Debating hypotheticals in sports is always enjoyable. Colin Cowherd delved into this topic on “The Herd” on Thursday, making a provocative comparison between Team USA 2024's Jayson Tatum and Scottie Pippen from the Dream Team.
Cowherd examined the rosters of this year's team and the '92 Dream Team, attempting to determine which roster was superior.
At first glance, it seemed like an impossible task that could only be settled with a time machine. However, the FS1 host didn't believe the debate was even close.
“This team’s bench has starters that team,” he said.
Cowherd standing on Jayson Tatum being better than Scottie Pippen
He emphasized that today's basketball players are more skilled than those from the past and pointed out that this year's team will face much tougher competition compared to what the Dream Team encountered.
Colin Cowherd continued to emphasize the advanced skills of modern players. While he acknowledged Michael Jordan’s dominance on the Dream Team, he remarked that Larry Bird was “shot” in 1992, noting that Bird retired shortly after winning gold with the United States.
“Scottie Pippen, I covered him in Portland, not close to Jayson Tatum. Patrick Ewing’s not nearly as good as Anthony Davis. Christian Laettner on that team. (Anthony Edwards) off the bench on this team? What are we talking about here?” Cowherd continued.
In his first seven seasons, Tatum has averaged 23.1 points and 7.2 rebounds, surpassing Pippen's career averages of 16.1 points and 6.4 rebounds. Nevertheless, Pippen's six NBA championships outweigh Tatum's recent first title win this season.
The game has changed
“The flexibility, the bigs now can handle the ball and shoot. Back then, centers had a range of about 12 feet, you dump it to them, they pound the ball, slow everything up, that stuff doesn’t last.”
Cowherd even took a jab at Dwight Howard during his explanation saying, “You start looking at Dwight Howard’s career. He’s the line of demarcation, Dwight Howard prodigy in highschool, walks into the NBA, about halfway into his career, he couldn’t do anything. Back to the basket, couldn’t do anything, that what a lot of the bigs almost all of the bigs were.”
He also added how the game has changed today, “Today’s game is motion, and angles, and free flowing, and speed, and everybody could handle the ball. The Celtics won a title with an offense called ‘five-out.’ Everybody including Al Horford could sit in the corner and hit a three. ‘Five out’ you couldn’t play that game.”
The game has changed drastically since the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. European players have secured five of the last six NBA MVP awards, with no American players being MVP candidates this year. France, the Olympic host, has produced the top draft pick in each of the last two years with Victor Wembanyama in 2023, and Zaccharie Risacher this year.
Team USA 2024 vs. The Dream Team
“Look at the bench on this team so far. Look at the flexibility, it’s positionless basketball. It’s a thing of beauty. The game is global now, guys come into this league from overseas, they are ready to play. They’ve played against 20 year old guys and they’re 17 years old,” said Colin Cowherd.
This year's team roster is similar to that of the Dream Team in its structure. There are a few generational players leading the team, likely participating in their final Olympics. LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant have been the top American stars in the league for the past decade, with LeBron dominating for the last two decades.
Cowherd also stressed that the Dream Team has to figure out Steph Curry’s style.
“Anything has multiple ways to beat you, multiple lineups, completely flexible. The depth, the roster, the ball-handling, the shooting. It’s not close, it’s just a free flowing game.”
Comparing Team USA 2024 to the Dream Team inevitably stirs debates across different NBA fan bases. It's premature to definitively judge which team is superior.
Given the current landscape of international basketball, there's uncertainty about whether Team USA 2024 can replicate the dominant performances of the 1992 Dream Team, which averaged a 44-point margin of victory in Barcelona.
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