‘We’re not the dream team’

There is no mistaking the buzz that precedes the arrival of the United States basketball team. In a way no other team can, the Americans attract awe and fascination from fans around the world.The ‘Dream Team’ of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson et al was 20 years ago but it seems little of the glamour has faded, and the Americans arrived in London to a rapturous reception that our own team can only dream of right now.The level of attention they garner even comes as a surprise to the players themselves.“It’s really a lot to take in,” said Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love. “You look around, you see people from all over the world coming here to see us. We arrived in the Olympic Village last night and it was out of control.”Questions about and comparisons to that 1992 team seemingly never end, and this year they have been more prominent than ever with the team playing last week in Barcelona to mark the 20th anniversary.LegacyThe legacy this and all American teams must live up to is both a blessing and a curse, with the history and tradition something the players want to ignore as they try to build their own story.“We’re not the Dream Team,” said Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams as he was asked yet another question on the topic.“The Dream Team was in 1992. This is 2012.“It’s unfair to compare us with what was probably the best team ever to have been on court. We’re still young in our own careers and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”Even if it was somehow possible to construct another team as good as that 1992 squad, it seems impossible to think anyone could dominate once again as they did.That team marched to gold winning their games by an average of 44 points, not even needing a timeout in the entire tournament.Partly as a legacy of their efforts, the rest of the world are now much better, no longer just waiting to be brushed aside.Kobe Bryant, who was himself inspired by that team, knows they are to thank for making the task harder for every American team that followed.“I was 13, 14 back then, and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world,” he said. “You’ve got Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, all these champions, all these rivalries coming together and they’re joking around together, competing together and bringing back the gold.“Twenty years later you see the results of that with the growth of basketball globally, players like Pau Gasol (Spain) and Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) that grew up under that influence.”It can be easy to read the United States roster and imagine nobody else has a chance, but the rest of the world is closing in.This year a record 26 NBA players will turn out for teams other than the United States in the Games, players who have no fear of their American counterparts from facing them in the league every night.“We certainly understand how good the world is and we have to be very good in order to have an opportunity to win,” said coach Mike Krzyzewski.“But we feel great about our team. We’re very close knit, we have great camaraderie.”No fearAfter a dip in fortunes in the middle of the last decade, the Americans have responded to the changing challenges in front of them, and the team has a 54-1 record since Krzyzewski took over in 2006 even if there have been some close calls along the way.The confidence that record of dominance gives them is obvious to see.

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‘We’re not the dream team’