"Who's gonna guard LeBron? Charles Barkley?" - Paul Pierce's hot take on Team USA throws shade at '92 Dream Team
As Team USA prepares for its second Olympic matchup versus South Sudan on Wednesday, many have dubbed this the greatest men's basketball team in United States Olympic history. That means they'd be above the 1992 Dream Team, which was famously made up of NBA greats like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley and Larry Bird among others.
Among those dubbing the 2024 men's team the greatest in United States Olympic history is NBA Hall of Famer, Paul Pierce, who gave his praise to the 2024 roster on FS1's Undisputed while also throwing some shade at the 1992 team.
"This team would dominate the 1992 team. First of all, Larry Bird couldn't play no more. He was done. Magic was done, pretty much. Who's their best player? Michael Jordan, clearly. But he wasn't even the best player in the Olympics, that was Charles Barkley."
Pierce also believes the Dream Team doesn't have the defenders capable of containing the 2024 team's superstars, particularly LeBron James and Steph Curry.
"This team this year would dominate that team. Who's gonna guard LeBron? Charles Barkley? Who's gonna guard Steph Curry? John Stockton?" Pierce argued on the show.
Pierce concluded his argument by discussing the difference in playstyles favoring the 2024 team over the 1992 team.
The 1992 Dream Team finished the Olympics undefeated in their eight matchups, winning the gold for the United States after finishing with the bronze medal at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
Team USA eyeing perfection, starts 2024 Olympics off with a win
As the 2024 Team USA squad looks to assert itself as the best roster of all time, they will match up with South Sudan in its second contest. This comes a little over a week after the African team became an overnight sensation, nearly upsetting the Americans in the Olympic exhibition matchups.
Team USA kicked the Olympics off with a big 110-84 win over Serbia's national team, led by reigning NBA MVP, Nikola Jokic.
LeBron James and Kevin Durant led the way for Team USA, combining for 44 points, and shooting 17-22 as a pair. Durant was perfect from behind the arc, making all five of his three-point attempts, while James added nine assists and seven rebounds in the winning effort.
Team USA will need similar efforts from LeBron James and Kevin Durant as they look to avoid being upset by South Sudan on Wednesday, after winning by just one point in the 101-100 exhibition matchup.