This year marks the 20th anniversary for the 1992 Dream Team, the group of basketball superstars that forever changed the game. If you haven’t checked it out yet, do yourself a favor and watch the amazing NBA TV documentary, “The Dream Team”.
Not only did this elite squad inspire youth from around the world to pick up a basketball for the first time, jumpstarting the careers of guys like Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, but they instilled a sense of national pride in this country that many young kids had never before felt. One of my earliest sports memories is experiencing pure awe at the dazzling passes, the seemingly unreachable alleys and the thundering oops that followed.
This year’s Olympic squad is packed with a new group of basketball heavyweights, but nothing will ever compare to that team, comprised of 11 future superstars (and the hilariously inadequate Christian Laettner), led by a coaching staff that included two more Hall of Famers in Chuck Daly and Mike Krzyzewski, the current Olympic coach. While the team itself is incomparable, fun can still be had from finding current comparisons for each member of the team. The attempt is not to create a current Dream Team, but rather to simply pay individual homage to each player by recognizing their current counterpart.
THE CREATORS
Magic Johnson: LeBron James
Magic is a rare player who transcended a single position – a 6’9” creator capable of playing all five positions. In my mind, there’s only one modern player who can compare, and it’s the game’s current best.
Other candidates: None
John Stockton: Chris Paul
Stockton holds the NBA records for most assists and steals, an amazing honor for a single player. Chris Paul is a threat to lead the league in both categories in any given season (2nd in both in 2012, 4th and 1st in 2011, and 1st in both in 2009).
Other candidates: Steve Nash, Tony Parker
THE SWINGMEN
Michael Jordan: Kobe Bryant
The world may never see another Jordan, but Kobe is the closest I’ve seen since: a dominant wing scorer with unmatched athleticism and a wicked competitive nature.
Other candidates: Dwyane Wade
Clyde Drexler: Dwyane Wade
Wade deserves some credit for his willingness to take a backseat to LeBron this season for the betterment of the team. He has shown the ability to lead a team, evidenced by his inclusion above as a candidate for Jordan’s comparison. But Drexler too boasted an all-around game, finishing with career averages of 20/6/5, closely mirroring Wade’s 26/6/5.
Other candidates: Rudy Gay
Scottie Pippen: Kevin Durant
Some may see this comparison as an insult to Durant, and while it may not fully take into account his ability to dominate a game, Pippen is much more than Robin to Jordan’s Batman. In his prime a 20/8/6 threat, Pippen could also change the game on the defensive end, something Durant is showing an increased ability to do. Bonus points for them both being drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics, a fact fans often forget for both players.
Other candidates: Carmelo Anthony, Danny Granger, Rudy Gay, Paul Pierce
Larry Bird: Dirk Nowitzki
GASP, a non-American! Recall that the point of the column isn’t what I think the current U.S. Olympic team should look like. That’s been done to death. I don’t want to write that tired piece, and you don’t want to read it. What we’re doing here is finding current comparisons for each Dream Teamer, and Dirk and Bird’s game are strikingly similar. They're both creative big men who extend defenses out to the arc and show unexpected athleticism and playmaking ability for their size.
Other candidates: Kevin Durant
Chris Mullin: James Harden
Admit it, you thought I was gonna choose Mike Miller, didn’t you? Mullin was a efficient scorer with high percentages across the board, including 51% from the field, 38% from distance and 86% from the stripe. These match up favorably to Harden’s 2012 averages (and projected future averages) of 49%/39%/85%. While Harden doesn’t score in the mid-20s like Mullin, he hasn’t been asked to. If he decides to leave OKC for more money in his next contract, look for The Beard to increase his scoring as he’s tasked with leading a team.
Other candidates: Carmelo Anthony
THE BIGS
Charles Barkley: Kevin Love
This felt like an easy one. Both are undersized, scrappy double-double machines who can battle in the paint with the best of them.
Other candidates: Paul Millsap, Lebron James
Karl Malone: Blake Griffin
The Mailman was a freight train with tracks leading straight to the hoop. If you got in his way, you paid for it, much the same way Griffin makes victims of brave (and stupid) defenders who choose to challenge him at the rim. Both players show a strength and athleticism that’s near impossible for a single defender to handle.
Other candidates: Amare Stoudemire, LaMarcus Aldridge
David Robinson: Dwight Howard
They came into the league under very different circumstances – The Admiral a 24-year-old fresh off serving in the Navy, Howard as an 18-year-old straight out of high school – but their games are very similar. Both are true centers with elite rebounding and defensive skills. Howard would be smart to seek out Robinson as a mentor, and end the current Dwightmare.
Other candidates: None.
Patrick Ewing: Andrew Bynum
The fact that Bynum gets compared to a Dream Teamer shows the dearth of big men in today’s NBA, and is frankly an insult to Patrick Ewing. That said, I’ve tasked myself with picking a comparison for every player, and Bynum is as close as it gets among modern choices.
Other candidates: None.
Christian Laettner: Anthony Davis
I’ll be honest, I didn’t think about this one too much because Laettner is very much an afterthought when looking over this roster. I simply went with the most widely-respected collegiate about to be drafted.
Other candidates: None.
There you have it. But before you starting screaming about the glaring omissions, I remind you that this isn’t a list of the top players in the NBA, nor the players I’d select for the current Olympic team. These are the closest comparisons I could put together for each of the original Dream Teamers.
That means amazingly talented players like Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo all missed out because the Dream Team didn’t have an athletic PG like that (Magic was so much more than a PG). Had Isiah Thomas not been blacklisted from the team, those guys would have found a great comparison, but he didn’t, so they didn’t.
Debate time: Did I miss anyone? Disagree with a comparison? Let me know your thoughts in the Comments below. Without debate, sports just aren’t as fun.
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