Dreaming days over for NBA stars in Athens
By BEN MEMULETIWON, Athens
Saturday, August 14, 2004

National Basketball Association players trying to win a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal for the United States have gotten the wake-up call that the "Dream Team" days are done even if supporters have not.

A US squad of young talents begins their defence of the crown here Sunday against Puerto Rico knowing the 1992 US "Dream Team" of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird spawned superior global rivals and made their task much tougher.
"The general fan is still thinking of the Dream Team in 1992 where we beat everybody by 48 points," said US assistant coach Gregg Popovich. "The general public doesn't understand how good these teams are."

Tim Duncan provides strength at center and Allen Iverson brings a backcourt spark. But with an average age of 23, the latest US Olympians are the same age as the collegians the US stopped sending to the Games in 1988.
"The Dream Team was great but the Dream Team was in their prime. A lot of us have only been in the league two or three years," US guard Dwayne Wade said.

This US team lacks the aura of invincibility, the intimidation factor, enjoyed by icons of the past.
"I can't compare them to us. It's not fair," Iverson said. "They were champions. Michael. Magic. Larry Bird. Look at the ages of these guys. LeBron is 19. Most of them are 22, 23. Those guys were a lot older than us.

"The Dream Team was the Dream Team. As kids we watched them. It's something we will always cherish. But we can't be that. We're a whole 'nother generation. We're just different."
The 1992 US stars raised the worldwide appeal of basketball and led to an NBA featuring such international stars as China's Yao Ming, Germany's Dirk Nowitzki, Spain's Pau Gasol and Serbian Peja Stojakovic.
"I don't know why anybody in the world would be in awe of us anymore," US coach Larry Brown said. "We don't have a 'Dream Team'. The Dream Team was '92. We've had All-Star teams selected since then.

"If you look at the NBA, we have foreign players from everywhere who are contributing. It's good for basketball that the gap is closing."
But it means the margins are thinner for US talent.
Italy beat these US Olympians 95-78, the worst global loss by NBA talent, and a German team not even qualified for the Games lost only on a half-court miracle shot by Iverson.
Lithuania had a last-second shot to beat the Americans in a Sydney Olympic semi-final. A US team of second-tier talents lost three times at the 2002 World Championships to teams inspired by the 1992 US Olympic superstars.

"The world is better in basketball than it was back then and it's going to get even better the way international players are playing, like Dirk Nowitzki has done, the way Yao Ming has done," Iverson said.

Top US talent has stayed home, many having already won Olympic gold. Absent are Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd, Karl Malone, Kenyon Martin, Ray Allen, Elton Brand, Richard Hamilton, Ray Allen, Reggie Miller, Ben Wallace, Mike Bibby and Jermaine O'Neal.

It's no wonder NBA Rookie of the Year LeBron James claims 75 percent of fans think the US team will be dethroned two weeks from now.
"A lot of people are going to doubt us," Iverson said. "A lot of people say we might not win it. But when you talk about basketball, anyone who knows the game knows in their heart that USA is the team to beat."