A recent comparison between the 1992 USA Olympic Team and the 2024 Paris Olympics team has caught NBA fans off guard. As the majority of the sports world should know by now, the Paris Olympics are only a few days away from starting, and fans are excited to witness the international basketball tournament.
Over the years, Team USA has always added the best NBA players from the United States to their roster in order to maximize their chances of winning. That led to the formation of the 1992 Dream Team led by Chicago Bulls legend Micahel Jordan. The report comparing the 1992 and 2024 teams has generated quite a lot of reactions from fans. With that being said, let us take a closer look and find out more.
Fans notice that the 2024 USA Olympic team will be facing 59 international NBA players
The NBA has changed dramatically over the past few decades. During the past eras, the amount of international players in the league was extremely low when compared to current times. As a result, the Team USA basketball teams never faced much NBA-level competition at the international level.
The ‘92 Dream Team faced 5 NBA players
The ‘24 Team will face 59 NBA players 👀 pic.twitter.com/5ia6DRs2DC
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) July 23, 2024
It was revealed that the 1992 team faced off against just 5 players. On the other hand, the 2024 Team USA squad will have to get past 59 international NBA players hailing from different countries. This is certainly an interesting statistic and speaks to the change that has taken place in the league over the past few decades.
Upon finding out about this surprising gap, many fans took to social media and tried to discredit the 1992 team by discussing the drastic changes that have taken place in the NBA over the years, “That’s why the 92′ debate never made sense to me. The world has gotten much better at sports. Half of the top 10 best NBA players aren’t even from the US.”
That’s why the 92′ debate never made sense to me. The world has gotten much better at sports. Half of the top 10 best NBA players aren’t even from the US
— Ficky (@itsfickybaby) July 23, 2024
A huge difference that y’all are gonna overlook smh
— BigReese (@ReeseRomeo6) July 23, 2024
While there is no denying that the current Team USA will be facing other certified superstars from the league in the Olympics, fans are left wondering how the 1992 Team USA squad would have done if they were put in the same position.
The 1992 USA Olympic Team is still considered to be superior
It could be considered pointless to even discuss such hypotheticals in the first place. After all, there is really no way to tell how the 1992 Dream Team would have done against the current international competitions. However, given that the current 2024 squad has been struggling to establish dominance over teams like South Sudan, many believe that the 1992 Team USA roster would have been doing much better.
And the ’92 Dream Team would still beat them all. Just stop.
— Zachary Haines (@hainesforohio) July 23, 2024
Is this the new excuse ?
— King Capó (@cartagena_11) July 23, 2024
Is this a cop out?
— Mac Jetson ☥☮🇭🇹 (@iSeekTruth007) July 23, 2024
In any case, this also looks like an excuse to justify a potential loss that Team USA could face in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. The upcoming weeks will give fans a better scale of comparison between the current Team USA and the ones of the past.