I’m going to start out by saying that I don’t like Kobe Bryant. Shocking, I know. I very rarely say such outlandish things, but I just don’t like the guy. I don’t agree with what he says 90% of the time.
But when he and LeBron said that they could have beaten the Dream Team, I took some notice, and I think I agreed with him…I think.
As I write this I still don’t know who would win, I look at it from different angles and different matchups and can’t decide. So basically, I’m using this blog to decide whether I agree with Kobe and have no soul, or I disagree with him and can continue living as a good human being. No pressure or anything.
At the time the Dream Team was assembled, people said it was the greatest group of talent ever assembled. There were 12 players on the team, and 11 of them would end up in the Hall of Fame. The 12th player was the most hyped college player in the country at the time, and thought to be a lock to be an NBA star. It also included the best player of all time, the two players that saved the NBA in the 80’s, the first lottery pick, the best passing point guard of all time and his hall of fame teammate, and to top it all off they had one of the most physical players of all time in Charles Barkley to be their unofficial mouthpiece.
This 2012 team has the best players of the game today, and most of them are right in the prime of their careers. They definitely don’t have the star power that the original team did, but do they have the talent? I’m gonna give it a quick breakdown to convince myself of which one I’d pick.
Point Guard – The Dream Team had Magic Johnson, who was forced to retire the year before due to his contraction of the HIV virus, but he was still in his prime and is probably one of the top 5 players of all time. They also had John Stockton…only the leader all time in assists. So they were pretty stacked at this position. The 2012 team has Chris Paul and Deron Williams, pretty much the best American point guards alive today. Paul manages the game like no other and his leadership is unmatched. Even when you throw in the super-athletic Russell Westbrook, there’s no way that we could take anyone else over the combo of the leader of the “Showtime” Lakers and the all time best passing point guard ever…So the Dream Team takes it.
Shooting Guard – Kobe Bryant is here for 2012, along with James Harden, and that pretty much is it for the “2 guard” game in London. Westbrook can slide over and play the shooting guard spot if necessary, and the London team can even play Kevin Durant at the 2 for a matchup nightmare. However, when you have Michael Jordan on your team firmly entrenched at the 2…I don’t know if you can beat that.
Small Forward – This is where it starts to get dicey on who is better. The 2012 team has the most talent at this position with Carmelo Anthony, Andre Iguodala and Kevin Durant able to run at this position. The Dream Team had Larry Bird (whose back was at the point that he had retired the previous season) Chris Mullen and the invaluable Scottie Pippen. Pippen was kind of like a LeBron lite in the sense that he was a tall, strong, and physical defender and could lock down most players in the NBA. In my opinion, with Bird being hurt and LeBron’s advantage over Scottie, I think the current team is better here.
Power Forward – Yes, the dream team had Malone, who is a handful in himself, and they paired him with Stockton to form the greatest pick and roll combo the game has ever seen, but Barkley is the killer factor here. Charles Barkley in 1992 was a force of nature despite being only 6’4” he destroyed other power forwards. The only true Power forward here on the 2012 team is Kevin Love, and as good and smart as Love is, Barkley would eat him alive.
Center – Why is it there aren’t good centers anymore? The only true centers on the 2012 team are Tyson Chander (who is an excellent defensive player) and Anthony Davis, who, while talented, is a rookie. The Dream Team had Patrick Ewing and David Robinson. Ewing was just as good as Chandler defensively, but was miles ahead offensively. Robinson was even better on offense. Wow, big advantage for the ’92 team.
So, we can’t always just base a game on position analysis, there are other factors as well. The 2012 team’s greatest strength is its versatility. Kevin Durant can run anywhere from Shooting Guard to Power forward, and LeBron could play all 5 positions on the court. So, expectantly, the difference comes down to the traditional style of play vs the current flexible style. So, who would guard who? I see it this way:
Chris Paul – Magic Johnson
Kobe Bryant – Michael Jordan
Kevin Durant – Scottie Pippen
LeBron James – Charles Barkley
Tyson Chandler – Patrick Ewing
Besides a basketball fan’s fantasy-all time-my life can end now and I’m happy — matchups, these can go a bunch of different directions. I mean, Chris Paul would get manhandled by Magic Johnson, as Magic is a 6’9” point guard, but could Barkley handle James on the perimeter? Would there be switching? I’d say the Dream Team would want to match up like this:
Pippen – James
Jordan – Bryant
Ewing – Chandler
Barkley – Durant
Magic – Paul
Seems to me, that the biggest mismatch there is Durant against Barkley due to the height advantage, however Barkley would just be as physical as possible with Durant. I also don’t know if Pippen would truly be able to stay with LeBron, as James is so much stronger.
Hypothetical matchups can be talked about all day, however the biggest factor in this matchup would be the intangibles. Mainly, the confidence and moxie that each team has. The Dream Team has that by a million. Jordan was notorious for wanting to win at everything he ever did, while LeBron is notorious for disappearing in crunch time. (That’s a label he’s shed lately, but still.) The Dream Team didn’t want to just beat you, they wanted to break your spirit, and make you question why you even wanted to pay basketball in the first place. The 2012 team’s only player that possesses that drive is Kobe, and he ends up making poor decisions from time to time, meaning it would ultimately be their undoing.
Could the 2012 team beat the Dream Team? Sure, anyone can beat anyone on a given day, and I think the 2012 team could absolutely play a great game and take one from the Dream Team. But if we put them in an NBA-like seven game series. Jordan and Barkley would win, just like they always did. Can we get a time machine rolling for this matchup? I think every basketball fan in the history of mankind would watch this game, just to settle the debate once and for all.
Gray Areas 
Dream Team in six. Position by position breakdowns are nice, but at the end of the day, the chemistry isn’t there on 2012. While they would possess a large advantage on the fast break and open floor, the Dream Team, with Stockton and Magic at the helm, would have very few turnovers to get the break started. Even if you eliminate all other factors, the Dream Team’s phenomenal post play would simply destroy 2012’s versatile gameplan, which, so far this Olympics, has been good at everything, exceptional at nothing. If you compound this with chemistry (for example, Durant is deferring scoring too much), it’s really not even close. And lastly, if you’re going to go hypothetical, then go hypothetical–you have to include Bird on the team, even though he was hurt. The game is faster, stronger, and more athletic now, but the Dream Team is just too much.