When a standard roster of athletes representing a country at the Olympics gets dubbed the ‘dream‘, you know that squad is not ordinary. The 1992 combination of NBA superstars on one team was bigger and better than any All-Star combination the NBA had created. Lifelong rivals Magic Johnson and Larry Bird as teammates? Michael Jordan fresh off leading the Chicago Bulls to the franchise’s first two titles? It was more about watching the ultimate fantasy lineup of the ’90s play than winning a Gold.

The pressure of living up to the Dream Team’s standards and winning Gold felt heavier on the teams that came after. Particularly on LeBron James & Co. Bron and Kevin Durant are on their fourth Olympic run with first-time Olympian, Stephen Curry. They came off a season where none of them made it past the first round of the playoffs. Post for post, stat for stat, which Team USA stacks higher for its individual stars?

Michael Jordan vs Jordan 2.0

The Jordan vs LeBron GOAT debate is getting stale. Going into the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, 29-year-old Michael Jordan had averaged 30.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 6.1 assists in the 1991-92 season. Not to mention he had two rings by then. He was the bonafide face of the Dream Team. Bron is a forward, so in the battle of the shooting guards comes in ‘Air Apparent’ Anthony Edwards.

By all accounts, he’s in his breakout phase. At 22, Edwards is gaining comparisons to Jordan for leading his Minnesota Timberwolves to the Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years. Across four seasons in a young career, he’s averaged 22.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists.

Edwards anointed himself the “No.1 option” of Team USA and is arguably so. In 1992, that was MJ. Jordan’s career average between 1984 to 1992 was 32.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.9 assists, definitely more productive than a younger Edwards, but he’s got a lot of time to live up to that stat line.

He’s not accumulated as many awards yet, either. The 1992 Dream Team had more MVPs in total than the 2024 team. But they could add to that the longer they play.

Is it a Bird? or Bron?

This is not the traditional comparison but in the battle of the forwards, it’s 1992 Larry Bird vs 2024 LeBron James. The King in his fourth Olympic campaign is similar to Bird in 1992. At 36, Larry Legend was on the cusp of retirement, with three championships, 3 MVPs, and two Finals MVPs. He came off his 12th All-Star season and averaged 20.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 45 games in 1991-92.

In his 21st NBA season, 39-year-old LeBron has demonstrated relatively higher productivity than NBA stars in the past. This season he made 25.7 points, 8.3 assists, and 7.3 rebounds and led the Lakers to the playoffs. Bron also has relatively more Olympian experience than most of the Dream Team.

So does Kevin Durant. Individually, KD had a spectacular season averaging 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 5.0 assists. But he was in a team with visible gaps in the rotation which didn’t take the Phoenix Suns farther enough. The current Team USA structure puts him in a better position to win the fourth gold medal of his career.

The greatest point guard is in the Dream Team

1992 was Magic Johnson’s first Olympic appearance as 2024 will be Stephen Curry’s after forgoing 2020 and 2016 for health concerns. But Curry heads to Paris with an interesting backstory.

Magic had announced his retirement in 1991 with his HIV diagnosis. But by most standards, he had a few seasons left in him. His return to the court through the Dream Team was a cultural reset in taking away the stigma from the disease. And with five titles, he was the biggest champion on the squad. Even Michael Jordan acknowledged that.

So when Curry declared himself the greatest point guard of all time in 2023, MJ pulled the brakes. Jordan conveyed via Stephen A. Smith that Curry is close, “but not in front of Magic.” And Magic said that if Curry got more than five rings, three Finals MVPS, and three MVPs, then he’s better than him. Until then, Magic knows he is the greatest point guard of all time. To his credit, Curry acknowledged it later. Now he has the chance to match Magic with at least a gold medal. Statistically, which team is looking good ahead of Paris?

Stay tuned for more such updates. And to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.