Part of that balance for the Dream Team was having players such as centers David Robinson and Ewing to stop the sort of penetration that occasionally plagued the ’12 crew. If the two teams could magically play on a court as opposed to a console, Jordan would want to exploit that weakness.
“I just felt like we had enough size that we could contend with the 2012 team,” he said of the team that was without elite shot blocker Dwight Howard and relied heavily on the Knicks’ Tyson Chandler at center. “I think one of the things the 2012 team lacked was size, you know? We probably would have attacked them from inside and outside, and I think that would have been pretty much solidified [for the ’92 team’s defense] with shot-blockers as well as perimeter defensive players.
“In [terms] of how the game is played from an offensive standpoint and a defense standpoint — from a team standpoint — I feel like we were much more solid defensively. We could definitely guard the perimeter and force them to penetrate to shot-blockers, which I felt like would’ve made a big difference with this team in 2012. They only had one shot-blocker. Granted, I know LeBron [James] and some of those guys can still block shots. It’s not the same defense and it’s not the same intensity.”
Bryant’s sound argument was based in part on the advantage in athleticism for the 2012 team. From James to Russell Westbrook to Kevin Durant to Andre Iguodala to James Harden and on, the 2012 version wins the foot race and — sacrilege thought it may seem with Jordan and Drexler on the other side — the collective dunk contest too.
Granted, I think those guys are much more athletic than maybe we were at that particular time, but I’d like to think that we were a little bit smarter and well-groomed about playing at that level of basketball,” Jordan said. “So in all honesty, I don’t think we would’ve had any problems with them, as much as they think they probably would’ve given us a lot more difficulties. I think our team would’ve been a lot better in terms of all-around basketball game.”