One of the highlights of the Summer Olympics is always the men's Olympic basketball tournament. The sport has a huge global audience, and the field is always star-studded, with even the occasional spectator recognising the stars.
At Paris 2024, Team United States brought one of its strongest squads in history, led by the epoch-making triumvirate of James, Curry and Durant. In addition to these three legendary superstars, the United States team has a number of top NBA stars on its roster, with superstars like Edwards, Thick Eyebrows and Tatum sitting on the bench.
With such a lavish roster, the United States team is naturally compared to the greatest international basketball team in history, the 1992 Dream Team. The Dream Team, led by Jordan at its peak, started an all-Hall of Fame-caliber team that defeated Croatia by 32 points in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic final to win the gold medal, setting the bar for United States dominance.
So, who is the United States team at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 1992 Dream Team?
Point guard: Magic Johnson vs Stephen · Curry
Magic and Curry are both legends at the point guard position, but Curry is still in his prime, so Curry has a slight edge at the point guard position.
In the season before Magic Johnson joined the Dream Team in 1992, he remained one of the best players in the NBA. However, in 1991 he contracted HIV, and the three-time MVP winner retired from the Los Angeles Lakers, missing the entire 1991-92 NBA season before returning to the NBA in 1995.
However, the Magic still served as the starting point guard for the Dream Team.
Although the Magic of the day is still radiant, it is difficult for him to gain the upper hand against Curry in his prime. Curry has just finished an All-Star-caliber season, and it's only been two years since he won the 2022 Finals MVP. Curry's unprecedented projection ability will pose a huge challenge to opponents on the Olympic stage.
Shooting guards: Michael · Jordan vs. Zhu · Holiday
Michael · Jordan in 1992 was in his prime, and he was undoubtedly the greatest basketball player of all time.
Holiday had just picked up his second championship ring and blended perfectly into the Celtics, who had strong offensive firepower. Holiday is a defensive tough guy and a great addition on the offensive end, both shooting and playmaking. However, compared to Jordan, Holiday pales in comparison. The 1992 NBA MVP reached his peak in the early '90s and was the Dream Team's number one star, with Jordan undoubtedly the greatest player of all time.
1991-92 Jordan vs. 2023-24 Holiday Data Comparison:
| Data Categories | Jordan | Holiday |
| score | 30.1 | 12.5 |
| backboard | 6.4 | 5.4 |
| Assists | 6.1 | 4.8 |
| Steals | 2.3 | 0.9 |
| Caps | 0.9 | 0.8 |
| Two-point shot | 21.5 | 5.3 |
| Two-point shooting percentage | 53.3% | 52.6% |
| Three-point shot | 1.3 | 4.7 |
| Three-point shooting percentage | 27.0% | 42.9% |
| Free throws | 7.4 | 1.0 |
| Free throw percentage | 83.2% | 83.3% |
| True hit rate | 57.9% | 59.7% |
Small forwards: Scotty· Pippen vs. Kevin · Durant
Although Pippen is a great player in history in his own right, Durant's superior offensive ability gives him a slight edge.
Arguably the greatest international player in NBA history, Durant is the all-time scoring champion of the United States men's basketball team and a three-time Olympic gold medalist. While a young Pippen could pose a challenge to the veteran Durant, he lacks the scoring ability that the four-time scoring champion possesses.
Pippen's defensive excellence and versatility on the offensive end made him the perfect second-in-command for the Bulls under Jordan's back-to-back championships, but his individual talent was still slightly inferior to Durant's.
1991-92 Pippen vs. 2023-24 Durant stats comparison:
| Data Categories | Pippen | Durant |
| score | 21.0 | 27.1 |
| backboard | 7.7 | 6.6 |
| Assists | 7.0 | 5.0 |
| Steals | 1.9 | 0.9 |
| Caps | 1.1 | 1.2 |
| Two-point shot | 15.6 | 13.7 |
| Two-point shooting percentage | 52.5% | 56.7% |
| Three-point shot | 1.0 | 5.4 |
| Three-point shooting percentage | 20.0% | 41.3% |
| Free throws | 5.3 | 5.6 |
| Free throw percentage | 76.0% | 85.6% |
| True hit rate | 55.5% | 62.6% |
Power forward: Karl · Malone vs. LeBron · James
Although the Olympics were the early stage of Malone's career and James was past his prime, James won the battle with Malone with his excellent organizational skills.
This is probably the closest positional alignment between the two teams. James brings to the United States team the same tough and versatile frontcourt performance as Malone did 32 years ago. Although Malone in his prime, who is more dominant in scoring and defense than James now, James has unmatched playmaking skills. The greatest player of the 21st century was able to dominate the game as a playmaker, which gave him an advantage over Malone.
1991-92 Karl·Malone vs. 2023-24 LeBron · James Data Comparison:
| Data Categories | Malone | James |
| score | 28.0 | 25.7 |
| backboard | 11.2 | 7.3 |
| Assists | 3.0 | 8.3 |
| Steals | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| Caps | 0.6 | 0.5 |
| Two-point shot | 18.5 | 12.8 |
| Two-point shooting percentage | 53.0% | 59.2% |
| Three-point shot | 0.3 | 5.1 |
| Three-point shooting percentage | 17.6% | 41.0% |
| Free throws | 10.7 | 5.7 |
| Free throw percentage | 77.8% | 75.0% |
| True hit rate | 59.9% | 63.0% |
Center: Patrick· Ewing vs. Joel· Embiid
When Embiid stays healthy, he's one of the top two basketball players in the world, so he has an edge over Ewing.
In the 1991-92 season, Patrick · Ewing was one of the best centers in the NBA, and his performance was close to MVP level. As a mainstay of the New York Knicks, Ewing has excelled on both ends of the floor. However, he hasn't been as dominant as Embiid has shown recently.
After winning the MVP award in 2022-23, Embiid led the MVP race again in 2023-24 until an injury interrupted his pace. As a result, he has an advantage in the center forward position.
1991-92 Ewing vs. 2023-24 Embiid stats comparison:
| Data Categories | Ewing | Embiid |
| score | 24.0 | 34.7 |
| backboard | 11.2 | 11.0 |
| Assists | 1.9 | 5.6 |
| Steals | 1.1 | 1.2 |
| Caps | 3.0 | 1.7 |
| Two-point shot | 18.5 | 18.3 |
| Two-point shooting percentage | 52.3% | 55.6% |
| Three-point shot | 0.1 | 3.6 |
| Three-point shooting percentage | 16.7% | 38.8% |
| Free throws | 6.2 | 11.6 |
| Free throw percentage | 73.8% | 88.3% |
| True hit rate | 56.3% | 64.4% |
Substitute line-up
With experience, seniority, and well-rounded skills, the Dream Team also has the upper hand in battles on the bench.
The 2024 United States team has excellent bench players such as Jayson · Tatum and Anthony · Davis, but they are still not as strong as the Dream Team's bench lineup that year.
In addition to the experienced Larry · Bird, one of the greatest players of all time, the bench also sat on the bench with legends of the younger generation, such as David · Robinson, Clyde · Drexler, and Charles · Barkley in their prime, and the current United States team simply cannot find a player who can match them.
conclusion
While the 2024 United States may be more talented than the 1992 Dream Team, they are unlikely to reach the dominant performance of their predecessors.
From the point of view of book strength, the 2024 United States team does have a slight advantage over the dream team in terms of talent. However, due to the influx of international basketball talent, they will face even stronger opponents at the Olympics.
As a result, they are unlikely to be as dominant as the Dream Team, who won every game by at least 32 points.
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