![]() Our second Dream Team may have been America's greatest defensive team, which should at least count for something in the historical record. The original Dream Team had two legends in Bird and Magic who were past their primes.Īgain, I could not bet against Michael Jordan were the Dream Team and Dream Team II ever to play. The same could be said of our current 2012 squad, which starts an aging Kobe Bryant at SG. Of course, Dream Team II was relatively weakest at shooting guard, where Reggie Miller did a passable job in Jordan's stead. In Malone's case, he was on a late-career upswing, one that would win him two (later mocked) MVP awards. Both were still excellent, not having lost much of anything in the four years between Olympics. The aforementioned Charles Barkley also made the journey. Like his Jazz teammate John Stockton, Karl Malone carried over from one Olympics to the other. Remember, the second Dream Team also had Scottie Pippen.Īt the power forward spot, it was a draw between the two clubs. Payton had won Defensive Player of the Year in 1996, and he remains the last point guard to do so.īetween Hakeem and GP, Dream Team II probably had a superior defensive roster to the original Dream Team. Not only was Payton one of basketball's best play-makers, "The Glove" was a defensive force. Instead of Magic Johnson after a year-hiatus, the 1996 team featured Gary Payton, in his prime. Why? Because John's remarkable consistency defined an incredibly lengthy career. Stockton in 1992 was as good as Stockton in 1996. Johnson was backed up by John Stockton, who also played PG for Dream Team II. Magic had been diagnosed with HIV and had been out of the game for a full year before embarking on Barcelona. For all the luster of Magic Johnson's name, he was playing with the '92 squad as a retired basketball player. DREAM TEAM: Patrick Ewing, David Robinson. REDEEM TEAM: LeBron James, Carlos Boozer. DREAM TEAM: Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Christian Laettner. REDEEM TEAM: Carmelo Anthony, Tayshaun Prince. It would remain that way until the late 2000's.ĭream Team II was better at center, and probably better at the point guard position as well. DREAM TEAM: Scottie Pippen, Larry Bird, Chris Mullin. Young, trim Shaq was a problem the league couldn't solve. O'Neal was also hyper efficient, hitting near 60 percent of his shots. In 1994-1995, Shaq attacked to the tune of 29.3 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks. He was coming off an injury-shortened season, but Shaq had claimed ridiculous numbers in the season prior. In 1996, it was quite conceivable that Shaquille O'Neal was basketball's best big man. You know, just in case Shaquille O'Neal or Hakeem Olajuwon needed him. ![]() Oh, and by the way? Dream Team II also boasted David Robinson. Hakeem famously dominated the matchup against Robinson in the 1995 playoffs, and will thus be remembered as the better center. Olajuwon's regular season numbers do not outshine David Robinson's, but the Dream was a notorious self-pacer. We’ll have to see if he does decide to join, but the incentive to stand alone at the top of the mountain should be good enough for the 6ft 10″ forward.Hakeem had won two titles during Jordan's absence-nearly all by himself. If KD does decide to suit up, he has a chance to make history by becoming the first Basketball player to win 4 Gold Medals in the Olympics. So we’re hoping he decides to keep going.” “That would be nice … I mean, he’s been so dominant with Team USA and like I said, he’s a guy who just, he loves to play. Even though there has been no official roster selection for the 2024 Olympics, he’s already started recruiting two big stars: Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry.Īfter one of the Warriors’ games against the Nets in 2022, Steve Kerr said, Steve Kerr hopes KD returns for 2024 Paris OlympicsĪfter the Tokyo Olympics, Steve Kerr was elected as the Head Coach for Team USA Men’s Basketball Team. ![]() At the same time, KD became the leading Olympic scorer in Team USA history during the Tokyo Olympics. He led Team USA to a Gold Medal finish in all three events. Apart from that, he’s taken part in the 2012 London Olympics, 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, and 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Ever since KD joined the NBA in 2007, he has only missed one Olympics, which is the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
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