LeBron James is an image-conscious player who tries not to hurt peoples’ feelings. That’s why when he said that the current Team USA basketball team could beat the 1992 Dream Team, which is considered by many to be one of the best teams of all time, he did so in a respectful manner.
“As a competitor you never want to say that you will lose no matter who you are going against,” James told “Nightline” anchor Cynthia McFadden.
“The ’92 Dream Team paved the way for all of us. They set a standard for the Olympics and basketball in general that’s very high.
“We understand what they did for our game, but we also are big-time competitors as well so if we had the opportunity to play them in a game, we feel like we would win too,” James said.
LeBron was defending his teammate Kobe Bryant when he said the current Team USA would win. Kobe said a few weeks ago that they could beat the Dream Team, and he reiterated his stance last weekend.
Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen have predicted an easy win for the Dream Team, while Michael Jordan laughed at Kobe.
Though I feel like the Dream Team would win a series between the two, I agree with Kobe that the current team could win on any given day. The one key would be LeBron and Kobe entering the game with confidence, not intimidation, which they seem to be feeling.
Note: This post also appeared on Yardbarker’s Olympics blog Medal Detector
