Magic Says Team USA Reminds Him Of First “Dream Team”

The Fort Worth Star Telegram in an interview with NBA Hall of Fame guard and Los Angeles Laker Earvin”Magic” Johnson revealed that the former superstar had some high praise for the 2007 Team USA. In an interview with NBA beat writer Jan Hubbard, Johnson one of the stars of the original 1992 USA Olympic “Dream Team” said this edition of Team USA reminds him of that first team.

Johnson drew comparisons between Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan an Scottie Pippen, Carmelo Anthony to Charles Barkley, and between Jason Kidd, LeBron James, and himself. If you can remember that far back, you will remember that the 1992 “Dream Team” were looked at by the rest of the world with awe and admiration. Many sportswriters have compared them to the Beatles, I’ll go one step further, it’s as if the Greek Gods came down fom Mount Olympus and frolicked besides the mortals. And the rest of the world had not caught up with the USA basketball wise, sure there were some good Eastern European teams but the rest of the world was in Basketball infancy. Many roundballs fans in this country said the USA should go back to NCAA players because this country had such an unfair advantage.

Fast forward 15 years to 2007, the International game has come into it’s own with players like Manu Ginobli, Tony Parker, Leandro Barbosa, Steve Nash, and Dirk Nowitzki. The 2004 Team USA was the “Nightmare Team” selfish players and an autocratic coach in Larry Brown. This team did not lap the competition, they ended up third winning only the bronze. The same result happened last year in the World Games, Team USA ended up with a disappointing bronze.

Team USA reinvented itself this year adding players like Jason Kidd, and Kobe Bryant. As a very vocal critic of Bryant in the past let me say that he seems to have undergone an epiphany during the FIBA Championship of the Americas. He is playing the best defense I have ever seen him play, and is truly playing unselfish basketball. One can only hope that this is a permanent change.

And can enough be said about Coach K. Mike Kryzewski ? The first “Dream Team ” had Chuck Daly one of the greats of the 1980’s and ’90’s, he basically gave his guys as much latitude as they wanted because after all these guys were all accomplished pros. But Krzyzewski has had to play it differently, he had to teach but not in a patronizing way, he has pulled it off perfectly. Whether in the long run this team does turn into a team like the 1992 team remains to be seen. But they have definitely started out on the right course.