Michael Jordan doesn't think you heard him the first time when he said that there's "no comparison" between the 1992 Dream Team and this year's Olympic basketball team. So, he just reiterated his point to help sell the NBA2K13video game that gives gamers the opportunity to pit the '92 team against the 2012 team. And, he went a little bit more in-depth than he did the first time.
"I know Kobe said some things early on," he told Sports Illustrated, "and I responded to those—where the '92 Dream Team, I felt, was a more well-rounded basketball team. He felt we were a little bit old, but we only had two players that were over 30 at the time—that was Magic [Johnson] and Larry [Bird]. Everybody else was 29 or below [Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, and John Stockton actually turned 30 shortly before or during the Olympics], so I think that the team itself would have been well-rounded defensively, offensively, inside, outside."
Specifically, he doesn't feel like the '12 team could cover the '92 team in the paint. "I just felt like we had enough size that we could contend with the 2012 team," he said. "I think one of the things the 2012 team lacked was size, you know? We probably would have attacked them from inside and outside, and I think that would have been pretty much solidified [for the '92 team's defense] with shot-blockers as well as perimeter defensive players."
"In terms of how the game is played from an offensive standpoint and a defense standpoint—from a team standpoint—I feel like we were much more solid defensively," he continued. "We could definitely guard the perimeter and force them to penetrate to shot-blockers, which I felt like would've made a big difference with this team in 2012. They only had one shot-blocker. Granted, I know LeBron [James] and some of those guys can still block shots. It's not the same defense and it's not the same intensity."
Whew. Okay. Mike really went in with his explanation!
So, there you go. Case closed. Er, we think hope. Now that the 2012 Summer Olympics are over, can we please give it a rest, guys?
RELATED: Why This Year's Team USA Basketball Squad Is Not Better Than the 1992 Dream Team
[via SI]
