Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers' five-time NBA champion, discombobulated the sports world this week when he declared that his Olympic basketball squad could beat 1992's Dream Team, the gold-medal-winning squad which many fans consider the most singularly talented group of athletes ever assembled. "We have just a bunch of young race horses, you know, guys that are eager to compete," said Bryant, whose Team USA teammates include Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, and LeBron James. "It would be a tough one, but I think we'd pull it out." Original Dream Teamers dismissed the idea: Charles Barkley called it preposterous, while Michael Jordan said he "absolutely laughed." Could this year's team outplay Jordan's mighty '92 squad?
Absolutely not: Kobe's comments are ridiculous "braggadocio," says Ben Golliver at CBS Sports. Only three players on this year's team could even make the '92 roster: Bryant, Durant, and James. Kobe's squad "might have been able to give the Dream Team a real game" at full strength, but several stars — Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, and Derrick Rose — are injured and not even on the team. The remaining crew simply couldn't cut it against Jordan, Barkley, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Scottie Pippen. You're right to laugh, MJ.
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