Just when you thought the current Team USA vs. Dream Team debate was over, Marc Gasol came in with possibly the harshest assessment of all. Gasol and several other members of the Spanish basketball team talked to Hoops Hype about Team USA and they were asked whether the current team was better than the Dream Team that won gold in Barcelona in 1992. The Grizzlies big man didn’t speak well of the current squad.
“Who has created this debate?” Gasol asked. “They have, right? On a bad day for the ’92 team, the current team would lose by just 15 or 20 points against them.”
The other players who were interviewed by Hoops Hype sided with the Dream Team, though with less conviction than Gasol.
He’s not the only NBA player who questioned the current squad; Argentina’s Andres Nocioni isn’t so confident in their abilities either.
“The U.S. team will have to work very hard for the gold medal and I’m not so sure they will get it,” he said.
Both players are competing against Team USA for medals at the Olympics, so it’s understandable why they would be reluctant to give the US squad too much credit. But Gasol’s comments are beyond not wanting to give credit and more along the lines of disrespectful. He’ll have a lot to live up to when Spain and the US meet. And we know one thing: Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley, and Michael Jordan would definitely agree with him.
Note: This post also appeared on Yardbarker’s Olympics blog Medal Detector
Photo Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE
