Friday, July 27th, 2012 at 12:55 pm  |  81 responses

LeBron James Also Said 2012 Team USA Could Beat 92 Dream Team


by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

Kobe Bryant was literally laughed out of the room for daring to suggest that the current U.S. National Men’s basketball team could defeat the fabled Dream Team — even beating them once was made to seem like a completely ludicrous idea.

Fans, media and fellow players seemed to agree for the most part that the 1992 squad couldn’t possibly lose to the current team (or any other, for that matter.)

LeBron James, much like his Olympic teammate Kobe, isn’t so sure about that.

From the AP:

Days before the current U.S. squad takes the court in London, James made his boast in a recent television interview. “The ’92 Dream Team paved the way for all of us… We understand what they did for our game, but we also are big-time competitors as well, so if we got the opportunity to play them in a game we feel like we would win too.”

“As a competitor you never want to say that you will lose no matter who you are going against,” James told ABC News “Nightline” anchor Cynthia McFadden. James also showed his respect to the iconic 1992 team, which was led by Michael Jordan and included 11 future Hall of Famers. That team won its six Olympic games by an average of more than 43 points en route to capturing the gold medal.

Everyone may disagree with Kobe Bryant and LeBron James on this, but that doesn’t matter. They believe they could beat the Dream Team, and that’s fine. It changes nor settles nothing, though it sure does seem to enrage certain nostalgic fans.

We’ll obviously never get to the bottom of this debate — unless scientists hurry up and build that damn time machine already!

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  • huami

    Swap harden, westbrook, davis and iguodala for wade, howard, rose and duncan. I know duncan doesnt want to play on international games anymore but its a dream match. This current lineup would be hard pressed to win, but when the stars are complete, they will be competitive against the ’92 dream team. No way of knowing that though.

  • Benny Ng

    Look at the crowd around u before u speak

  • http://kb24.com x-DrEw_MaiN-x

    LeBron said it best half of you ppl with opinions and comments are dumb who goes into a game knowing your going to lose REAL ATHLETES AND COMPETITORS don’t care who they play they just coming to ball… that’s what A.I did and shook Jordan out of his shoes…

  • jt

    a guy on a team believes his team would beat another team, weird.

  • Drig

    I’d say ’12 wins 4 games outta 10. IF they had Dwight, Wade.

  • tomtom

    They could. It’s not a million miles away, they arn’t some obscure eastern European country, they are the best players on the planet right now. ALTHOUGH. I would actually say that the redeem team would have a better chance than this squad because they had a slightly better inside presence and a younger Kobe. Smart money would obv. be on the dream team.

  • 23

    being a lebron fan, i wonder if i am going to become irrational and closed minded in the future just as Jordan fans are today. in 20 years theres going to be a better player than lebron but i probably wont admit it. so i cant necessarily bash jordan fans for acting so dumb sometimes acting like he had zero flaws.

  • http://www.kb24.com The Seed

    By Mike Bresnahan
    On second thought, maybe the original Dream Team was better.

    So says Kobe Bryant, who lighted a metaphorical fire around his feet earlier this month by saying this year’s U.S. team would beat the original cast of NBA stars from 1992.
    This time, though, Bryant indicated that Michael, Magic and Larry were more talented than LeBron, Kevin Durant and himself.

    “I didn’t say we were a better team,” Bryant said Friday amid a mob of reporters at an introductory Olympic news conference. “But if you think we can’t beat that team one time? Like I’m going to say no, that we’d never beat them.”

    Bryant agreed with President Obama, who countered Bryant’s comments earlier this month by saying the 1992 squad was superior.

    “He’s right. They are a better team,” Bryant said. “The question was ‘Can we beat them?’ Yes we can. Of course we can.

    “We like where we are but we’re not going to compare ourselves to them because those guys are living legends. We just hope that when our careers are all said and done, people can look back on our team and say we had quite a bit of Hall of Famers as well.”

    In his second Olympic tour, Bryant, 33, also discussed his NBA longevity and the near future of the Lakers. He has two years and $58.3 million on his contract, and indicated he might be done after it expired.

    “That’s what I’m thinking but I haven’t had any serious thoughts about it,” he said.

    Wouldn’t he keep playing until he won a sixth championship, tying Jordan?

    “I’m just going to, like, hold on for dear life?” Bryant retorted. “I’m not the type of guy to do that. I’ll give you the great effort, my best effort, but if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.”

    Then he added with a smile, “But I’ll be damned if it doesn’t.”

    Bryant insisted that Pau Gasol should remain on the Lakers despite repeated attempts by the team to trade him.

    “He’s staying. If they want to get rid of them, they’ve got to go through me first,” Bryant said. “They can’t possibly. As long as I’m there, Pau should be there too.”

    Bryant’s appearance has changed since the Lakers were eliminated in May by Oklahoma City. He dropped 16 pounds leading up to the Olympics by changing his diet.

    “I used to eat junk food all the time and I started feeling bloated, sluggish. I had to stop it,” he said. “Every time I wanted to grab that In-N-Out burger, I was like, ‘Whoa.’”

    Bryant also sided somewhat with Dwyane Wade and Ray Allen, who said earlier this year that players should get paid for playing in the Olympics.

    “There’s some truth to that,” Bryant said. “But we’re all here because we enjoy playing. Even though a lot of us probably share the same opinion, it’s not like we’re saying, ‘Well, we’re not going to play if you don’t pay us.’ We play. We do it because we want to.”

    The U.S. begins play Sunday against France.
    _____________________________________________________________________

    Tried to tell folks, Kobe never stated they were a better team, he stated they can beat them one game, which I agree. Who would have thought the Giants could beat a 17-0 Patriots or Butler could make the NCAA final 4 two years in a row, or Dallas Mavericks with the choking Dirk who won a ring and will be his only one. Things happen in sports all the time. Everyone picked the Spurs to beat Thunder, they won 4 straight games. Nobody picked Dallas last year to beat Heat. So sports is not just based on stats, its game to game. In a series since, 1992 team did not let Zeke play they win series 4-2. With Zeke on 1992 team, they beat this years team 4-1. BOOK IT!!

  • robb

    I like how Lebron is embracing being not just a competitor but a true winner, that’s how a champions speaks. I still think the Dream Team would win though, their inside game would be too much for these guys. Robinson and Ewing would be too much for Chandler and Barkley and Malone were no wimps, plus you have MJ and Pippen all of them in their prime.

  • robb

    And you’re crazy if you think a 34 year old Kobe would be able to guard a 29 year old MJ.

  • crooklyn

    Has anyone noticed that at any given time there could be five former or current nba players on the opposing team in 2012. The dream team maybe faced one or two such players, the rest may have wanted to be in the L or went to a camp, but weren’t worthy. That is the point that this 43pt avg of victory gets lost on. 2012 is weak at center in reality in comparison, but that’s about it. This ain’t a ring party we’re talking about it’s a game.

  • Mason

    Has anyone taken to account the evolution of the game in comparing generations? Both speed and power have changed considerably and once you factor in injured players who were penciled out (Howard, Wade & Griffin) the size issue is neutralized. Taking it a step further, I doubt that there was anyone person on the 92′ team that could guard LeBron one on one. Let’s stop being fans of an era and pay attention to the state of the game.

  • yayo

    Stupid, the young factor fall front smart an IQ for the game, easy the 92 team beat them….

  • Yesse

    We will never find out, and even if we would, the old Dream Team would beat this team.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Mason, do you really think Dwight Howard is more athletic than David Robinson? Or anywhere near as good??

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    I hope not

  • joey

    you guys are impossible, first you crucify him for not being competitive, for taking the easy way out, for teaming with another superstar, not having the killer instinct and all those crap, and then when he was asked with a question that does he think they can beat them (NOT ARE YOU BETTER THAN THE 1992 DREAM TEAM) and said yes, we can beat them, all of a sudden you guys start talking about start winning more championships first before anything else etc.

    first of, if the dream team were so godlike, then why would a bunch of college players defeated them on their first game, so it means they can still be beaten…secondly if the team plays, the dream team will not have a 100 to 0 start, both of them will start at 0, so it means there is still a probability to win.

    also, what do you want these players to say? OH THEY ARE FAR MORE BETTER, WE WOULD PROBABLY BE BEATEN TO DEATH BY THEM, NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

    thats very funny.

  • pruzz

    lebron james is a hell of a guy, and as long as he’s high,
    he has no anxieties, about his chemical dependencies

  • jei

    I think even the 96 us team of grant hill, penny and the rest can beat this 2012 team!..surpass this 96 team before thinking of the dream team..Lebron and kobe is just dreaming….90′s basketball is far more greater than today..there is no great center’s in today’s game..Do you think Lebron can do his stats in the 90′s? Hell No!..Grant hill and Penny can kick his butt off!.

  • Basketball_iQ

    Just seen cp3 give to durant when he was surrounded by 3 people & durant still put it on the floor & dunked it in traffic… You think westbrook would’ve given that up? Hell no!
    Lebron just gave the best bounce pass I’ve ever seen in olympic history to durant fire a raw finish…do you get the picture westbrook?
    Pg’s start the play, the other 4 finish.

  • hugo

    doesnt anyone think that the 08 team would have a much better shot at beating the 92 team? sure you remove KD, but u have a prime kobe and wade with D12 crashing the boards and bosh spreading the floor. much better chance of whipping those legends.

  • Brando

    Lebrons right,whos gonna guard kobe kd lebron and westbrook,why cant they beat em once

  • Hib

    WHAT IN THE WORLD?!?!
    WHO DO THESE YOUNGINS THINK THEY ARE?!
    DREAM TEAM WOULD CRUSH THE 2012 OLYMPIC TEAM.
    THIS SHOULDNT EVEN BE A DISCUSSION.

  • gi

    possible matchups:
    PG: Magic/Stockton vs DWill/CP3 advantage 2012
    SG: MJ/Glide vs RW/Iggy/Kobe advantage 92
    SF: Pip/Mullin/ vs LBJ/KD advantage 2012 though Pip can guard LBJ and KD
    PF: CB/MailMan vs Love/ADavis/Melo advantage 92
    C: Admiral/Ewing vs Chandler/Love advantage 92.

    Game of number folks Dream Team 92 will win!!!

  • gi

    96 team has a better chance against the 92 team. 96 dream team is the core of the usa select team that defeated the 92 dream team

  • Ali

    Todays game is different than 1992. But lets be honest everybody.
    Ewing and Robinson in thier prime would kill any of todays big men,
    to include Shaq in his prime! Chandler, Love, and a healthy Howard, Griffin would be abused all game. Barkley and Malone alone would give 2012′s team fits. 2012′s team wouldn’t get any rebounds, Hahaha….

  • L Dribble

    He says he feels they could win – of course he would have that mindset. He’s not saying they are the better team.

  • jei

    hey lebron!.96 team vs 2012 team is the match..i’ll take 96 with hill and penny..the 92 dream team cant be touch!..Everyone there is a team player..and this is not a competition of individual match up..k?…no team can beat the dream team..kobe and lebron is just halucinating..LOL!..BTW i’ll pick penny and grant hill over lebron and kobe..

  • http://slamonline.com Jackson

    Ok i’ll just say it. This current roster would absolutely beat the ’92 team. Hands down. The most popular argument’s I hear in favor of the ’92 team are that they have so much size in the paint. Great. Last time I checked there isn’t a chance in hell that David Robinson or Charles Barkley or Patrick Ewing or old Larry Bird and Magic Johnson could run the floor with the likes of LBJ Kobe Melo Durant or Westbrook. You can have height, I think that speed will be much more important in this game. The other argument is the blind faith you have in MJ. MJ WASN’T EVEN THE LEADING SCORER ON THAT TEAM, BARKLEY WAS. READ A FRIGGIN BOOK.

  • Omar

    92 would win because of size and physicality. OVerall, they’re just more physical than the 12 team but when 12 goes Westbrook, Kobe, KD, Melo and Lebron, they are going to get theirs because Magic/Stockton ain’t stopping Westbrook, Barkley/Bird/Mullin ain’t stopping KD, Melo or Lebron. Whomever isn’t guarded by MJ/Pip is going off. But there is not to keep Malone, Robinson or Ewing from scoring whenever they want.

  • http://slamonline.com Jackson

    If you honestly think that a starting lineup consisting of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Paul couldn’t ever beat the ’92 team, you are either living in the past or don’t watch basketball. To say that that lineup couldn’t beat ANy team EVER is a joke. This roster is unbelievable, deal with it.

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