The dream team was just there and there will be one
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There was and will remain only one dream team: one of the Barcelona Games in 1992. And not because of a simple question about talent, which, perhaps, too, but because neither the world nor basketball will be the same as they were. And this is the main difference. Since then, other American teams have been all-star combinations that have succeeded in most cases, especially in the hunt for Olympic gold. This team that climbed to the top of the podium in Paris 2024 was one of those that could come close to the original.
Comparisons began as soon as the announcement was made. The current team includes three players who could have merged the player 32 years ago without falling at all: LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. Rest, waiting for what they give from the racing nights Anthony Edwards, Jason Tatum…, He hardly found any room except by removing Kristan Leitner Who is still considered one of the best college players in history.
The United States, as it did this summer, can bring its brightest stars, but above the talent there are two big differences that make comparisons with the real sterile Dream Team. One is The growth of basketball globally. In 1992, the NBA was in a galaxy far, far away. But the rest got so close that last season, Four foreigners were in the top five – Canadian Shay gilgius Alexander , Slovenian Luka Doncic , Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo and Serbian Nikola Jokic-, No American has won the best player award since 2018 , and the best defender is the Frenchman –Rudi Joubert– And the best rookie , who also threatens to dominate the competition in the coming years, too –Victor wimpanyama-.
“Wins by 45 points” < br >
That’s why, when Durant said before the games that they wanted to ” win by 45 points.” They are for bravado or absolute ignorance of world basketball. Let’s better consider the first, because during the season many of the above are measured and you should be aware of their exceptional level. Far from winning by 45%, Because, LeBron and Curry had to show the best versions to get 17 points to Serbia and survive the push from France Let him hold on until a foreigner makes four three – pointers in a row which are already part of Olympic basketball.
Another big difference is the aura. Most of the ‘ 92 players had it. Exude greatness on and off the court. They were considered goddesses by fans, who occasionally saw her on TV. Now, anyone wakes up in the morning and the second has the best of the NBA Day on mobile. But this is Competitors also worshiped those untouchable and unrealizable legends.
Famous is the image of the Lithuanian Arturas karnesovas, now the general manager of the Bulls, takes pictures from the bench in the middle of the match against the Dream Team. This team, only by the dictates of their stars, started with 20 points. Then, with the talent I have, this difference multiplied. “It was the only game in my career that I knew before I started that I was not going to win,” says Jordi villacamba A brand in its day. The Spaniards and Americans posed together and in a good mood on the track of the olympiaco Badalona in a moment for memory. It is now unthinkable only in an exhibition duel.
Foreign players have long lost this revered respect for the NBA. “We are not afraid of them. The United States is the best team , but We are getting closer and closer, ” says Frenchman Nicolas Batum. The distance between the two worlds was like a geographical distance, the ocean. Over the years it has been reduced to just a narrow one. Many non-Americans play or have all played and proved to be equal to them, and in some cases, even their superiors.
With her best and after suffering in the semifinals and in the final, the USA came out with the gold medal around her neck. I saw what I saw in Paris, assuming that LeBron, Curry and Durant would not return for a few games and check the development of world basketball, It seems not so far away that it will be others who will climb to the top of the Olympic podium. The next opportunity, in four years. In the Angels. Nothing less.
