The 1992 Dream Team is still probably the most popular USA basketball team competing on the global stage. Now over 30 years after the event in Barcelona, the United States is once again fielding a roster full of MVPs and All-Stars. But USA Head Coach Steve Kerr believes that there is a fundamental difference in the situations of the two teams, even if the talent level is comparable.
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During an appearance on the Jim Rome Show, the Warriors’ Head Coach was asked how his current batch of USA players compare to their 1992 counterparts. Answering the question, Kerr said,
“Since ’92, since that original Dream Team, it’s arguably the most decorated Team that Team USA has ever fielded.”
But the veteran coach also pointed out that the Dream Team was a shining promotion of NBA basketball, which helped to grow the game globally. The dominance that the star-studded team showed in Barcelona influenced a generation of ballers in Europe and other parts of the world.
However, unlike the ’92 Dream Team, the current roster will face a lot more competition as a direct outcome of that promotion. He added,
“I think the difference obviously is…they [the Dream Team] changed the game of basketball. They turned it into a global game. I mean Chuck Daly didn’t call a single time out during those games. They didn’t have any competition when it came down to it.”
“Since ’92, since that original Dream Team, it’s arguably the most decorated team that Team USA has ever fielded.”
Steve Kerr, Olympic men’s basketball head coach, on the 2024 Paris team. pic.twitter.com/M187IOfY1P
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) June 25, 2024
In the 1992 Olympics, the Dream Team averaged above 100 points, winning every game they played. They averaged a 44-point differential with their opponents throughout the 1992 games, with their final matchup against Croatia being their closest game [117–85].
On the flip side, the current Team USA squad has been put together as a response to USA’s humiliating medal-less finish in last year’s FIBA World Cup. The current roster boasts 4 MVPs and 12 All-Stars, and still Kerr doesn’t think the squad is an overkill for the upcoming Paris Olympics.
Kerr revealed that the roster was put together keeping in mind how good the rest of the world has become, even declaring Germany, Serbia, and France as teams that have the potential of beating the United States.
With the Olympics just a month away, it’s interesting to see how USAMT performs once they show up in Paris. Lakers forward LeBron James will most probably captain the team throughout the tournament, with the possibility of it being the last Olympic games for the likes of Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and King James himself.
