Team USA Basketball: Redeem Team Greatest Ever? Not So Fast...

Congratulations to the “Redeem Team”—you did it, you won gold. 

Don’t get me wrong—any time you win a gold medal, it’s something to be proud of. But let’s be honest—when you take a collection of the premier basketball league’s greatest stars and pit them against a collection of guys who would never make it in the NBA, who do you expect to win?

Some people have put the Redeem Team up against much more difficult competition—the 1992 USA Olympic Men’s basketball team.  But make no mistake about it—the original Dream Team would beat this year’s team every single time.

As this argument has sprung up all over the internet in recent days, I’ve seen a lot of people who are quick to spout off on the ’92 team's Big Three—Jordan, Magic, and Larry.  Remember, kids—Marty McFly didn’t make the trip to Barcelona, and Larry and Magic were way past their primes by then. 

That, however, is the greatness of the Dream Team—they didn’t need them.

In his column for Yahoo! Sports, Dan Wetzel tries to compare the two teams, and while many of the matchups are interesting to dream about, the reality is that it wouldn’t be close on the court.

Wetzel is intrigued by the idea of Kobe guarding Michael Jordan—but I’m not.  MJ was at his biggest in the biggest games, against the biggest opponents.  As good as Kobe is, he couldn’t withstand the greatest of all time, in his prime, in his element. 

Unlike the current incarnation of the team, the Dream Team had Pippen, Stockton and Mullin—players who could hit a mid-range jumper, as well as the ever-challenging free throw. 

Yes, Team USA ’08 is more athletic—but the Dream Team didn’t have to be.  Hooray for outside shooting! 

And before you talk about how Kobe, Melo, D-Wade and LeBron will be getting to the rim all day, think again.  The Redeem Team is only shooting 67 percent from the free throw line, and there’s no way Sir Charles would let them get to the rim without earning it. 

Speaking of the Round Mound of Sound, why is it those pro-Redeemers are so quick to say, “who is going to guard LeBron/Wade/Carmelo?” and so slow to answer who is going to guard Barkley/Malone/Ewing/Robinson? 

Carmelo Anthony cares as much about defense as Barry Bonds does about being a good teammate.  If you had to bet, would you take Chris Bosh or Karl Malone?  Also, let’s not forget to mention the awesome defensive presence that is Carlos Boozer—oh, wait...

Another thing I’m hearing is how good the international game has gotten.  Give me a break.  Just because they played like garbage in 1992 doesn’t mean they’re NBA-caliber now. 

The Miami Dolphins went 1-15 last year. If they go 6-10 this year, they’ve really improved—but guess what?  They still stink!

This year’s men’s Olympic team looked amazing and has a bright future, but let’s not get carried away.  Let’s not let our want to say “this is the greatest ever” cloud rational thought. 

When you have a team with a Hall of Famer at every position and another team with Michael Redd on it, who do you think is going to win? 

If you want to say that the current players will be Hall of Famers, too, that’s fine—but come back to me after the induction speeches.  Until then, let’s all take a break from our latest-and-greatest sports fandom to appreciate true greatness.