I assume we are comparing peaks.
Ewing; very sick season in 89-90. ~28.5ppg, 4blk, 11trb
unfortunately I was too young at the time. I started watching right after his peak. I'd take dwight over him then. but pre 93.. idk?

And dwight is one of the most overrated guys for his frame imo. Maybe today's league is just way tougher or something, idk. If I close my eyes, I imagine ewing getting handled by dwight in theory. But ewing is a better post player imo. Especially on offense.

As the primary scorer on an NBA team full of scrubs, Howard > Ewing. Playing on an all-star team with all the other best players in the United States, Howard >>>> Ewing.

since there has been a lot talk about fiba rules, they were changed since the last olympic games, I imagine you guys already know this since I assume the friendlies team USA has been playing use these rules/court dimensions but since no one else mentioned it...

It has nothing to do with anything unless you are evaluating the DT/2012DT skill based on their performance vs international players. Or if you are arguing that some guys who should be playing for USA are playing for other teams.

I am pretty sure if we just took a regular NBA team and its coaching staff, they would have a higher expectation of winning than a randomly assembled DT of young NBA superstars.

Or take a team with good chemistry, and add labron, KD + a center to it.

just read a couple of pages back and you'll see plenty of idiots that think this team might lose to spain so obviously they're <<<<< a DT that crushed everyone

pretty classic not how it works post

oh god i should stop reading your posts

Lol at playing man defense against DT92. Of course we don't know the rules and all but if you have the option you don't play man against them. Period.
Not.

Say what??? Ewing played his entire career without second credible option on his team. Yes, hgh is more athletic, but Ewing was better on both sides of the ball.
Also, from reading this thread i realize that people kind of forgot how awesome Magic was in his prime and how awesome Pipen was on defense. Also if you need 3pt threat on DT kick Dreks out and get RMiller.

I have been LOLing at this also though I think it maybe a case of people who never saw Magic play going on and on about what they know nothing about. Every time I read about how CP would own Magic i just roll my eyes ...

Magic was on a busted knee in 1992 and I'm not sure he was peaking either (late 80s imo but not too relevant still good in 1992 except for the knee).

This is just really poor reasoning. You are deducing that the 2012 team consists of way better shooters by looking solely at the 3PT% of the Dream Team's starting five in ONE YEAR with completely different perimeter defense rules. Here are their numbers for the 3 seasons combined prior to 1992:

Jordan: .338
Magic: .343
Pippen: .25
Barkley: .25
DRob (too few shots to be relevant)

Now I will grant you that 2012 still has better 3PT% across the board but a lot of this is obviously due to the abolishment of handchecking/forearm contact and the way defenses are allowed to handle screens and players coming off screens. All these rules helped free up perimeter players tremendously and gave them way more space to shoot.

Furthermore, 1992 had Bird who shot .406 in 91-92 and Mullin who shot .366 in 91-92 (and .451 in 92-93) with the old perimeter rules still in place.

Saying the shortened 3-point line helps the 2012 team way more than 1992 doesn't make any sense either. Shortening the 3-point line obviously helps both teams. Even if I did grant you that the 2012 team has way better shooters (they don't), the shortened 3-point line may help the 1992 team more. Throwing 3PT%'s out there for the 1991-92 NBA 3-point line distance and defensive rules says next to nothing about how the teams shoot from 22 feet under FIBA rules. In fact I would argue that a slightly worse shooting team may benefit more since increasing distance from the basket has less of an effect on sharpshooters, pretty much by definition.

For reference: here are the 3PT%'s for the Dream Teamers in the '92 Olympics, with the shortened line and different rules:

Barkley: .400
Bird: .750
Drexler: .455
Magic: .333 (after a year away from the game)
Jordan: .391
Laettner: .429
Mullin: .500
Pippen: .333

Those crappy shooters did pretty well from a 22 foot 3-point line and not having a forearm in their face, eh?

Not at all. It depends on how they match up. A fresh Ewing would absolutely destroy Kevin Love, and may be one of the bigger reasons the Dream Team would coast in this game. I really don't think Howard would dominate nearly as much.

True, but CP3 isn't exactly the epitome of knee health in 2012.

Yeah, Magic averaged 19.4 PPG and 12.5 assists per game in 1990-91. He had PER's of 26.9/26.6/25.1 over his last 3 seasons. Chris Paul had PER's of 23.7/23.7/27.0 from 2009 onwards. Not bad for a 40 year old Magic... Oh wait he was 31 and just barely past his peak, lol. Let's not forget the 7+ inch difference in height either. That may play a tiny factor in the game of basketball.

In summary, CP3 >>>> Magic may be the biggest LOL statement in this entire thread, and that's saying something.

I mentioned it earlier, but people should look at the percentages for players when the three point line was moved in. MJ shot 41% from the shortened distance over the three year period it was in effect.

If we're talking about a 1992 lineup of Magic/MJ/Bird/Barkley/Ewing vs a 2012 lineup of CP3/Kobe/KD/labron/Dwight, I would give the 2012 team a significant advantage. Same if you sub out Barkley for Malone. The 2012 team could create mismatches everywhere.

Bird wouldn't start and neither would Ewing.

CP3 would need to guard someone, 34 year old Kobe really can't hang with prime MJ, and LeBron has no experience playing post defense against guys like Barkley and Malone. He's hardly spent any time guarding actual PFs period other than on switches, and then his best defense is his ability to deny the ball.

well, putting Pippen in would make things closer, but I think CP3 on Pippen would be a better situation for the 2012 team than Barkley/Malone on (who would have to be) Durant

when you constantly run through your 4th/5th option it can throw your entire offense out of sync, which is why they would probably choose not to exploit the Pippen/CP3 match-up all that much, but in the case of the 2012 team they basically have 4 #1 options on offense

I guess we need to factor in egos or something, because by skills I think the 2012 team fits together better, but by unselfishness it's probably the 1992 team.

Against scrubs, the '92 team never needed to develop an alpha dog. In a 7-game series against the '12 team, Jordan would certainly become the alpha and have everyone defer to him.

Kobe would probably try to do the same in 12, but he's past his prime and the rest of the team realize it. Lebron and Dwight don't have the personalities to be alphas.

If we're talking imaginary scenarios where Dwight is healthy, wouldn't you also have Wade healthy, meaning he would start over Kobe?

Wade can't shoot the 3. He'd be an even worse Olympic starter than Kobe. CP3/Bron/Durant/Love/Chandler is obviously the 2012 team's best lineup though.

1996 Dream Team, they had Olajuwon.

A lot of this depends on coaching, rules, etc... but from a pure player perspective the 92 team is a world apart from any team that has ever been assembled in the history of sports. These were the best of the best(for the most part) from the greatest era of basketball, plus Michael Jordan would simply not allow them to lose.

Magic, MJ, Barkley, and D-Rob were all #1 options so I'm not seeing how it is any different. Plus, the season prior to the Olympics, Pippen averaged 21 points and 7 assists, so wasn't exactly lacking offensively.

Pippen was used to facilitating on the Bulls. He was a point forward. He had a very good post game and was a great passer with a very high basketball IQ. They'd force 2012 to double in the post because Paul would be at a huge disadvantage.

Even if they went away from that for whatever reason, they'd still have great options. 34 year old Kobe would struggle against MJ. The DT could exploit Dwight in the pick and roll with D-Rob. Neither LeBron nor Durant could defend Barkley in the post. Magic would have a good match up offensively against anyone other than LeBron.

The 2012 team is at a rather obvious disadvantage defensively. Their players just aren't as good defensively as the DT.

right, Wade wouldn't be the best choice in the starting lineup because he can't shoot the 3

Since this is a hypothetical I think it's far more interesting to assume everyone was healthy, especially since this is a dick waving debate more than anything, where the old players overestimate their ability compared to the new players.