In hindsight with the level of international competition there is now, does this change how you view the '92 Dream Team?

[tsherkin]

Come on, why participate on a forum like this if you want to restrict conversation? Magic sat out an entire year before playing for the Dream Team. He gleefully talks about how Jordan dominated him and Bird in practice thus further cementing Jordan as the absolute best. Magic wasn't great anylonger. David Robinson was second in MVP voting in 95-96. He was injured and out almost the entire 96-97 season. When he returned in 97-98 he was nolonger a MVP level player. So that is proof that missing time as a 30 something can set your game back.

When the conversation is worthwhile, then it's worth engaging. Starting up just to crap on a team from 3 decades prior doesn't make a lot of sense. The importance of the 92 team wasn't in them facing high-end competition, it was the magic of the experience.

Magic WAS still great. Denying that is asinine. He was a year removed from being 2nd in the MVP race. Jordan was a remarkable scorer, and in his prime. It isn't shocking that with his athleticism he was going hog-wild.

David Robinson being MVP in 96 is irrelevant. In 91, the year before the 92 Olympics, Magic led his team to the Finals. Robinson's INJURY was a much more prominent reason for his decline. Robinson played 6 games in 97, then came back to play alongside Tim Duncan. Robinson was still All-NBA, All-Defensive, 3rd in the DPOY race and performing at a level fairly similar to his 96 self. He was still shooting over 51% from the field (0.5% worse than in 96) and was over 21 ppg. Don't mistake him ceding volume to Duncan for being worse.

C'mon, man.

[D.Brasco]

Come on, why participate on a forum like this if you want to restrict conversation? Magic sat out an entire year before playing for the Dream Team. He gleefully talks about how Jordan dominated him and Bird in practice thus further cementing Jordan as the absolute best. Magic wasn't great anylonger. David Robinson was second in MVP voting in 95-96. He was injured and out almost the entire 96-97 season. When he returned in 97-98 he was nolonger a MVP level player. So that is proof that missing time as a 30 something can set your game back.

When the conversation is worthwhile, then it's worth engaging. Starting up just to crap on a team from 3 decades prior doesn't make a lot of sense. The importance of the 92 team wasn't in them facing high-end competition, it was the magic of the experience.

Magic WAS still great. Denying that is asinine. He was a year removed from being 2nd in the MVP race. Jordan was a remarkable scorer, and in his prime. It isn't shocking that with his athleticism he was going hog-wild.

David Robinson being MVP in 96 is irrelevant. In 91, the year before the 92 Olympics, Magic led his team to the Finals. Robinson's INJURY was a much more prominent reason for his decline. Robinson played 6 games in 97, then came back to play alongside Tim Duncan. Robinson was still All-NBA, All-Defensive, 3rd in the DPOY race and performing at a level fairly similar to his 96 self. He was still shooting over 51% from the field (0.5% worse than in 96) and was over 21 ppg. Don't mistake him ceding volume to Duncan for being worse.

C'mon, man.

I think the topic is worth engaging because points like these are still proliferating, even more so outside of this forum:

The Dream Team would do better today than Team 2024 did. They beat their opponents by an average of 44 points a game and Jordan wasn’t even dialed in He was more interested in playing 36 holes of golf everyday.

Comparing the Dream Team to this 2024 cheap version is a low point on here. They'd handle any of these teams easily.

It made me realize how much the current players are not in the same tier of that 92 team.
Winning by 51 against Lithuania with Sabonis, Marciulionis, Karnisovas in the semis, just wow...
And by 32 against Croatia with Petrovic, Radja, Kukoc in the Finals, again just wow....
And in comparison the current team wins by 4 against Avramovic, Petrusev, Dobric...
And by 11 against Yabusele...
No need to say more.

There are people out there who think the '92 Dream would beat current the international teams the same way they did in '92, and the fact that the present Team USA aren't blowing out their competition, that makes them inferior.

I like the analogy someone here made of the '92 team being more so exhibition like ambassadors for the game, as opposed to competitors in the way subsequent Team USA teams have been in the Olympics games.

[tsherkin]

I think the topic is worth engaging, because points like these are still proliferating, even more so outside of this forum:

You're welcome to think as much. We disagree on that front.

There are people out there who think the '92 Dream would beat current the international teams the same way they did in '92, and the fact that the present Team USA aren't blowing out their competition, that makes them inferior.

It is possible that the 92 team would beat international competition today. They were amazing, and had a lot of really high-end physical-tool players who also had a lot of skill. They would not, of course, blow them out the same way they had done in 92, though. That is also clear.

[SelfishPlayer]

Come on, why participate on a forum like this if you want to restrict conversation? Magic sat out an entire year before playing for the Dream Team. He gleefully talks about how Jordan dominated him and Bird in practice thus further cementing Jordan as the absolute best. Magic wasn't great anylonger. David Robinson was second in MVP voting in 95-96. He was injured and out almost the entire 96-97 season. When he returned in 97-98 he was nolonger a MVP level player. So that is proof that missing time as a 30 something can set your game back.

When the conversation is worthwhile, then it's worth engaging. Starting up just to crap on a team from 3 decades prior doesn't make a lot of sense. The importance of the 92 team wasn't in them facing high-end competition, it was the magic of the experience.

Magic WAS still great. Denying that is asinine. He was a year removed from being 2nd in the MVP race. Jordan was a remarkable scorer, and in his prime. It isn't shocking that with his athleticism he was going hog-wild.

David Robinson being MVP in 96 is irrelevant. In 91, the year before the 92 Olympics, Magic led his team to the Finals. Robinson's INJURY was a much more prominent reason for his decline. Robinson played 6 games in 97, then came back to play alongside Tim Duncan. Robinson was still All-NBA, All-Defensive, 3rd in the DPOY race and performing at a level fairly similar to his 96 self. He was still shooting over 51% from the field (0.5% worse than in 96) and was over 21 ppg. Don't mistake him ceding volume to Duncan for being worse.

C'mon, man.

Magic averaged 8ppg for the Dream Team. His greatness was gone after sitting out an entire year away from the game of basketball. Jrue Holiday just got through averaging 7.6 ppg for Team USA...

[tsherkin]

[
Magic averaged 8ppg for the Dream Team

Role matters. He wasn't used as a focal centerpiece. It's like the complaints about Steph prior to the last 2 games of the tournament.

. His greatness was gone after sitting out an entire year away from the game of basketball. Jrue Holiday just got through averaging 7.6 ppg for Team USA...

Magic shot 56.7% from the floor and 46.2% from 3. He averaged 8.3 ppg on 5 FGA/g and averaged 5.5 apg in 18 mpg. What are you even talking about? He was phenomenal, he was just taking a backseat to Barkley and Jordan.

[SelfishPlayer]

[
Magic averaged 8ppg for the Dream Team

Role matters. He wasn't used as a focal centerpiece. It's like the complaints about Steph prior to the last 2 games of the tournament.

. His greatness was gone after sitting out an entire year away from the game of basketball. Jrue Holiday just got through averaging 7.6 ppg for Team USA...

Magic shot 56.7% from the floor and 46.2% from 3. He averaged 8.3 ppg on 5 FGA/g and averaged 5.5 apg in 18 mpg. What are you even talking about? He was phenomenal, he was just taking a backseat to Barkley and Jordan.

AND CHRIS MULLIN!!!!

[MavsDirk41]

Come on, why participate on a forum like this if you want to restrict conversation? Magic sat out an entire year before playing for the Dream Team. He gleefully talks about how Jordan dominated him and Bird in practice thus further cementing Jordan as the absolute best. Magic wasn't great anylonger. David Robinson was second in MVP voting in 95-96. He was injured and out almost the entire 96-97 season. When he returned in 97-98 he was nolonger a MVP level player. So that is proof that missing time as a 30 something can set your game back.

When the conversation is worthwhile, then it's worth engaging. Starting up just to crap on a team from 3 decades prior doesn't make a lot of sense. The importance of the 92 team wasn't in them facing high-end competition, it was the magic of the experience.

Magic WAS still great. Denying that is asinine. He was a year removed from being 2nd in the MVP race. Jordan was a remarkable scorer, and in his prime. It isn't shocking that with his athleticism he was going hog-wild.

David Robinson being MVP in 96 is irrelevant. In 91, the year before the 92 Olympics, Magic led his team to the Finals. Robinson's INJURY was a much more prominent reason for his decline. Robinson played 6 games in 97, then came back to play alongside Tim Duncan. Robinson was still All-NBA, All-Defensive, 3rd in the DPOY race and performing at a level fairly similar to his 96 self. He was still shooting over 51% from the field (0.5% worse than in 96) and was over 21 ppg. Don't mistake him ceding volume to Duncan for being worse.

C'mon, man.

Magic averaged 8ppg for the Dream Team. His greatness was gone after sitting out an entire year away from the game of basketball. Jrue Holiday just got through averaging 7.6 ppg for Team USA...

So you are basing Magic’s performance on how many points per game he scored? Why? Did you watch the 92 Dream Team play?

[Lalouie]

no because the essential remains the same,,,ie there maybe be an upgrade in world talent but it is STILL spread across dozens of nations.

there has been an upgrade on usa talent as well, don't forget, and still remains largely in the usa

comeback when teamS in europe can field 7deep rotations of star players who play in the nba,,and that ain't happening in our lifetime

this bally-wooed '24 still had to eke out wins against grossly mismatched euro teams, but everyone knew damn well the usa would win

[SelfishPlayer]

When the conversation is worthwhile, then it's worth engaging. Starting up just to crap on a team from 3 decades prior doesn't make a lot of sense. The importance of the 92 team wasn't in them facing high-end competition, it was the magic of the experience.

Magic WAS still great. Denying that is asinine. He was a year removed from being 2nd in the MVP race. Jordan was a remarkable scorer, and in his prime. It isn't shocking that with his athleticism he was going hog-wild.

David Robinson being MVP in 96 is irrelevant. In 91, the year before the 92 Olympics, Magic led his team to the Finals. Robinson's INJURY was a much more prominent reason for his decline. Robinson played 6 games in 97, then came back to play alongside Tim Duncan. Robinson was still All-NBA, All-Defensive, 3rd in the DPOY race and performing at a level fairly similar to his 96 self. He was still shooting over 51% from the field (0.5% worse than in 96) and was over 21 ppg. Don't mistake him ceding volume to Duncan for being worse.

C'mon, man.

Magic averaged 8ppg for the Dream Team. His greatness was gone after sitting out an entire year away from the game of basketball. Jrue Holiday just got through averaging 7.6 ppg for Team USA...

So you are basing Magic’s performance on how many points per game he scored? Why? Did you watch the 92 Dream Team play?

LeBron James has just got through averaging 8.5 apg for Team USA at 39 years of age. Magic was 32...

[tsherkin]

AND CHRIS MULLIN!!!!

Yes, and Chris Mullin. Magic's MO was to facilitate first, score as required. Mullin was a 25.7 ppg scorer for the NBA in 91 and 25.6 in 92, on 61.8% and 58.6% TS, respectively... which was massive in that league.

CAPS and many exclamation points don't make that point more valid. Magic spent his whole career moving the ball to the best spot for team offense. Why would he do differently in Barcelona?

[SelfishPlayer]

AND CHRIS MULLIN!!!!

Yes, and Chris Mullin. Magic's MO was to facilitate first, score as required. Mullin was a 25.7 ppg scorer for the NBA in 91 and 25.6 in 92, on 61.8% and 58.6% TS, respectively... which was massive in that league.

CAPS and many exclamation points don't make that point more valid. Magic spent his whole career moving the ball to the best spot for team offense. Why would he do differently in Barcelona?

LeBron at 39 just average 8.5 apg for Team USA. Magic at 32 didn't even lead the Dream Team in assists!

[tsherkin]

AND CHRIS MULLIN!!!!

Yes, and Chris Mullin. Magic's MO was to facilitate first, score as required. Mullin was a 25.7 ppg scorer for the NBA in 91 and 25.6 in 92, on 61.8% and 58.6% TS, respectively... which was massive in that league.

CAPS and many exclamation points don't make that point more valid. Magic spent his whole career moving the ball to the best spot for team offense. Why would he do differently in Barcelona?

LeBron at 39 just average 8.5 apg for Team USA. Magic at 32 didn't even lead the Dream Team in assists!

Lebron also played 6 more minutes per game. Magic averaged 11 AST36. Lebron was used as a focal playmaker, Magic wasn't.

Are we going to keep doing this, where you use partial truths in an attempt to illustrate a point? Magic played very well. He didn't play many minutes because he wasn't needed. No one else on the 2024 team averaged more than 3.6 APG. In 92, Mullin averaged 3.6, so did Drexler, Jordan averaged 4.8, Pippen averaged 5.9. They had very good distribution of playmaking. A straight-up comparison of raw APG is fairly dim, dude.

[SelfishPlayer]

Yes, and Chris Mullin. Magic's MO was to facilitate first, score as required. Mullin was a 25.7 ppg scorer for the NBA in 91 and 25.6 in 92, on 61.8% and 58.6% TS, respectively... which was massive in that league.

CAPS and many exclamation points don't make that point more valid. Magic spent his whole career moving the ball to the best spot for team offense. Why would he do differently in Barcelona?

LeBron at 39 just average 8.5 apg for Team USA. Magic at 32 didn't even lead the Dream Team in assists!

Lebron also played 6 more minutes per game. Magic averaged 11 AST36. Lebron was used as a focal playmaker, Magic wasn't.

Are we going to keep doing this, where you use partial truths in an attempt to illustrate a point? Magic played very well. He didn't play many minutes because he wasn't needed. No one else on the 2024 team averaged more than 3.6 APG. In 92, Mullin averaged 3.6, so did Drexler, Jordan averaged 4.8, Pippen averaged 5.9. They had very good distribution of playmaking. A straight-up comparison of raw APG is fairly dim, dude.

LeBron was the best player on the team, Magic wasn't...

[tsherkin]

[

LeBron was the best player on the team, Magic wasn't...

Another entirely irrelevant remark. Magic was in a position very much like Steph: a brilliant player who didn't need to be the focus. If you think Barkley or Drexler or Mullin or Karl Malone were better players than Magic because of their scoring averages at the 92 Olympics, you're deluding yourself, and badly.

Stockton played 7.3 mpg. What do you think of him?

The 92 team was well-distributed. They didn't have to emphasize a single focal point. Lebron is a brilliant player, arguably the GOAT to many. His impact on the 2024 team in no way has anything to do with Magic on the 92 team. Why can't you stop shifting goalposts?

[MavsDirk41]

Magic averaged 8ppg for the Dream Team. His greatness was gone after sitting out an entire year away from the game of basketball. Jrue Holiday just got through averaging 7.6 ppg for Team USA...

So you are basing Magic’s performance on how many points per game he scored? Why? Did you watch the 92 Dream Team play?

LeBron James has just got through averaging 8.5 apg for Team USA at 39 years of age. Magic was 32...

The Dream Teams margin of victory was 44 points per game. This team beat Serbia by 4 and France by 11. They almost lost a couple times. I dont think Magic broke a sweat. Wasnt the same.

[SelfishPlayer]

[

LeBron was the best player on the team, Magic wasn't...

Another entirely irrelevant remark. Magic was in a position very much like Steph: a brilliant player who didn't need to be the focus. If you think Barkley or Drexler or Mullin or Karl Malone were better players than Magic because of their scoring averages at the 92 Olympics, you're deluding yourself, and badly.

Stockton played 7.3 mpg. What do you think of him?

The 92 team was well-distributed. They didn't have to emphasize a single focal point. Lebron is a brilliant player, arguably the GOAT to many. His impact on the 2024 team in no way has anything to do with Magic on the 92 team. Why can't you stop shifting goalposts?

You are using "focal point" as a term to deminish productivity as if productivity is decided solely upon the head coach. Magic not being anywhere close to the best player on the team is a result of him not being that level of player any longer and not a result of the position the head coach placed him in.

[Blame Rasho]

[

LeBron was the best player on the team, Magic wasn't...

Another entirely irrelevant remark. Magic was in a position very much like Steph: a brilliant player who didn't need to be the focus. If you think Barkley or Drexler or Mullin or Karl Malone were better players than Magic because of their scoring averages at the 92 Olympics, you're deluding yourself, and badly.

Stockton played 7.3 mpg. What do you think of him?

The 92 team was well-distributed. They didn't have to emphasize a single focal point. Lebron is a brilliant player, arguably the GOAT to many. His impact on the 2024 team in no way has anything to do with Magic on the 92 team. Why can't you stop shifting goalposts?

You been here long enough to not ask that question and know exactly why.

Posters posts with their agendas and with bad faith.

[Edrees]

Any arguement comparing the margin of
Victory of the dream team compared to todays usa is a complete bad faith arguement and Ill never take anything a poster says seriously if they make that arguement.

This is like saying the boston celtics this year are better than the bulls in 1998 because the celtics won in 5 games as opposed to the bulls who took 6 games to win a title.

If you want to say the dream team was much better because they had more talent, I respect it. But the blowout arguement is bad faith and everyone knows it.

[Kingdibs19]

Basketball is the only sport where people will argue the Apex was the 90s. Outside of ball, everyone agrees that humans have gotten stronger, faster, and better in pretty much every sport. Carl Lewis gold medal time in 1988 wouldn’t even be last in the 100m in 2024 but we want to pretend the greatest NBA player ever was from the 90s. Dudes will ignore reality to protect the image they have of their childhood hero.

[Nate505]

Basketball is the only sport where people will argue the Apex was the 90s.

I mean, it's not, but feel free to believe it is.