Dream Team or LeBron James and the 2008 Redeem Team.
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Over the past several decades, The United States of America has been the most dominant basketball-playing nation in the world. Apart from winning 16 Olympic gold medals, the North American nation has provided us with two of the most memorable teams international basketball has ever witnessed – Michael Jordan and the 1992 Dream Team or LeBron James and the 2008 Redeem Team.
Assembled to bring home at the Barcelona Games, the Dream Team was co-led by Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird, and had some of the game’s biggest names – Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, and many more superstars. As you must’ve rightly predicted, this USA Men’s Basketball team was a tough force to reckon with and won a gold medal at the event.
On the other hand, the Redeem Team was assembled after the USA shockingly suffered a semi-final loss against Argentina in the 2004 Greece Games. A determined and focused squad led by the likes of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony, among several other big names, also managed to bring home the gold, going undefeated throughout the series.
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For the longest time, analysts and basketball enthusiasts have had heated arguments regarding which one of the two rosters was a more lethal squad.
“UNDISPUTED” analysts too had this debate a day after The Redeem Team’s Documentary trailer came out.
Shannon Sharpe backs LeBron James and co., whereas Skip Bayless selects Michael Jordan and co.
Like all of their debates, Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe had differing opinions.
Skip went on to detail why he believed that the Dream Team was a better squad. Majorly crediting “His Airness”, Bayless said:
“I got Michael Jordan at the age of 28 and at the peak of his powers. If you have read all the stories about the dream team in the hotel one afternoon after another hellacious practice, Bird and Magic just told Michael ‘this is your team, it’s your time, you take us’ because Larry just couldn’t play anymore.
When push came to shove, it was Michael’s team. Charles was still in his prime. Then you throw in the great Karl Malone and then off the bench you can bring Patrick Ewing and David Robinson. It’s (The Dream Team) just too much firepower, but it just boils down to the original 23, Michael Jeffery Jordan.”
Whereas, Shannon backed a younger and more athletic Redeem Team.
“The Dream team can’t match the Redeem Team’s athleticism. I would’ve put LeBron on Magic, Kobe on Jordan and Dwight Howard pre-back injury would be able to hold up in the middle.”
