Photo Credit: WENN
Now that the Olympics are behind us and both teams can be compared on the stat sheet, does Kobe Bryant need to apologize for his douche bag comment he made against the 1992 Olympic team comprising of NBA greats like Magic, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird & others?
Here’s Kobe’s comment to members of the press in Vegas right before the Olympics (Yahoo Sports):
“Well, just from a basketball standpoint, they obviously have a lot more size than we do — you know, with [David] Robinson and [Patrick] Ewing and [Karl] Malone and those guys,” Bryant said. “But they were also — some of those wing players — were also a lot older, at kind of the end of their careers. We have just a bunch of young racehorses, guys that are eager to compete.
“So I don’t know,” Bryant continued, the trace of a smile beginning to play its way across his face. “It’d be a tough one, but I think we’d pull it out.”
Capital New York did a comparison of the two teams:
But following the U.S.’s 107-100 victory over spain in Sunday’s gold-medal game, we can at least compare the stats of the two teams.
In eight games, the 1992 team shot 56.5 percent, while the 2012 team shot 52.3 percent. But the 2012 was more accurate from three-point range, on a greater volume of long-range attempts.
Defensively, the 1992 team has a major edge over their 2012 counterparts. Both teams held opponents to roughly the same percentage from three-point range, with 1992 checking in at 30.5 percent, 2012 at 33.2 percent. But the 1992 team’s opponents shot 39.3 percent on two-pointers; 2012′s opponents shot a far better 51.8 percent from two-point range.
The difference in defensive prowess on twos can be largely explained by a pair of factors. One is that the 1992 team had two of the finest defensive centers ever in Patrick Ewing and David Robinson. The 2012 team had Tyson Chandler, who averaged just 11 minutes per game, Anthony Davis, who averaged less than eight minutes per game, and long stretches without an interior defensive presence at all.
The other factor, and one that simply cannot be ignored, is that the competition is far better in 2012 than it was in 1992. The Lithuania team the U.S. destroyed in the 1992 semifinals probably would have struggled against teams like France and Argentina, which didn’t even medal in 2012. The Croatia team from the 1992 finals simply isn’t in the same class as the Spain team that gave the U.S. a fight for the gold on Sunday.
The 2012 team defeated its opponents by an average of 32.1 points, which is a lot less impressive than the 1992 team’s 43.8 point average.
But Kevin Durant’s Charles Barkley-like performance, along with LeBron James’ Olympic run, which easily outpaced Michael Jordan’s, will also be part of the debate going forward.
Say's anom aka too pussy to post on real name.
In true peasant fashion.
What? i can't go inline any farther, so have to comment on my own comment?
Kobe 12 is not better than in their primes Robinson, Malone, Barkley of 92. Kobe from a few years ago is different. I will grant that Lebron now is better than any of the 92 guys other than Jordan. Durant would get run over by Malone/Barkley, who he'd be forced to cover. He would give up as many scores and he gets. Westbrook is the same problem. You have him covering Magic, giving up 6 inches and 40-50 pounds?
lmfao. Its like you answer your question while you were asking it.
Wilt dominated like a beast because that era was full of scrubs. He was def way ahead of his time lol
People like you just fall in love with the monument of an era.. But evolution applies to everything. That was 50, 40, 20, 30 years ago.... these guys are much better now..
Yes, I have never seen Wilt play, but I can appreciate a player from past who dominated his era. Was Wilt playing against scrubs or was he that dominating? The NBA is more watered down today then ever, so how many scrubs are in the game today? I'm not a NBA historian, but Wilt is considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, player to play the game.
Of the players on the 2012 team, who would make the 92 team, besides Lebron, Durant, and Kobe? I'm not even sure if Kobe would make the 92 team at this stage of his career.
Besides the bigs we trump the other positions by far.
Kobe Bryant is better than anybody on that team except Jordan.
LeBron is better than anyone on that team except Jordan.
Durant is a better scorer than anyone on that team, including Jordan.
Nobody would be able to guard Westbrook. So many match up problems that size wont even be an issue.
I would say that since the early 90s, you can absolutely compare those players with today's players. Before then you are correct, the earlier generations couldn't compete with today's athletes at all. Where the 90s guys have their problems is that scouting, training, and medicine of today is on a completely different level.
You hit 33-34 back then, you're verging on washed up. Now, that is the age where you start to decline. Think about this, 92 Bird was finished, yet 12 Kobe is one and half year younger though he has played almost 2 seasons more of games. It's that way for all the older guys, no way Kidd, Nash, Duncan, Dirk, Fisher, Allen, Pierce, Garnett, etc would have never lasted this long back in the 90s. It also helps that the game is nowhere near as physical as it was back then. But these guys were also the bridge that played against the 90s guys. On the most part, these guys still put the same numbers against the current guys as against the old guys (taking into account declines due to age)
Those 90s guys would be fine in today's game. You think Shaq would be inferior to today's centers? Hakeem and Robinson owned him. Look at today's power forwards, Malone and Barkley would be fine. In their primes, Gary Payton/Allen Iverson, no problem. That's just CP3 and Westbrook. If Nash still has a job, Stockton would always too.
^^^Numbers represented rebounds in the 60's
Also heres some stats I just looked up
1) Wilt - 19,112
2) Russell - 17,501
3) Baylor - 9,786
4) Bellamy - 9,716
5) Lucas - 8,831
Yup they were both in a league full of scrubs.
No but Bill Russel was also playing vs a bunch of scrubs.
Was Bill Russell a scrub?
Kinda funny you chose "Wilt The Stilt" as your nickname but have never seen him play.
The million dollar question is, should a player be judged by how good they actually are in comparison to a player of another era? Or should they be judge for how good they were compared to the players of their era?
I think Shaq is most likely better than Wilt was, if you were able to take a prime Wilt and a prime Shaq and compare them. However, theres no doubt that Wilt was better in comparison to the other players in his time.
I think players should be judged for how good they were in comparison to the players of their time, because I think if you put Tracy McGrady back in the 60s, he might be remembered as the greatest player of all time. A borderline star in the NBA today may have been remembered as a top 10 player of all time, had he played his career in the 60s. Thats what advancements in training will do for you. The NBA now is way more advanced in skill & athleticism.
50ppg 20+rpg says to me he was playing vs scrubs.
I never actually saw Wilt play, but the old timers will tell you he was the best that ever played the game. He was a physical specimen, much like Lebron, but he had the accomplishments that Lebron lacks.
Also Wilt is one of the most overrated players of ALL TIME
Matters what month in 92.
But by looking at old highlights the game back then seems dated imo
Anyone with any basketball IQ knows the 92 team would crush the 2012 team.
Was bryanzee even alive in 92?
Wow you're old lol
I have a feeling Kobe's trying to make himself out to be bigger than Magic & MJ---especially MJ.
I'm sorry, but after watching MJ play so many epic games & witnessing his undisputed clutch factor, Kobe's greatness pales in comparison.
He was right though.
No need to apologize.
This story was overblown, what was Kobe supposed to say when he was asked the question? "yes they would kick our asses"? of course he thinks they will win. Plus the competition now is SO much better than 1992