Celtics coach Doc Rivers said during NBC’s coverage that the London team’s incredible shooting was superior to that of the ’92 team, though Jordan didn’t cover that topic. In the most rudimentary of comparisons of their undefeated runs, the original Dream Teamers hold the edge in margin of victory (an average of 43.8 points in wins over Angola, Croatia, Germany, Brazil, Spain, Puerto Rico, Lithuania and Croatia compared to the 2012 team’s margin of 32.1 points against France, Tunisia, Nigeria, Lithuania, Argentina, Australia, Argentina and Spain), scoring (117.3 points for the ’92 team, 115.5 for ’12) and points allowed (73.5 for ’92, 83.4 per for ’12).
But as Jordan acknowledged, the global game has come a long way in the last two decades. Thus, the numbers should be considered somewhat skewed because of the difference in the levels of competition.
“If were in the this same situation as 2012 with the talent we had, could we compete against the talent that’s in Europe now?” Jordan said. “I think we could. Would it be as dominant as it was in ’92? Probably not. I still think you’d see the separation between the two [American teams], but I think [international play has] gotten better — tremendously it’s gotten better. You’ve got more of those guys coming and playing in the NBA than what it used to be. I think globally basketball has grown, and I think the Dream Team had a lot to do with it.”
Lest anyone think the famously proud Jordan spent all of his time arguing his team’s case, he was gracious when discussing the latest team’s accomplishments.
“I always have a sense of pride when the U.S. wins, in any event, because I am an American and obviously I want to see us do well,” he said. “I’m very happy that the players actually felt what I felt in representing our country. It’s very jubilating, and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime, maybe twice-in-a-lifetime experience, and I think they experienced that. So it was joyful for me to see them be successful back-to-back, and hopefully it continues.”
Article Appeared @http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/sam_amick/08/15/michael-jordan/index.html?eref=writers