Original Dream Team

[fatal lightning]

so the dream team was the best team in the history of sports, 12 guys committed to winning, no ego's on the court. just winning, destroying every country at the Olympics. But why was Dominique Wilkins left off that team and they selected Christian Laettner instead. No doubt he was a great college player, but come on.. would you pick Laettner over Wilkins???

 

[anygivensunday]

The question should be why was Laettner selected over over Shaq

 

[revtommy34]

Add Shaq and Isiah Thomas and you have the greatest team ever.

 

[Sonny Corinthos]

Originally Posted by anygivensunday

The question should be why was Laettner selected over over Shaq

Coach K was also on the coaching staff for a reason , Duke was hot at the time .
  

 

[kdawg]

It wasn't that he was picked over Wilkins - just that they wanted a college player and like people have said the better question is why not Shaq?

I can see leaving Wilkins out though - you've already got MJ and Clyde and he wasn't nearly as good as either of them.

 

[kdawg]

You can drop the "original" from the title too - there hasn't been another one so it's unnecessary.

 

[ijapino]

Wilkins should have probably been on the team. Looking back on it, USA hand selected the team based on the best talent they had in the league which would make up the best TEAM. Wilkins was out shadowed by Pippen and Bird at the time. Sure he was a great scorer, but I think Pippen's defense earned him the spot. Also, I think he also ruptured his Achilles prior to the Olympics. My guess is that he would have been chosen for one of the final two spots but that went to Drexler and Laettner.

Laettner was chosen because the team was suppose to select one collegiate athlete. It basically came down to Laettner and Shaq. Laettner was selected probably due to his popularity at the time. He was coming off a successful college season in which he won collegiate athlete of the year and a national championship. He was highly regarded as the best college athlete at the time.

 

[xtapolapacetl]

That team was far from perfect considering other available players. Nique is far from the only player you could make a case for.

Shaq should've definitely replaced Laettner as the college player.
Not only Isiah Thomas, but Kevin Johnson, Mark Price and Tim Hardaway (coming off a 23.4 ppg & 10.0 apg season) were all arguable over John Stockton
Hakeem > Ewing/Robinson - I know Hakeem was still a Nigerian citizen then, but just another example of how the team didn't have the very best players
1992 Derrick Coleman > 1992 Larry Bird - that Larry Bird was far from the prime Larry Bird, he only played half of his games that season and finished the season and his NBA career by playing 4 games in the 1992 playoffs against Cleveland, losing 3 of them while averaging just 11 points

 

[fatal lightning]

wasnt it that jordan didnt like thomas cause of his all star freeze out?

 

[do be doo]

Laettner was chosen because SOMEONE had to carry the bags.

 

[westcoastsfinest]

Originally Posted by Fatal Lightning

wasnt it that jordan didnt like thomas cause of his all star freeze out?

yep. jordan said its either him or me but hey at least they had chuck daly to do it
  

 

[darthska]

Laettner was chosen to be the veteran for the NEXT team. The thinking was to bring in all the best in the NBA and a top senior in college, that way the college player could be a veteran leader for the next team in 96.

Of course by the time 96 rolled around, Laettner had proven to be less than spectacular in the NBA, and a ton of other top tier players were chosen, and no college player.

And yeah, Bird was on the team, but it wasn't for performance; it was for nostalgia. He hardly participated in practices because of his back and knee. But you can't send a roster of American basketball players that includes Magic and Jordan... and not Bird. With Magic and Jordan on the team, you have to send Bird, even if he is a shell of his former self. Would they have sent him if they really thought it would jeopardize the chance for gold? Obviously not, but that wasn't the case.

And yes, this was the original Dream Team, because the 96 team was freaking crazy, too; definitely worthy of a 'Dream Team' title.

G: Payton, Penny, Richmond, Reggie, Stockton
F: Malone, Pippen, Barkley, Hill
C: Shaq, Hakeem, D-Rob (

x

x

)

The centers alone make that worthy of being called a Dream Team. Hell, the forwards; Mailman, Pippen, and Chuck?!

 

[seymore cake]

^ With Payton & Penny in their primes... Yea I'll agree with that title Ska

 

[Deleted member 38182]

Originally Posted by Seymore CAKE

^ With Payton & Penny & Hakeem & Robinson & Pippen & Reggie, hell even Barkley, Richmond and Stock to some degree, in their primes... Yea I'll agree with that title Ska

 

[darthska]

^ For real.

But yeah, that was definitely Dream Team II. Honoring the 92 team with the only Dream Team title is just being too sensitive in wanting to preserve their legacy. Calling that 96 team anything other than Dream Team II is naive, in my opinion.

I can see doing away with the Dream Team title now. That 2000 team was a bunch of All Stars (nothing wrong with that, but the Dream Teams weren't just All Stars; they were some of the best EVER, not just that era), then in 04, the team didn't even win gold (can't call a team Dream Team when they don't even win gold), and 08 was ridiculous, but not 'Among the Best Ever' status.