The 1992 Dream Team and the 2008 Redeem Team are probably the two most iconic squads USA Basketball has sent to an international tournament. In recent years, the debate about which one is the best team has reached a new level, and everybody has an opinion on it.
Gilbert Arenas recently touched on this, giving an interesting response on which team he considers the best (22:18 mark).
“It all depends on are we taking the actual players or the names? Because Bird was trashed, Magic washed. Christian Laettner, no…,” Arenas started.
He admitted that the 1992 squad had a lot of talent in the paint, but after that, both teams were pretty balanced.
“It’s one of those things where they have the bigs because they have top-notch bigs. They got [Patrick] Ewing, they got David Robinson and Karl Malone. [Charles] Barkley was there. When it comes to the bigs, yeah it becomes a problem. When it comes to everyone else, um it depends,” Arenas said.
He came up with a solution to know which team was better or at least had more quality, individually speaking. The former Washington Wizards star proposed to ignore the original team and create new rosters with the players that didn’t make it to the original cut.
“I look at it like this, when you say who has the best team, you take this group [the Dream Team and Redeem Team], put them to the side. Build another team with the leftovers. So you got Zeke [Isiah Thomas], you got Dominique [Wilkins], you have Shaq on that one. And then we go from there. Who’s left over on the Redeem team?”
“It’d be the Redeem Team side because of all the other stars that were still dominant that just didn’t play.”
Arenas might have a point there, as the 2008 Redeem Team had a lot of players to pick ahead of the Beijing Olympics. Kevin Durant even admitted he felt bad for not being selected for the team.
Dwyane Wade once claimed that the 2008 Olympic Team was the best of all the USA Teams because of the responsibility they had and the things they had to rebuild for the teams that came after them.
The Dream Team vs. Redeem Team Has Become A Big Debate Around The NBA
This has become a big debate around the league, and depending on who you ask, you’ll get a different response. Back in September, fellow Fadeaway World writer Eddie Bittar wrote a piece comparing these two teams and detailing who would win if they clashed.
The 1992 Dream Team was the first one composed of professional players and the NBA decided to send the best of the best to Barcelona. With huge legends like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen, they had no competition on their way to the gold medal. The Dream Team won all their eight games, averaging a point differential of 44. They ended up beating Croatia in the gold-medal game, 117-85.
As for the Redeem Team, they had a big responsibility after the fiascos of the 2004 Olympics, where they fell in the semifinals of that tournament, as well as the 2006 FIBA World Cup, where Greece shocked them at the same stage.
They went to Beijing carrying a lot of pressure, but in the end, that helped them bond and become a machine that only racked up wins. They would beat Spain in the gold-medal game, 118-107, taking back their spot as the rulers of international basketball, becoming one of the most iconic teams the Olympic tournament has ever seen.
Still, the younger generation has more memories from the 2008 team than the one that played 16 years before. LeBron James explained why he considers the Redeem Team the most powerful team in USA Basketball history, naming one key factor behind his reasoning.
It’s not a secret that Team USA has had incredible squads over the years and these two, along with the 2012 team, are the most iconic. We’ll have to wait a long time before watching teams with the same level of quality. Meanwhile, fans enjoy the debates to know which squad was the best one to represent the U.S.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
