Redeem Team USA is not the Dream Team USA in mens basketball

Winning by just 7 points over Spain  does not allow you to best the original Dream Team USA that wins theirs by 32 over Croatia 117-85, but a gold medal is a gold medal no matter what year you, one or a team wins it. Being the 20th anniversary of the original Dream Team USA, when Chuck Dalys other bad boys of Barcelona came, saw and dominated their competition, some recently could not help but try and compare, if not compete, in saying the 1992 United States of America Mens Olympic Basketball team was some how insuperior to the 2012 version. As ignorant as that statement is, without going deep into statistics to prove scientifically how wrong it really is, this 2012 Redeem Team of London may be deeper, more athletic and more experienced than the 2008 Redeem Team of Beijing, but has absolutely nothing on the original 1992 Dream Team of Barcelona.

Under 1992 assistant coach and now 2012 head coach Mike Krzyzewski and current executive director Jerry Colangelo, Team USA Basketball slowly rebuilt itself after the mens gory year Olympic and world championship drought, which began after the 1996 Dream Team III brought home the last glory year gold and really took hold after the Athens embarrassment in 2004. Winning the gold in Beijing, through a final in which Team America defeated Spain 118–107, was a key piece in the rebuilding of a longlasting dynasty in major international competitions to be. However, no one expected what exactly was to come next, which I personally found to be very disappointing.

Statements came out saying the 2012 Team America at London was not just the Dream Team USA redux but actually better than the 1992 issue, somehow a team which could not find one player on its roster who now would play in all three of the latest major international competitions, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Istanbul 2010 Worlds and London 2012 Olympics, which is something an original member would likely have done, was somehow better and more superior than the other. After the 3rd place Team USA College edition finish for bronze at the Seoul 1988 Olympics, the Federation of International Basketball Association allowed professionals to play with amateurs, ironically despite votes from America and Russia against the proposal, to which the explosive popularization of the sport globally came wit, beyond anything anybody or anyone would have ever thought possible. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls, John Stockton and Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz, Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers, Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics, Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks, Chris Mullin of the Golden State Warriors, David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs, Charles Barkley of the Philadelphia 76ers, Clyde Drexler of the Portland Trail Blazers and Christian Laettner of the Duke University Blue Devils and Minnesota Timberwolves later, without alternates in Joe Dumars Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons and Shaquille O'Neal of the Louisiana State University Tigers and Orlando Magic later, all made the sport a very successful business worldwide, one where all the current National Basketball Association stars playing in Olympic and world championships today should be simply thankful for their humble global participaction.