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Kapil Dev  Joined: 11/23/2005 Posts: 1,692 Location: USA  
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I got to thinking about who was better stat wise. Before compiling the stats I figured that 2012 would have the advantage on points and assists and the Dream Team would have the big advantage in rebounds. From a stats basis alone the Dream team would blow out the 2012 Olympic team with ease. Now I did use Magic's stats from 90/91 and Christian Laettner's stats from 92/93 so it isn't perfect but gives a good idea of how much better they were then than now. All other stats (other than Anthony Davis) are from the 1991-1992 season or the 2011-2012 season. 
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Barack Obama  Joined: 9/20/2005 Posts: 16,516
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I don't think you can compare the teams in this way...
Do you really think Larry Bird would average close to 10 rebounds per game in this day and age?
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Kapil Dev Joined: 11/23/2005 Posts: 1,692 Location: USA
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Cold Dog wrote:I don't think you can compare the teams in this way...
Do you really think Larry Bird would average close to 10 rebounds per game in this day and age? Yeah ha, I just got bored and put some stats together. Do I think Bird could do that today? Yes, in my opinion the game was more physical back then. Guys played regular season games with the intensity that guys today play playoff games. Out of the guys on the 2012 team, the only ones that would make the Dream Team are LeBron James Kobe Bryant Kevin Durant MAYBE one of the three PGs (Westbrook, D-Will, CP3) to back up Stockton.
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Barack Obama  Joined: 9/24/2005 Posts: 15,004 Location: Australia
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Difficult to compare eras but bigmac raises a good point, there are a lot of players in the current team that wouldn't make it onto the 92 squad, Harden, Chandler, Iguodala.
The main difference is that the 92 team featured all the best players of that era (aside from Nique, Isiah Thomas and wish they chose Shaq over Laettner).
The current team? Can't say the same when Wade, D12, Bynum etc are not playing.
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Kapil Dev Joined: 11/23/2005 Posts: 1,692 Location: USA
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Thumbboy wrote:Difficult to compare eras but bigmac raises a good point, there are a lot of players in the current team that wouldn't make it onto the 92 squad, Harden, Chandler, Iguodala.
The main difference is that the 92 team featured all the best players of that era (aside from Nique, Isiah Thomas and wish they chose Shaq over Laettner).
The current team? Can't say the same when Wade, D12, Bynum etc are not playing. I don't think Wade would make that team and D12 would be behind David Robinson and Patrick Ewing at the very least. Derrick Rose I think would make it over Stockton though (Rose is American right?)
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Barack Obama Joined: 9/24/2005 Posts: 15,004 Location: Australia
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I mean those guys being absent from the 2012 team does not represent the full strength of the current NBA, the 92 team had all the best players available.
yeah if he was healthy, Rose is another notable one not playing. Not sure how he'll come back from his knee surgery though.
It's 20 years since the 92 team took the floor, current players are quicker and more athletic. The NBA had never seen someone like Lebron 20 years ago that is a freight train when he drives in the key with the strength to finish around the rim with heavy contact, hops to leap over a players head on an alley oop, or go on a tear from the perimeter and start launching threes. You're basically taking the strengths of Jordan, Barkley and Bird and putting them into a single player with better court vision than any of the 3.
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Eric Heiden  Joined: 9/24/2005 Posts: 2,902 Location: Hawaii
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The current team is more athletic and definitely benefits from newer technology, new exercise regimens and diet, however as far as skills and playing like a team go, most on the '12 team don't have it. They obviously aren't like the '92 team like Thumbboy said, in the sense that not all the top players want to or can play in the Olympics, however it is what it is, this is the team we put into the games. The '92 TEAM was just made up of great players, literally GREAT players, and they played like a team. I watched the US play Tunisia yesterday and it was pathetic, no outside shooting, couldn't break the Tunisia zone for much of the 2nd half. They used pure athleticism to finally break away in the 2nd half.
Its obvious that the game has changed worldwide, many countries have gained so much ground on the US that its ridiculous. When you look at today's NBA, many really good players are internationals, and it thinned the US pool of players some.
Thumb pointed out that with LeBron "you're basically taking the strengths of Jordan, Barkley and Bird and putting them into a single player with better court vision than any of the three", however you can't compare the competitive drive of the latter three to what is in LeBron. The '92 team was full of competitors, team players who were willing to put aside their personal stats to show the world what they could do. The way it looked yesterday against Tunisia, it was a "I'm gonna get mine" type of deal, players jacking shots all over the place in the first half. How the hell were they only up 5 with around 2 minutes left in the first half? That's redonkulous!
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Jesse Owens  Joined: 7/25/2006 Posts: 6,191 Location: Malaysia
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Lebron & other athletic players today may be attacking the rim with ease these days, but you have to think if he would find it so easy back then when guys like Dikembe, David Robinson, Ewing, Olajuwon, Shaq were patrolling the paint. On the other hand, I think guys like Malone & Barkley would also probably find it much easier to back their way into the paint against today's "power" forwards.
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Kapil Dev Joined: 11/23/2005 Posts: 1,692 Location: USA
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freakshow wrote:Lebron & other athletic players today may be attacking the rim with ease these days, but you have to think if he would find it so easy back then when guys like Dikembe, David Robinson, Ewing, Olajuwon, Shaq were patrolling the paint.
On the other hand, I think guys like Malone & Barkley would also probably find it much easier to back their way into the paint against today's "power" forwards.
If you think the Artest elbow on Harden this year was bad... Chucky B would make that look like a slap!
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Barack Obama Joined: 9/24/2005 Posts: 15,004 Location: Australia
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freakshow wrote:Lebron & other athletic players today may be attacking the rim with ease these days, but you have to think if he would find it so easy back then when guys like Dikembe, David Robinson, Ewing, Olajuwon, Shaq were patrolling the paint.
On the other hand, I think guys like Malone & Barkley would also probably find it much easier to back their way into the paint against today's "power" forwards.
It's hard to compare a league 20 years apart though and know exactly what would happen. You could say the older players were more physical, but that could just mean they get 2 quick fouls and get sent to the bench  Closest thing we can do is set up something like NBA 2K12 and simulate the game Rocky VI style, at least until someone can get the flux capacitor working and get up to 88mph lol 
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Eric Heiden Joined: 9/24/2005 Posts: 2,902 Location: Hawaii
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True, hard to compare 20 years apart, but I think that the '92 team had more skill, more unselfish, and definitely were tougher players. They wouldn't cry over injuries and sit out, they played through the pain. Today's players are pretty weak IMO, most of them anyway. If they have the flu they're out. If Jordan has the flu, he'll drop 50pts on you  .
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