Every four years or if the occasional documentary reminds us, we indulge in the ultimate Olympic sport – who is better between the Dream Team and the Redeem Team? By all accounts, there wouldn’t have been a Redeem Team without the 1992 Team USA basketball team made up of NBA pros for the first time. The kind of inspiration an All-Star team led by Michael Jordan presented on the world stage got the ball rolling. Following that, international players improved, Team USA struggled, and the 2008 roster was all about redeeming the glory the 1992 team established.Both were formed under very similar circumstances. Both gold-winning teams were led by the best NBA players of two separate generations. Everyone on the Dream Team had retired by the time of the 2004 Olympics when Team USA had a disappointing finish. Yet despite that generation gap, a fantasy Olympic matchup is always thrilling.
With European teams stacked with professionals, Team USA recalibrated by replacing the college players with seasoned NBA pros for the 1992 Olympics. Michael Jordan was the certified star of the team, having led the Chicago Bulls to back-to-back championships for the first time in franchise history. He, however, declined the captaincy of the Dream Team. Veteran stars, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird co-captained the team. MJ was billed as the public face of this roster.
In 2008, there was no doubt that Kobe Bryantwas perfect to lead the young team. You could write volumes comparing their individual accolades. They were the same age – 29 – in their Olympic runs and in their prime. Their Olympic runs were starkly different but comparable.
Basketball men’s Team USA is on the lookout for Olympic gold for the 17th time to redeem after settling for a bronze in FIBA 2023. The giants of the game like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Anthony Davis are here, yet, the team still has an important starting line-up concern to deal with involving Joel Embiid. On one side, we have head coach Steve Kerr who has confidently outlined, “I do like those three guys together.” But on the flip side, critics have ruled in favor of benching the 7x NBA All-Star, the most recent addition to the list being a senior journalist calling Embiid out as a ‘foul baiting’ machine.