The 2024 U.S. men's basketball team is perhaps the most loaded squad since the first Dream Team . For next week's Paris Olympics , USA Basketball is sending a team led by the three best players of the current NBA era: LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant.
It also has two of the game's best defensive big men, Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo, and 2023 MVP Joel Embiid. The roster also includes three current NBA champions: Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White, and three current-generation stars in Devin Booker, Tyrese Haliburton, and Anthony Edwards.
With this impressive lineup, many are comparing the current Team USA to the original Dream Team of 1992 in terms of star power. Some even say this year's U.S. Team is better than the Dream Team.
Legendary NBA commentator Marv Albert was asked on The Mark Jackson Show which team is better, and the now-retired broadcaster gave an interesting answer.
"Well, if it were a seven-game series, I mean one game you can't make a judgement, I think it's so different because it's a three-point contest," said Albert. "But if all things were equal where the '92 team were playing now and would be able tohave those skills, I think they'd win. Perhaps they'd even win without those skills but that would be a heck of a matchup."
Three-point shooting would be the difference
It's no surprise that Marv picked the 1992 team because he famously covered that team in Barcelona. But he also indirectly admitted that it did not have three-point shooting, which is important in how today's international tournaments are won.
Looking at the original Dream Team, the only three-point shooters were Chris Mullin and Larry Bird. Mullin led the team with an average of 1.8 three-pointers made per game, while Bird was the only other player to hit at least one three-pointer per game.
The 1992 team made 54 three-pointers in 8 games played, or just an average of 6.75 balls made per contest. The 2024 team has yet to play an official game. But with every player on that team capable of knocking down the three-point shot, that's where the difference could lie.
"But maybe I'm a little prejudiced," Albert then added. "And Larry Bird was injured. I mean if he were healthy, it would even make a greater impact. But I look at it as the greatest team ever assembled."
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Best team to ever play together
The 1992 Dream Team may still be the greatest team ever assembled. But looking beyond the big names, it certainly wasn't the best team the U.S. could have fielded in Barcelona.
Albert also talked about how Bird was injured in 1992. Still, aside from bad-back Larry, the Dream Team also had a retired Magic Johnson, while John Stockton played only four games due to a foot fracture. The 12th member of that team was a collegiate player in Christian Laettner.
Meanwhile, the 2024 team isn't also 100% healthy. Embiid is still clearly bothered by his knee, while Durant has yet to play a game due to a calf injury. But when you look at the rest of the roster, they have the more versatile, athletic, and better three-point shooting team.
All things considered and without nostalgic bias, the 2024 team is healthier and more skilled than the 1992 team. Yes, it would likely be one heck of a matchup, as Albert said, but in the end, three-point shooting could be the difference in a showdown between evenly matched squads. Whether it wins the gold, though, is another story.
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