With the rise of the new USA basketball team following their recent gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, basketball fans are debating the best USA team of all time. The 1992 “Dream Team” is seen as the best basketball team ever created; however, some are starting to think the 2024 team is better, despite the tight competition this summer.

Many fans believe that the 1992 Dream Team is superior due to the 2024 Olympic team’s recent struggles in the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer. The 2024 squad barely avoided a shocking upset loss against South Sudan, a clearly inferior opponent, and it took late-game heroics in a few games to win the gold medal.

NBA expert Giorgus Kyriakidis attributes the difference in Olympic success to the era, arguing the 1992 USA team had easier opponents. “The rest of the world had not caught up to the NBA’s level of play.” However, when talking about the 2024 team, Kyriakidis states, “the rest of the world has caught up to USA basketball” and “the games are more competitive.”

Comparing the stats, the 1992 Dream Team is better. According to basketnews.com, the players on the 1992 Dream Team, as a whole, scored 267,000 points, earned 23 champion titles, 100 All-NBA selections, and 14 MVP awards.

Meanwhile, the 2024 team has 189,000 points, 15 champion titles, 59 All-NBA selections, and 8 MVP awards. 

In terms of coaching, the the 1992 Dream Team was coached by Piston’s head coach, Chuck Daly. Daly coached his players to play aggressively; for example, he never called one timeout during the Barcelona games. Moreover, Daly was reportedly incredible at bringing people together. He took people with different personalities and backgrounds and would make a united team. 

The 2024 Olympic team was coached by the Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerr. It was Kerr’s first time as the head coach, but he has been to the Olympics before. In 2020, he was the assistant coach and the United States won gold there as well. 

Saint Paul’s sophomore Ben Sikes attributed the 2024 team’s success to Kerr. “The chemistry allowed them to come back in big games and dominate others,” said Sikes. Kerr would show them how to lead and how to solve problems, and then, in games, he let the team do their thing. Kerr has always been a very positive influence on his players, and it’s one of the reasons Kerr has won several championships with Golden State.

When it comes to the Dream Team’s skills, they had a different style of offense. Their offense revolved around mismatches, passing, and vision of the court. For scoring, their go-to players were Michael Jordan and Larry Bird. When asked about Jordan’s skills, Bird once said, “It’s just God disguised as Michael Jordan.”

On defense, the Dream Team was known for suffocating the opposing team’s offense. The team had Jordan and Scottie Pippen on the outside and Patrick Ewing and David Robinson on the inside, not allowing the opponents to get to the paint.  

The 1992 Dream Team played aggressively. They used their overwhelming speed, passing, and power to dominate on offense. On defense, they pressed the opponents, causing them to make a mistake, and then they would steal the ball on a regular basis.  

The 2024 USA team’s offense wasn’t scared to shoot the ball. In fact, many of the shots taken were three-pointers, a sign of a new era of basketball. This team also focused on isolation plays and dragging an extra defender to allow someone to open up. 

On the defense, the 2024 squad would rely on switching. They utilized their athleticism and were able to guard many positions. In addition, this USA team was bigger than most teams and wasn’t afraid to use their bodies. 

The 2024 team played smart by using their advantages to their fullest. Steph used his superior shooting and shoot threes; LeBron James used his height and speed to grab rebounds and dunk, and the other players used their skill sets. On defense, the 2024 team was constantly moving, covering all spaces of the court. This allowed them to cover space and opposing players at the same time.  

If the 1992 Dream Team faced off against the 2024 Olympic team (assuming both teams were in their prime), I believe the game would start with the 1992 team dominating the 2024 team and going up early due to a major contrast in style of play and aggressiveness inside. However, as the game went on, the 2024 team would learn and adjust to the 1992 Dream Team’s play style, and they would have the athleticism and coaching to counter it.

After halftime, it would be an even match, as Michael Jordan would keep things close, but the current team would score more than the 1992 team. I imagine it would come down to the last 20 seconds of the game with the 2024 team on offense for the last time; they are down by two and need to score. They would pass it around, looking for an opening, and find Steph Curry in the corner, and he would shoot a three with 5 seconds left…