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The Dream Team was a turning point in basketball history. The NBA all-star team that won the Barcelona 92 Olympic Games is still considered the best of all time, except for Draymond Green, who still believes that the team lacked talent.
Even though it had the talents of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird, among others, fans and experts still debate who was missing and who was superfluous on that team. One of the most notorious absences that still raises criticism is that of Isiah Thomas, who was at the peak of his career.
However, for Green, it was not the name of the star guard of the Detroit Pistons that was missing from the roster of the original Dream Team. To the surprise of many, the Golden State Warriors forward is still bitter about the absence of none other than Shaquille O'Neal.
Green in favor of Shaq
In one of the most recent episodes of his podcast, "The Draymond Green Show," the Warriors star reproached, "If the Dream Team has Shaq on it, and not Christian Laettner, maybe a different story." This is even though the 1992 team won the gold medal in Barcelona 92 almost without breaking a sweat.
Despite this, Green assured, "Because the versatility that Shaq would bring to that team, it's just a different thing that you have to deal with it, but we know Shaq was not on the Dream Team, which I think was a big mistake."
At that time, the NBA leadership decided to reserve a place for a college player. O'Neal, Laettner, and Alonzo Mourning were all considered, but in the end, it was Laettner who earned the spot, a decision that is still debated.
Dream Team 1 vs. Dream Team 2
However, more than the adversaries that Jordan and company faced back then, Green was thinking of a hypothetical confrontation between the 1992 team and the one currently participating in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, led by LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Anthony Davis.
"Nonetheless, it is what it is, and I've got the 2024 team winning easy," said the Golden State star about the result of this impossible match.
Although he eventually came to terms with the decision that left him off the team, Shaq himself has said that the current team is better than the one in 1992. "I remember when we were here and Europe was here, but now it's, the gap is really, really close. Dream Team 2 could have beat Dream Team 1. 94 is Dream Team 2," O'Neal said.