PHOTO: LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry recreate iconic Michael Jordan-Magic Johnson-Larry Bird image ahead of 2024 Olympics first game
Ever since Steph Curry revealed to Marc J. Spears of ESPN’s Andscape that he, LeBron James and Kevin Durant had recreated Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird’s iconic photograph from the 1992 Olympics, fans had been eagerly waiting for it.
USA Basketball finally released the photo on Sunday, moments before the team’s opening game of the 2024 Paris Olympics against Serbia. The photo was captioned:
“A Generational Trio”
The photo is slightly different from the original one. Jordan was sitting in the original picture, with Bird standing to his right and Magic to his left. The 2024 photo has all three players standing, with James at the center, Curry to his right and Durant to the left.
While it hasn’t been confirmed that this is the photo that Steph Curry was talking about, it very likely is. And if something more iconic than this drops, basketball fans across the world will surely have a field day reacting to it as well.
With the comparisons ongoing, Team USA will start its 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday.
LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry-led Team USA compared to 1992 Dream Team
The 1992 USA men's basketball team is the stuff of legends. After a tough 1988 Olympics, Team USA decided to use NBA players for the next Olympics. The team that was assembled came to be known as the Dream Team. It was primarily led by Michael Jordan, and featured greats such as Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.
Even though Magic and Bird were near the end of their careers, players such as Charles Barkley stood up and Team USA dominated the competition. Because of the star-studded nature of the 2024 team, especially the presence of LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry, the team has been compared to the Dream Team.
There have also been claims that this team could be better than the 1992 team. That has been highly criticized, though, after Team USA struggled to win against South Sudan and Germany in the lead up to the Olympics.
While the criticism is warranted, it must also be noted that basketball is more global now than in 1992. Almost every single team has NBA players on the roster. The mere fact that the last U.S.-born player to win the NBA MVP award was James Harden in 2018 should showcase the current global nature of the game.
While the world debates which team is better, LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant will have their eyes set on winning gold in Paris.