Christian Laettner is 43 Years Old Today

Now a coach, Christian Laettner always instructs perfect defense. (ESPN.com)

The world is five days removed from the 2012 Summer Olympics and the hangover is starting to lift. But with all the mentions of the Dream Team's twentieth anniversary, one name has gone largely unmentioned: Christian Laettner.

The former Duke star may not have lit up the NBA, but he did put together a college career that merited him a spot on the 1992 USA Olympic team, giving Laettner the distinction of being the lone amateur on a squad rife with Hall of Famers.

Laettner, now an assistant coach for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the D-League, turns 43 today. It's not a milestone birthday, but, without question, it has been a commemorative year for the man whose famous shot is also two decades old this year.


Follow @BeatsDimesDrive on Twitter

Dream Team vs. 2012 - Dream Team's Existence What Matters

2012 Olympic team vs. '92 Dream Team (Chicagonow.com)

The wait is over for the 2012 Olympic games, and no storyline out of the USA camp has been bigger than that of the USA basketball team.

It’s not because they’ve really been questioned by an opponent so far, but because this year happens to mark the 20th anniversary of a certain other USA basketball team that changed the way the Americans approached the Olympics.

It seems like a never-ending topic; who is better, the 2012 squad or the 1992 Dream Team? But caution; the 2012 team hasn’t won anything yet, and unless they bring home the gold medal, this debate is pointless.

The Dream Team - which will always be in reference to ‘92 - was made up of veteran players, many of whom had already put up hall-of-fame careers. The youngest player on the team (minus the one college player, Christian Laettner) was Scottie Pippen at the fresh age of 26, while five players were over 30 and four more were pushing it at 29. The 2012 squad includes much younger talent, with Kobe Bryant the only player over 30. It’s easy to assume there are several future HOFers in this group, but right now they are still writing their futures. This team could still be better in the future.

The competition also has to be considered. International basketball has grown substantially over the past 20 years. From 1992-2012, the number of foreign-born players who are playing in the NBA has tripled. While the Americans are still the outright favorite to win gold, the playing field is much more difficult than it was 20 years ago. The rest of the world is accepting and loving basketball, and the world talent continues to rise. This is not to say the Dream Team would have struggled playing against current world teams, but teams such as Spain and Argentina are much better than they were two decades ago.

The truth is it’s not important which team is better. What is important and what makes the Dream Team so special is 1992 marked a turning point in basketball around the world. The idea that the game’s best players should replace collegiate athletes and play on one of the world’s greatest stages was monumental. This had to affect how the world viewed the game, as international fans watched all-time greats put on a show of pure mastery. They saw basketball at its most elite, and then it just so happened that more international players worked their way to the NBA.

Without the Dream Team, the 2012 team wouldn’t exist. Players would still want their summers to relax and recover, looking at the Olympics as an obligation instead of an honor. Collegiate players would still compete well, but the game’s best would be watching from couches. The Dream Team wasn’t just about winning gold, it was competitors and rivals coming together, and putting differences aside, to take pride in America.

So while you watch the USA throughout the Olympics, remember that it doesn’t matter if the Dream Team is better. Just be glad the Dream Team happened. 


Follow @BeatsDimesDrive on Twitter

Land of the Free & Home of the Hoops

The biggest feather-rumpling incident in basketball this week concerned Kobe Bryant asserting that he and the rest of Team USA 2012 would beat the team fielded by the States in 1992 – the famed Dream Team that *ahem* united the first year NBA players were allowed to compete in the Olympic games then proceeded to decimate any and all challengers by an average margin of 43.8 points en route to winning the gold medal.

Kobe Bryant's playoff beard grew late this year. (NBCOlympics.com)

Various members of the ’92 squad have weighed in on the discussion – largely doubting Bryant’s claim – and Kobe, in his usual fashion, refuses to stand down. While there’s never going to be a definite answer about who would win this hypothetical rivalry, one conclusion is safe to draw:

No other country plays basketball like the United States.

Sure, that statement reeks of jingoism. It’s a chest-beating, chain-rattling declaration of dominance. But it’s not a lie.

Since basketball was introduced on the Olympic level in 1936, Team USA has 16 medals total. Thirteen of those are gold, one is silver and two are bronze. Only at the 1980 games in Moscow has Team USA finished outside of the top three.

Everyone knows how good the Dream Team was, even opponents from 1992. Everyone knows LeBron James and Bryant brought home the top prize with the Redeem Team in 2008. However, less than half of these medals were won after professional athletes filled the national team’s roster. College athletes and amateur ballers residing stateside beat out pros from other countries routinely before ‘92.

The USA women’s team is no joke, either, having medalled eight times, claiming a bronze and a silver to accompany six first-place finishes.

There are plenty of stones to throw about the United States’ connection to basketball, the heaviest being that the game was invented in America. So, what? A sport’s origin and history is mostly meaningless during competition, especially in the modern era. Basketball is now one of the most popular sports worldwide, and seems to be trending upward given the popularity of international superstars such as Bryant, Marc and Pau Gasol, and upstart Jeremy Lin, not to mention the now-retired Yao Ming.

The 2012 version of Team USA already lacked size in the post, and Blake Griffin tore the meniscus in his left knee yesterday. But it still has the world’s best basketball player in LeBron, and Bryant is one of the fiercest competitors in sporting history.

No one knows for sure if this year’s group could beat the Dream Team, but after absolutely crushing the Dominican Republic by 54 points in an exhibition yesterday, it wouldn’t be wise to discount Team USA against anyone they may face in the 2012 Olympics.


Follow @BeatsDimesDrive on Twitter