The Square Life

It's silly really. Since the Redeem Team beat Spain on Sunday the question has been posed: Is the Redeem Team of ’08 as good as the Dream Team of ’92? Before now, the idea of anybody being compared to the Dream Team was blasphemous. Think about it. One team had Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson. That team is obviously a shoe-in as the better team, right? Wrong. 

Think about it. Why do we assume the Dream Team would win? There are three reasons that we hold onto when we decide the Dream Team would beat the Redeem Team. They are (1) Superior talent; (2) Better Olympic performance; and (3) The X factor (there was just something magical about that team will never be topped). Well, here’s why all three of those reasons are nonsense. 

Superior Talent  

I would never disagree that the core of the Dream Team was spectacularly talented: Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen, and so forth. But let’s not forget that the Dream Team also featured Christian Laettner and Chris Mullin. Yikes! How embarrassing . . .  

So, okay, the Dream Team featured some very special players. But Larry Bird was well past his prime, and his sore back limited what he could do on both ends of the floor. Magic Johnson was HIV positive by this point, and already in retirement. Sure Michael was at the peek of his career, but how good was MJ in a team system that international ball requires? He fared well in the ’84 Olympics and in college ball, but he wasn’t nearly as Jordanesque back then. I mean, he was drafted 3^rd in the ’84 draft for a reason (albeit a bad reason). It wasn’t until Jordan entered the individually-styled NBA that he became the most dominant offensive force to play the game. Don’t forget that Jordan wasn’t the dominant offensive force of the Dream Team in Barcelona. Charles Barkley was. Oooh, Charles Barkley . . . I’m shaking in my boots. How well do you see Charles Barkley doing against Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James? Is he really much better? He is fatter. I’ll give him that. 

The Dream Team was very talented, but so are the athletes on the Redeem Team. Kobe is no MJ, but he is as suited for international ball as MJ. C-Paul and D-Will would outrun both Stockton and Magic of ’92 easily. Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh would fair well against Ewing and David Robinson. And don’t kid yourself if you think LeBron wouldn’t own Bird (the ’92 version at least). Scottie Pippen is the only player who could even slow down LeBron James. And did I even mention the Redeem Team’s MVP Dwayne Wade?  

My point is, individually, the Redeem Team compares to the talent put on the floor in 1992, regardless of the their overall career resumes. We’re talking about the players of the summer of 2008 versus the players in the summer of 1992. However, any comparison of the individual players is pointless, anyway. International ball isn’t about individual talent, but team talent. And the Redeem Team had more experience together, and they faced much tougher competition.  

Better Olympic Performances  

The Dream Team simply showed up for a brief training camp and then went straight into tournament play in ‘92. But because the competition was so weak, they could get away with haphazardly showing up and kicking butt. If you think they could get away with that today, you’re daydreaming. The Dream Team faced opponents that wanted to get their autographs, while the Redeem Team faced opponents that wanted to give them fat lips. 

The Dream Team won each game by an average of 43.8 points, while the Redeem Team won by an average of 27.9. Edge to the Dream Team, right? Again, wrong. Look at who the Dream Team played. Nobody. The best player they faced was Toni Kukoc, who went on to be a reserve player in the NBA. The Redeem Team faced a whole slew of talented NBA stars (and one NBA MVP). In the final, they faced Pau Gasol, who was the #2 guy on the Western Conference Champion team this year. And yet he was one of many talented players on the silver medal Spain team. The Olympic performance of the Dream Team cannot be compared to the Redeem Team, because one team was facing world class talent and the other was facing Toni Kukoc. 

The X Factor 

This is the only legitimate reason the Dream Team may be proven to be superior to the Redeem Team. There was something magic about the Dream Team, and I’m not referring to MR. Johnson. They captivated the world, and absolutely obliterated their competition. But let’s look at their “magic.” (Note: since we're dealing with magic now, and I lost my magic 8 ball in the third grade, I admit I'm over my head here)

Frankly speaking, did the Dream Team do anything that wasn’t expected of them? Considering they faced the equivalent of a mediocre college team today throughout the summer of 1992, should a margin of victory of 43 points be that awe-inspiring? I know, I know: they had MJ, Bird and Magic—three of the all-time best players ever. But they were three of the all-time best players in the NBA. The NBA. Not international ball. And Bird and Magic were has-beens in ’92. Sorry, but it's true.

The Dream Team was never tested once throughout the ’92 Olympics, so it’s therefore impossible to know just how great a team they were. With all the “magic” they showed in ’92, it was without any pressure. Heck, I’ve pulled some “magic” of my own at the school across from my childhood home, but what does that prove other than the fact that Nathan Robbins was easy to dominate on the blacktop?  

If the Dream Team did exhibit magic in ’92, it was the equivalent of a card trick on grade-schoolers. The Redeem Team? They pulled a pick pocket on fellow magicians. And that’s more impressive to me. 

Hypothetical Matchup 

Let’s pretend the ’92 Dream Team showed up in Barcelona to find out that the Redeem Team of today slipped through a time portal to play their heroes in the Olympics. The Dream Team, which haphazardly showed up in Barcelona, against the ultra-athletic Americans of the 21^st century, who have been training and preparing vigorously as a team for years now. Let’s say they don’t face each other until the gold medal match. Who do you honestly got winning that game? Me? I honestly got the Redeem Team. Of course, since I lot my 8 ball . . .