The U.S. men's basketball team for the 2024 Olympics received its fair share of criticism after 'barely' getting past Team Canada in their first exhibition game. The Americans trailed 1-11 at the start of the contest before storming back to win the game 86-72.
Although it wasn't the dominating performance that many had expected, Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd defended the 2024 Dream Team by saying that the Canadian team they beat was better than any opponent that, well, the original Dream Team faced. Cowherd went on to make an even bolder statement that the latest version of Team USA is better than Michael Jordan's Dream Team .
"The '92 Dream Team, Larry Bird was shot," argued Cowherd. "He retired ten days after the Olympics. You had multiple guys on that team who cannot handle the ball and who couldn't shoot. Anthony Davis on this team is a much better player than Patrick Ewing. Give me a break. Tatum's much better than Scottie Pippen. LeBron right now is better than Magic to me at 32, 33 old. Our young guys are Ant and Haliburton. Their young guy was Christian Laettner. Give me a break!"
Basketball has evolved
According to Cowherd, the game is different now. Back then, teams would start their offense by dropping the ball down low to the center, who pounds it on the floor, looking for a close-range shot. It was a very position-oriented game.
Today, we have 7'4'' Wemby, who is listed as a center but has handles, passing, and three-point shooting. Joel Embiid, a center on Team USA , averaged six assists per game for the Sixers last season. The Celtics won the title with an offense called 'five out,' where everyone, including Al Horford, can sit on the corner and hit the three-point ball.
"The 1992 team beating Tunisia by 60 was amazing and a thing of beauty. But this team's bench has starters on that team. Scottie Pippen, I covered him in Portland, not close to Jayson Tatum. Patrick Ewing's not nearly as good as Anthony Davis. Christian Laettner on that team, Ant off the bench on this team? What are we talking about here?" added Colin.
Related: Phil Jackson once shared why he wasn't happy when Michael Jordan scored 69 points on the Cavs: "It's not my favorite thing to do”
The deepest USA squad KD has played on
Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant , who will be playing in his fourth Olympic games, told Yahoo Sports earlier this week that the current edition of Team USA is the most talented group he's been a part of . Considering he was with the 2012 Team, that's saying a lot because many consider the London squad as the one that can beat the original Dream Team.
"It is definitely the deepest team I've played on since I've been with USAB," said KD during an interview with Yahoo's Vincent Goodwill. "From top to bottom, everybody is the guy on their team. "
Cowherd's point is that the 2024 USA squad is a much deeper group because it does not carry veteran players like Bird and Magic or a collegiate player like Laettner. Considering that the Paris squad is undoubtedly more skilled than the Barcelona team, Colin makes a lot of sense in his argument.
Related: "We were beating teams by 50" - Larry Johnson wants people to remember the Dream Team II ahead of the 2024 Olympics
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