better fiba USA team? 2014 hardens or the 2006LeBronze medalists

[kennethgriffin]

joe johnson
kirk hinrich
lebron james
antawn jamison
shane battier
dwyane wade
chris paul
chris bosh
dwight howard
brad miller
elton brand
carmelo anthony


vs


steph curry
klay thompson
derrick rose
kenneth faried
rudy gay
dermar derozen
kyrie irving
mason plumlee
dermarcus cousins
james harden
anthony davis
andre drumond



honestly i dont see much of a difference between the 2006 bronze team and the 2008 gold team other than the addition of kobe bryant

but which team is better? and what kind of medal will they get this year?

[SouBeachTalents]

I'd take '06

[kennethgriffin]

I'd take '06

i agree. the bronze team actually seems to be 10 times better. which is scary. i don't think the US will get a medal. theyel be lucky to get bronze. and should take it home and wear it proudly like lebron

[Demitri98]

Hinrich played for the USA? I always assumed he was foreign because of his name.

[gabepizza]

i agree. the bronze team actually seems to be 10 times better. which is scary. i don't think the US will get a medal. theyel be lucky to get bronze. and should take it home and wear it proudly like lebron


That team lost. Look at the 2010 team that won. How would you rank them? I think a big difference is the coaching. 2006 was Coach K's first time coaching FIBA and he didn't know what to expect. He has not lost a game since. Remember in 2006 lots of those players were young (I think it was after Paul's rookie year so the starting PG was Hinrich)

[iTare]

i agree. the bronze team actually seems to be 10 times better. which is scary. i don't think the US will get a medal. theyel be lucky to get bronze. and should take it home and wear it proudly like lebron
LeBron Raymone James is better than Kobe Bean Bryant.

http://img.pandawhale.com/72886-thats-a-fact-gif-Kurt-Russell-6KaZ.gif

[SamuraiSWISH]

1) 1992 Dream Team
2) 1996 Team USA
3) 2012 Team USA
4) 2008 Redeem Team
5) 2003 FIBA USA
6) 2007 FIBA USA
7) 2006 FIBA USA
8) 2004 Team USA
9) 2014 FIBA USA
10) 2010 FIBA USA
11) 2002 FIBA USA

[kennethgriffin]

LeBron Raymone James is better than Kobe Bean Bryant.

http://img.pandawhale.com/72886-thats-a-fact-gif-Kurt-Russell-6KaZ.gif


at what? P*nis length under PGA tour minus rankings?

[Eric Cartman]

1) 1992 Dream Team
2) 1996 Team USA
3) 2012 Team USA
4) 2008 Redeem Team
5) 2003 FIBA USA
6) 2007 FIBA USA
7) 2006 FIBA USA
8) 2004 Team USA
9) 2014 FIBA USA
10) 2010 FIBA USA
11) 2002 FIBA USA

2012 was way better than 96. Yes they didn't have the bigs, but still would sweep the 96 team.

[kennethgriffin]

1) 1992 Dream Team
2) 1996 Team USA
3) 2012 Team USA
4) 2008 Redeem Team
5) 2003 FIBA USA
6) 2007 FIBA USA
7) 2006 FIBA USA
8) 2004 Team USA
9) 2014 FIBA USA
10) 2010 FIBA USA
11) 2002 FIBA USA



what about the 2000 team with vince. they were pretty good.

and i'd rank the redeem team as the best ever.

kobe just takes winning more seriously than anyone else in international or exibition play. he took a bronze team back to gold. i wouldnt bet against him. even in the gold medal game when lebron tried to choke it away. kobe had a hand in the last 20 points the US scored i think

and the redeem team/ late 2000s olympic teams have to face waaaaaaaaay better competition. back when the dream team played. they were basically playing against pre schoolers

[SouBeachTalents]

what about the 2000 team with vince. they were pretty good.

and i'd rank the redeem team as the best ever.

kobe just takes winning more seriously than anyone else in international or exibition play. he took a bronze team back to gold. i wouldnt bet against him. even in the gold medal game when lebron tried to choke it away. kobe had a hand in the last 20 points the US scored i think

and the redeem team/ late 2000s olympic teams have to face waaaaaaaaay better competition. back when the dream team played. they were basically playing against pre schoolers

:facepalm

[riseagainst]

what about the 2000 team with vince. they were pretty good.

and i'd rank the redeem team as the best ever.

kobe just takes winning more seriously than anyone else in international or exibition play. he took a bronze team back to gold. i wouldnt bet against him. even in the gold medal game when lebron tried to choke it away. kobe had a hand in the last 20 points the US scored i think

and the redeem team/ late 2000s olympic teams have to face waaaaaaaaay better competition. back when the dream team played. they were basically playing against pre schoolers

do you ever talk about anything other than Kobe?

[kennethgriffin]

i wouldnt put too much stock in what the 92 and 96 teams accomplished.


the rest of the world didnt catch up till around the mid 2000's

[kennethgriffin]

do you ever talk about anything other than Kobe?

its hard not to when hes involved in every type of success imaginable

[SamuraiSWISH]

2012 was way better than 96. Yes they didn't have the bigs, but still would sweep the 96 team.
:oldlol:

2012 struggled with Brazil in Exhibition, Lithuania in the Tournament, and Spain in the Gold Medal Game ... AGAIN. All those teams had one thing in common: bruising, physical, interior post players.

Featuring OLD Pau Gasol, and big boy Marc Gasol. Other notables ... Rudy Fernandez, and Juan Carlos Navarro.

Competitive the entire game. Yet that team sweeps:

C - D Robinson / Shaq / Hakeem
PF - Barkley / Malone
SF - Pippen / Hill
SG - Miller / Richmond
PG - Payton / Stockton / Penny

Yea, whatever you say kid. I can tell you weren't around back then in this world to watch basketball. Otherwise you wouldn't say something so hideously dumb.

The 2008, and 2012 teams struggled with Spain because they had no truly great big men. The '92, and '96 team obliterate them in this regard.

How Good Is Team USA Basketball? (http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/2014-fiba-world-cup-usa-basketball/)

Edit: Forgot 2000 Team USA. I'd rank them above 2004, but below 2006.

[kennethgriffin]

:facepalm

prime kobe, prime lebron, prime wade, prime dwight, prime paul, prime melo, prime bosh

kobe wouldnt even need all that backup in a gold medal game vs the 92 or 96 teams

giving him those guys isnt even fair to everyone else

[kennethgriffin]

kobe beat a dream team in the 2010 finals and all he needed was pau gasol



kevin garnett
paul pierce
ray allen
rajon rondo
rasheed wallace
tony allen
michael finley
nate robinson


send that team over seas. they bring back the gold

[SouBeachTalents]

prime kobe, prime lebron, prime wade, prime dwight, prime paul, prime melo, prime bosh

kobe wouldnt even need all that backup in a gold medal game vs the 92 or 96 teams

giving him those guys isnt even fair to everyone else

Kobe wasn't even the best player on that '08 team, so stop acting like he was. Wade & LeBron outplayed him in those Olympics

[SamuraiSWISH]

2008 Team had:

Prime LeBron
Prime Kobe
Peak Wade
Prime Melo
Prime Dwight
Prime Paul
Prime Bosh
Prime Deron
Old Kidd
Old Prince
Old Redd

2012 Team had:

Peak LeBron
Prime Durant
Prime Melo
Prime Paul
Old Kobe
Prime Westbrook
Prime Harden
Prime Love
Prime Deron
Prime Iguodala
Prime Chandler
Young Davis

1992 Team had:

Peak Jordan
Peak Barkley
Prime Magic
Peak Drexler
Prime Pippen
Prime Malone
Prime Ewing
Prime D-Rob
Prime Mullin
Old Bird (injured)
Prime Stockton (injured)

[gabepizza]

Kobe wasn't even the best player on that '08 team, so stop acting like he was. Wade & LeBron outplayed him in those Olympics

You obviously didn't watch those Olympics. Yes maybe during most of the tournament Wade and Lebron outplayed Kobe but the only time the USA was really challenged, in the gold medal game against Spain, it was Kobe who took over in a close game in the 4th quarter to win the gold for US. He either scored in assisted in almost every basket down the stretch.

[SouBeachTalents]

You obviously didn't watch those Olympics. Yes maybe during most of the tournament Wade and Lebron outplayed Kobe but the only time the USA was really challenged, in the gold medal game against Spain, it was Kobe who took over in a close game in the 4th quarter to win the gold for US. He either scored in assisted in almost every basket down the stretch.

So one quarter > the entire tournament? Got it

[riseagainst]

So one quarter > the entire tournament? Got it

yes

[SamuraiSWISH]

You obviously didn't watch those Olympics. Yes maybe during most of the tournament Wade and Lebron outplayed Kobe but the only time the USA was really challenged, in the gold medal game against Spain, it was Kobe who took over in a close game in the 4th quarter to win the gold for US. He either scored in assisted in almost every basket down the stretch.
Wade kept them in the game before Kobe took over in the 4th during the Hold Medal Game. LeBron was the best player for us that summer, followed closely by Wade off the bench. And then Kobe. Bryant's moment in the Gold Medal Game was the most memorable, and clutch though.

[Legends66NBA7]

1) 1992 Dream Team
2) 1996 Team USA
3) 2012 Team USA
4) 2008 Redeem Team
5) 2003 FIBA USA
6) 2007 FIBA USA
7) 2006 FIBA USA
8) 2004 Team USA
9) 2014 FIBA USA
10) 2010 FIBA USA
11) 2002 FIBA USA

Where would you rank the 2000 Team USA ?

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

For me it goes:

1) 1992 Dream Team
2) 1996 Team USA
3) 2008 Redeem Team
4) 2012 Team USA
5) 2000 Team USA

You're splitting hairs here, but I think if they played one another in a 5 team tournament, this would be the end result.

*About the 08 squad being better than the 2012 version. I feel that Kobe AND Wade (who worked with Grover that summer, got in shape, and was healthy for the first time in almost 2 years) were amidst their primes, while LeBron was just entering his.

Those 3, in their primes, is game.set.match for anyone, EVER, except for the '92 and '96 teams.

[gabepizza]

1) 1992 Dream Team
2) 1996 Team USA
3) 2012 Team USA
4) 2008 Redeem Team
5) 2003 FIBA USA
6) 2007 FIBA USA
7) 2006 FIBA USA
8) 2004 Team USA
9) 2014 FIBA USA
10) 2010 FIBA USA
11) 2002 FIBA USA

I don't know how you could a gold medal team behind two bronze medal team. Also you left out Dream Team II (1994) and the 2000 Team.

[JohnFreeman]

2006 would destroy 2014

[gabepizza]

2006 would destroy 2014

2006 lost to Greece. Let's see if 2014 lost to anyone.

[Euroleague]

what about the 2000 team with vince. they were pretty good.

and i'd rank the redeem team as the best ever.

kobe just takes winning more seriously than anyone else in international or exibition play. he took a bronze team back to gold. i wouldnt bet against him. even in the gold medal game when lebron tried to choke it away. kobe had a hand in the last 20 points the US scored i think

and the redeem team/ late 2000s olympic teams have to face waaaaaaaaay better competition. back when the dream team played. they were basically playing against pre schoolers

2000 Olympic team was struggling like hell with teams like Lithuania and even an average European like France.

They only even beat Lithuania in the semifinal because of luck.

Siskauskas, a career 90% free throw shooter choked on 2 free throws at the end of the game that would have won it for Lithuania (same thing he did in Euroleague final with CSKA in 2012 - once a choker, always a choker).

Then the refs blew a couple calls down the stretch and helped USA to win...

Then at the end of the game Jasikevicius shot a 3 that basically went all the way through the basket, and somehow by some miracle of the basketball gods rimmed back out, and USA escaped with a miracle lucky win.

Then in the final they did not even impress against a fairly average European team in France.

The 2000 Olympic team was the actual beginning of the bad USA teams, not 2002. But no one seems to remember that because they just look at results as idiots are only capable of doing.

A team can win a gold and struggle like hell. A team could finish 9th and play incredibly well.......you can't just look at nothing but results. Unless you are an idiot.

But there are a lot of idiots here.

The 2000 USA Olympics team escaped a bronze medal basically only by a miracle. Yet it is credited as being one of "the dominating US teams".

Actually, the 2006 USA team that won bronze was MUCH BETTER by comparison for example than the 2000 USA team that won gold.

The 2006 team simply lost to Greece in that game, and it was not a "fluke" like the same idiots claim. That Greek team was one of the greatest international teams ever and they played one of the best games that team had played, perhaps even the best game it had played.

So USA got beat. Simple as that.

The 2000 Olympics team was in truth nowhere as good as the 2006 USA team.

[SamuraiSWISH]

I don't know how you could a gold medal team behind two bronze medal team. Also you left out Dream Team II (1994) and the 2000 Team.
Because 2006 probably faced better competition, in the prime of their careers. Same goes for the 2008 team, they faced a better version of the same Spain team from both Gold Medal Games.

[Euroleague]

Because 2006 probably faced better competition, in the prime of their careers. Same goes for the 2008 team, they faced a better version of the same Spain team from both Gold Medal Games.

Don't even try to have a discussion with gabepizza about this.

He is INCAPABLE of thought.

Something like accounting for the level of competition faced, or how the teams performed overall, or that you are only accounting for one game in a tournament, is BEYOND HIS INTELLECTUAL CAPACITY.

[USABall]

2000 Olympic team was struggling like hell with teams like Lithuania and even an average European like France.

They only even beat Lithuania in the semifinal because of luck.

Siskauskas, a career 90% free throw shooter choked on 2 free throws at the end of the game that would have won it for Lithuania (same thing he did in Euroleague final with CSKA in 2012 - once a choker, always a choker).

Then the refs blew a couple calls down the stretch and helped USA to win...

Then at the end of the game Jasikevicius shot a 3 that basically went all the way through the basket, and somehow by some miracle of the basketball gods rimmed back out, and USA escaped with a miracle lucky win.

Then in the final they did not even impress against a fairly average European team in France.

The 2000 Olympic team was the actual beginning of the bad USA teams, not 2002. But no one seems to remember that because they just look at results as idiots are only capable of doing.

A team can win a gold and struggle like hell. A team could finish 9th and play incredibly well.......you can't just look at nothing but results. Unless you are an idiot.

But there are a lot of idiots here.

The 2000 USA Olympics team escaped a bronze medal basically only by a miracle. Yet it is credited as being one of "the dominating US teams".

Actually, the 2006 USA team that won bronze was MUCH BETTER by comparison for example than the 2000 USA team that won gold.

The 2006 team simply lost to Greece in that game, and it was not a "fluke" like the same idiots claim. That Greek team was one of the greatest international teams ever and they played one of the best games that team had played, perhaps even the best game it had played.

So USA got beat. Simple as that.

The 2000 Olympics team was in truth nowhere as good as the 2006 USA team.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EXo7FGZyMo 03:04 and 03:19 is this the shot you're talking about? Nowhere near the rim?

[KG215]

joe johnson
kirk hinrich
lebron james
antawn jamison
shane battier
dwyane wade
chris paul
chris bosh
dwight howard
brad miller
elton brand
carmelo anthony


vs


steph curry
klay thompson
derrick rose
kenneth faried
rudy gay
dermar derozen
kyrie irving
mason plumlee
dermarcus cousins
james harden
anthony davis
andre drumond



honestly i dont see much of a difference between the 2006 bronze team and the 2008 gold team other than the addition of kobe bryant

but which team is better? and what kind of medal will they get this year?
And there it is. There's the sole reason you started this thread. It wasn't to compare the 2014 and 2006 teams, it was solely started for the sentence in bold. Well, actually, I take that back. You also started it to take a cheap shot at LeBron.

[Smoke117]

kobe beat a dream team in the 2010 finals and all he needed was pau gasol



kevin garnett
paul pierce
ray allen
rajon rondo
rasheed wallace
tony allen
michael finley
nate robinson

:biggums: