Move Over Jordan, Pippen — a New ‘Dream Team’ Is Set To Wow the Paris Games

The Dream Team that represented the United States at the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona is the best collection of basketball talent ever assembled. But the 2024 Team USA headed to the Olympics in Paris might be the best since then.Here’s the skinny for those too young to remember the Dream Team that rolled into Barcelona like rock stars and dominated like gladiators. It was the first American Olympic team allowed to include professional players from the National Basketball Association. Coached by the late Chuck Daly, the American squad consisted of Michael Jordan, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Larry Bird, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Chris Mullin, and Clyde Drexler. Christian Laettner from Duke was added to acknowledge the previous years when the team consisted of amateurs.With star-struck fans tracking their every move throughout Barcelona, the Dream Team didn’t hold back on the court. Their closest margin of victory was 38 points in a 119-81 beat down of Puerto Rico in the semifinals. The Americans trounced Venezuela in the gold medal game, 80-47. All eleven pros are enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The Dream Team was inducted as a unit in 2010.There will never be a better basketball team. But the 2024 group might be the best since then, even in an era where international players are much better than they were three decades ago.The 12-man roster includes LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Bam Adebayo, Tyrese Haliburton, and Derrick White, who replaces Kawhi Leonard, who withdrew from Team USA to prepare for the upcoming NBA season.Steve Kerr is the head coach assisted by Erik Spoelstra, Tyronn Lue, and Gonzaga coach Mark Few. They formally began preparation for Paris with an 86-72 win over Canada in an exhibition game Wednesday night before 20,757 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.“The best thing about tonight is that defensively we were in tune,” Mr. James said. “Offensively, that’s all about timing and it’s going to take some time with more practice. But I thought we all had great intentions and it was a good start for us.”Mr. Kerr enjoys a wealth of talent to mold into a cohesive unit. The roster includes four MVPs in Mr. James, Mr. Curry, Mr. Embiid, and Mr. Durant. Mr. James is playing in the Olympics for the first time since 2012, while Mr. Curry is playing in his first ever. Mr. Embiid, the 2022-23 NBA MVP, holds citizenship in France but elected to play for Team USA.“It’s just fun to be around so many great players,” Mr. Embiid said before the game against Canada. “Everything is serious because we’ve got a goal to accomplish. It’s all about maximizing the amount of time we have together to be on the same page.”Team USA is looking for a fifth-consecutive Olympic Gold medal, but the task isn’t getting easier. The Dream Team in Barcelona didn’t face the type of international competition the 2024 Team faces. R.J. Barrett, Dillon Brooks, and Jamal Murray are on Team Canada; Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama lead Team France; Nikola Jokic headlines Team Serbia; and Rui Hachimura tops Japan’s roster. Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo led Greece past Luka Doncic and Slovenia in the Olympic qualifier.Mr. Kerr’s also certain to remind his team that Germany defeated a USA team led by Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges in the semifinals of the World Cup last year“We’re just seeing more and more NBA players on the court,” Mr. Kerr said. “Last year Germany beat us in the semifinals with five or six NBA players. What all these teams have now is more and more talent to go with the continuity that they have with these guys playing every summer while our teams tend to change.” Mr. Kerr added “the challenge for us is to come together as a team quickly because we’re not used to playing together and embrace the challenge of these teams getting better and better every year.”Only a gold medal puts 2024 Team USA in the conversation with the 1992 Dream Team. With four more exhibition games before Paris, Team USA must jell quickly. “We’ve got a long way to go to get to where we want to get,” Mr. James said.

Move Over Jordan, Pippen — a New ‘Dream Team’ Is Set To Wow the Paris Games

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