Dream Deam vs Today's Team

It's been an ongoing debate this week, fueled by players past and present.  Who would win in a match up between the 1992 Dream Team and the current Team USA group preparing to represent their country in the upcoming Olympics this summer?

"It'd be a tough one, but I think we'd pull it out," said Kobe Bryant, when asked if this team could beat the legendary group filled with Hall of Famers.

Not so fast, fired back a few members from that original team, including Michael Jordon, Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley.  They all had a rather gloomy outlook when it came to the prospect of this team even being anywhere near their level.

Personally, I like Larry Bird's response: "They probably could [beat us].  I haven't played in 20 years and we're all old now."  Clever answer Larry Legend, but let's presume that this conversation is about how the current team would do against the 1992 version of the players from those teams, not the group of old men that they have since become.

When you look at the roster for this year's Olympic team you will see plenty of star power.  The roster is loaded with All-Stars, along with a reigning MVP that many believe is well on his way to becoming one of the greatest players of all time.  However, the Dream Team had plenty of proven stars in their own right.  Every member of that team is now in the Hall of Fame, aside from Christian Laettner (who made the team based on his college accomplishments, but never achieved his potential at the NBA level).  This year's team certainly has several players that one day will likely make the Hall of Fame as well, but it's safe to say that they won't have nearly as many as the Dream Team had.

One advantage the current team has is it's youth.  A 33 year old Bryant is the elder statesman on the roster.  While he may be starting the decline phase of his career, the rest of the roster is filled with players that are in their prime or still on the rise.  The Dream Team boasted flashy names like Bird and Magic, but their careers were essentially over at that point.  If all players involved were in the prime of their careers it would shift the scale sharply in the Dream Team's favor. 

For the purposes of this argument, let's assume that all the Dream Team members were the same age and skill level that they were at in '92, while all of this year's team are at their current age and level.  With that in mind, let's see how the teams break down to help determine which team would win, based on their statistics from their most recent season prior to the Olympics.

* Note: we'll remove Christian Laettner and the recently added Anthony Davis from the comparison since both were coming out of college at the time they were added to the Olympic team.

Dream Team ('91-'92 season):
Michael Jordon - 30.1 ppg, 6.4 rbs, 6.1 ast, .579 TS%, 27.7 PER, 17.7 Win Shares
Larry Bird - 20.2 ppg, 9.6 rbs, 6.8 ast, .547 TS%, 21 PER, 5.5 WS
Magic Johnson - 19.4 ppg, 7.0 rbs, 12.5 ast, .623 TS%, 25.1 PER, 15.4 WS
Charles Barkley - 23.1 ppg, 10.1 rbs, 4.2 ast, .612 TS%, 24.5 PER, 12.3 WS
Clyde Drexler - 25.0 ppg, 6.6 rbs, 6.7 ast, .560 TS%, 23.6 PER, 12.8 WS
Patrick Ewing - 24.0 ppg, 11.2 rbs, 1.9 ast, .563 TS%, 22.8 PER, 13.0 WS
Scottie Pippen - 21 ppg, 7.7 rbs, 7.0 ast, .555 TS%, 21.5 PER, 12.7 WS
Karl Malone - 28 ppg, 11.2 rbs, 3.0 ast, .599 TS%, 25.4 PER, 15.1 WS
John Stockton - 15.8 ppg, 3.3 rbs, 13.7 ast, .590 TS%, 22.8 PER, 13.4 WS
Chris Mullin - 25.6 ppg, 5.6 rbs, 3.5 ast, .586 TS%, 19.9 PER, 10.8 WS
David Robinson - 23.2 ppg, 12.2 rbs, 2.7 ast, .597 TS%, 27.5 PER, 13.9 WS

Today's Team ('11-'12 season):
LeBron James - 27.1 ppg, 7.9 rbs, 6.2 ast, .605 TS%, 30.7 PER, 14.5 WS
Kobe Bryant - 27.9 ppg, 5.4 rbs, 4.6 ast, .527 TS%, 21.9 PER, 6.2 WS
Kevin Durant - 28.0 ppg, 8.0 rbs, 3.5 ast, .610 TS%, 26.2 PER, 12.2 WS
Kevin Love - 26.0 ppg, 13.3 rbs, 2.0 ast, .568 TS%, 25.4 PER, 10.0 WS
Tyson Chandler - 11.3 ppg, 9.9 rbs, 0.9 ast, .708%, 18.7 PER, 9.5 WS
Carmelo Anthony - 22.6 ppg, 6.3 rbs, 3.6 ast, .525 TS%, 21.1 PER, 6.2 WS
Chris Paul - 19.8 ppg, 3.6 rbs, 9.1 ast, .581 TS%, 27.0 PER, 12.7 WS
Russell Westbrook - 23.6 ppg, 4.6 rbs, 5.5 ast, .538 TS%, 22.9 PER, 7.9 WS
James Harden - 16.8 ppg, 4.1 rbs, 3.7 ast, .660 TS%, 21.1 PER, 9.3 WS
Deron Williams - 21 ppg, 3.3 rbs, 8.7 ast, .527 TS%, 20.3 PER, 4.1 WS
Andre Iguodala - 12.4 ppg, 6.1 rbs, 5.5 ast, .537 TS%, 17.6 PER, 7.3 WS

These numbers, which are only a handful among many useful statistics, don't tell the whole story.  Certain players have skills that don't translate as well to these particular types of stats.  These stats were also compiled in different eras, where pace, rule changes and the talent level of their opponents varies enough to make the comparison uneven.  What these numbers do is give us some idea about what kind of production each of these players was able to provide at that point in their careers.  Going based on these numbers, it's clear that Today's Team has the advantage of having the player with the best statistical season (LeBron), while the Dream Team had more depth of elite talent.  Granted many of the players from Today's Team are still young and on the rise, but the team only has a few players that are virtual locks to become Hall of Famers. 

Looking at these numbers, Barkley may not have been far off when he suggested that only a few players from this team - LeBron, Kobe, Durant - are good enough to have even made the team if they played back in '92.  You could probably add Chris Paul to that list as well.

The Dream Team also has a huge size advantage.  Tyson Chandler is the only legitimate center on Today's Team.  He's a great defensive player, but he would have a hard time matching up with Ewing and Robinson all game.  Kevin Love could hold his own as a rebounder, but he's not yet a good enough defender to stop either of them.

Today's Team does get a bit of an edge for being built more like a real team, rather than a collection of the league's best All-Stars.  They have guys like James Harden that are comfortable coming off the bench.  They have defensive stoppers in Chandler and Iguodala that can make an impact on the game without having to worry about how many touches they get on offense.  Also, keep in mind that a lot of today's young players grew up playing with or against each other from an early age.  A lot of these guys have known each other as far back as high school.  You didn't have that 20 years ago.  These guys know each other pretty well, have developed friendships with each other and know how to play to each other's strengths.  That would help them work well together as a team.  The Dream Team thrived on their competitive juices taking control and fueling them to want to out perform their teammates.  Nobody fits that description more than Jordan, who was famous for trying to destroy his teammates during practice.  Perhaps that competitive nature helped push them to play at their best, but it doesn't seem conducive to a productive team environment. 

In the end, I believe the talent level of the original Dream Team would prevail.  LeBron may be coming off the best statistical season of anyone on the list, but Jordan is the game's all time greatest player.  When deciding which of them to take if you needed to win one game, MJ in his prime wins hands down.  There's no way that he doesn't find a way to will his team to victory.  After that, Today's Team just can't keep up with the depth of the Dream Team. 

It would be a closer match up if Today's Team had all of the league's top player available to it, but injuries have deprived the team of stars like Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose.  Those three could have made a difference in this match up, but since they aren't on the team they can't factor into this discussion. 

That leaves the Dream Team as the best team to represent USA in the Olympics.  Perhaps 20 years from now we'll look back at Today's Team and marvel at the collection of all-time greats the same way we do with the Dream Team, but these guys haven't made it to that level yet. 

Let's see Today's Team make an undefeated run to the Gold Medal before we start anointing them the best at anything.