If the 92 Dream Team played the current 24 Olympic team who would win?

[Wolvesfan21]

PF 4 Laettner, Christian 22 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Duke Blue Devils
C 5 Robinson, David 26 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 235 lb (107 kg) San Antonio Spurs
C 6 Ewing, Patrick 29 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (110 kg) New York Knicks
SF 7 Bird, Larry 35 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Boston Celtics
SF 8 Pippen, Scottie 26 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Chicago Bulls
SG 9 Jordan, Michael 29 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Chicago Bulls
SG 10 Drexler, Clyde 30 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 222 lb (101 kg) Portland Trail Blazers
PF 11 Malone, Karl 28 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 256 lb (116 kg) Utah Jazz
PG 12 Stockton, John 30 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Utah Jazz
SF 13 Mullin, Chris 28 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Golden State Warriors
PF 14 Barkley, Charles 29 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 250 lb (110 kg) Phoenix Suns
PG 15 Johnson, Magic 32 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Los Angeles Lakers
Head coach

Chuck Daly

Assistant coach(es)

P. J. Carlesimo
Mike Krzyzewski
Lenny Wilkens

VERSUS

PG 4 Stephen Curry 36 – 14 March 1988 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Golden State Warriors United States
SG 5 Anthony Edwards 22 – 5 August 2001 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Minnesota Timberwolves United States
F 6 LeBron James (C) 39 – 30 December 1984 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Los Angeles Lakers United States
F 7 Kevin Durant 35 – 29 September 1988 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) Phoenix Suns United States
G 8 Derrick White 30 – 2 July 1994 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Boston Celtics United States
PG 9 Tyrese Haliburton 24 – 29 February 2000 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Indiana Pacers United States
F 10 Jayson Tatum 26 – 3 March 1998 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Boston Celtics United States
C 11 Joel Embiid 30 – 16 March 1994 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in) Philadelphia 76ers United States
G 12 Jrue Holiday 34 – 12 June 1990 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Boston Celtics United States
F/C 13 Bam Adebayo 27 – 18 July 1997 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Miami Heat United States
F/C 14 Anthony Davis 31 – 11 March 1993 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Los Angeles Lakers United States
SG 15 Devin Booker 27 – 30 October 1996 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Phoenix Suns United States

Head coach

United States Steve Kerr[17]

Assistant coach(es)

United States Mark Few
United States Tyronn Lue
United States Erik Spoelstra

[Wolvesfan21]

I think this is an interesting question. All respect to the 92 team for sure. MJ, Magic, Bird, Malone, Barkley, Pippen are all legends. I think I put the line on 24 favored by 2.5 points. Heads up I bet on the current squad.

I just look at the overall skill level of the entire NBA which I think no question has risen in 32 years. Curry drains 3's like no bodies business which was almost non existent in 92. LeBron is still a freight train with unreal passing. KD shoots lights out. Ant is as talented as MJ but not at his level mentally yet.

My money is on the current squad.

[Coolbreeze44]

92 Was the best team ever put together. They would win 7 out of 10 games against this current team.

[Wolvesfan21]

92 Was the best team ever put together. They would win 7 out of 10 games against this current team.

I actually think current 24 squad would win 6 of 10. The shooting and atheticism of todays team is just higher. Look at what Ant does on an avg game. Never seen before. Then all the shooters like KD, Book, Curry, etc... All knock down 3's. MJ's competitiveness and mentality might make it a coin flip though.

[FNG]

It's a fun question to ponder. You look at all the hall of famers and legends on that '92 team, and my knee jerk answer is to go with them. I don't think the '24 team will end up with as many hall of famers as that '92 team also. That said, I'm a firm believer that in almost every athletic endeavor the athletes of today would destroy the athletes of 32 years ago. Compare the Olympians we are watching today with their counterparts from the early 90s...the difference in skill levels and athleticism is extraordinary. Baseball pitchers weren't regularly throwing in the upper 90s with the spin rates we see now 30 years ago...30 HRs today means a lot more to me than 30 home runs 32 years ago. And in football of course, today's players are so much bigger and faster than they were 32 years ago...heck, it's not uncommon to see college offensive lines averaging over 300 pounds. We love those '92 guys, but they would struggle with the better size and athleticism of the current guys. I think today's group would win almost every game.



(but mostly because the '92 team didn't have Ant )

[Q-is-here]

92 Was the best team ever put together. They would win 7 out of 10 games against this current team.

I actually think current 24 squad would win 6 of 10. The shooting and atheticism of todays team is just higher. Look at what Ant does on an avg game. Never seen before. Then all the shooters like KD, Book, Curry, etc... All knock down 3's. MJ's competitiveness and mentality might make it a coin flip though.

These kind of comparisons are sort of useless in my opinion because the context is so much different. If the 1992 team played and used the same tactics as they did in 1992 then they would probably lose badly because of the lack of 3-point shooting volume and all the hand-checking that would now be called fouls. Back then running a post play for a 12-foot contested turnaround J was considered a good shot and a pull up 3 on the fast break was considered a bad shot. Analytics has obliterated once well-worn assumptions about maximizing an NBA offense.

Now if you take those same 1992 guys and assume they grow up and train in the modern era, then they might very well win. But then they really aren't the same players we remember them as and the comparison becomes a moot point.

[FNG]

92 Was the best team ever put together. They would win 7 out of 10 games against this current team.

I actually think current 24 squad would win 6 of 10. The shooting and atheticism of todays team is just higher. Look at what Ant does on an avg game. Never seen before. Then all the shooters like KD, Book, Curry, etc... All knock down 3's. MJ's competitiveness and mentality might make it a coin flip though.

These kind of comparisons are sort of useless in my opinion because the context is so much different. If the 1992 team played and used the same tactics as they did in 1992 then they would probably lose badly because of the lack of 3-point shooting volume and all the hand-checking that would now be called fouls. Back then running a post play for a 12-foot contested turnaround J was considered a good shot and a pull up 3 on the fast break was considered a bad shot. Analytics has obliterated once well-worn assumptions about maximizing an NBA offense.

Now if you take those same 1992 guys and assume they grow up and train in the modern era, then they might very well win. But then they really aren't the same players we remember them as and the comparison becomes a moot point.

Yeah, it's a little difficult to wrap our heads around this hypothetical. But my answer is based on taking the '92 guys exactly as they played back then, and magically transporting them to Paris to play this year's squad under today's rules. Just like in almost any other sport, the current guys win fairly easier I think.

[Q-is-here]

I actually think current 24 squad would win 6 of 10. The shooting and atheticism of todays team is just higher. Look at what Ant does on an avg game. Never seen before. Then all the shooters like KD, Book, Curry, etc... All knock down 3's. MJ's competitiveness and mentality might make it a coin flip though.

These kind of comparisons are sort of useless in my opinion because the context is so much different. If the 1992 team played and used the same tactics as they did in 1992 then they would probably lose badly because of the lack of 3-point shooting volume and all the hand-checking that would now be called fouls. Back then running a post play for a 12-foot contested turnaround J was considered a good shot and a pull up 3 on the fast break was considered a bad shot. Analytics has obliterated once well-worn assumptions about maximizing an NBA offense.

Now if you take those same 1992 guys and assume they grow up and train in the modern era, then they might very well win. But then they really aren't the same players we remember them as and the comparison becomes a moot point.

Yeah, it's a little difficult to wrap our heads around this hypothetical. But my answer is based on taking the '92 guys exactly as they played back then, and magically transporting them to Paris to play this year's squad under today's rules. Just like in almost any other sport, the current guys win fairly easier I think.

Yup. And that by no means diminishes the greatness of the '92 guys. When I think of Michael Jordan as the GOAT, it means he was the greatest ever given the context he played in.

[Coolbreeze44]

I think you have to look at it as Q suggests, assume the 92 team grew up in this era alongside the 24's. Michael would still be the goat, Magic would still be the greatest point guard of all time, and Larry Bird would inspire a rule change of the 3 point shooting distance FIBA currently has. Also, MJ and Pippen would absolutely lock down whoever they wanted to on defense, and that includes Lebron or Curry. Ewing would make things very difficult on Embiid. The fast break of the 92's would also be a determining factor. Viewed in this context, I'm sorry, but the 24's don't stack up.

[Wolvesfan21]

I think you have to look at it as Q suggests, assume the 92 team grew up in this era alongside the 24's. Michael would still be the goat, Magic would still be the greatest point guard of all time, and Larry Bird would inspire a rule change of the 3 point shooting distance FIBA currently has. Also, MJ and Pippen would absolutely lock down whoever they wanted to on defense, and that includes Lebron or Curry. Ewing would make things very difficult on Embiid. The fast break of the 92's would also be a determining factor. Viewed in this context, I'm sorry, but the 24's don't stack up.

I do think MJ would develop a very good 3 in this era, but I'm not fully convinced on some of the others like Malone, Barkley, Ewing, D Robinson.

The three ball is a huge factor. Even Embiid is a good 3P shooter. The 24 team has so many dudes who can shoot, the 92 team, not so much. But you never know how they would have developed in this era.

My original question was take their 92 skill set and play the 24 team. I just got to take the 24 team due to the three ball skill versus the 92's lack of. You talk about lock down defenders, Holiday and Ant can hang with Jordan and Pippen all day.