"They're still the second best Dream Team, and yea I said it" - Shaquille O'Neal doesn't believe the 1992 Team USA roster is the best ever

Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t a member of the 1992 USA National team, which is considered to be the best US basketball team ever assembled. He was a member of the following two national teams and believes they could compete with the “original” one.

The Los Angeles Lakers legend took to Instagram and threw a spanner in the works when Bleacher Report attempted to celebrate the anniversary of the 1992 Dream Team.

The comparisons

Team USA’s 1992 squad is widely regarded as the best international team that has ever existed, but not according to the Big Diesel – who believes his 1996 Dream Team that featured at the Atlanta Olympics was the better roster.

Of course, one could argue that Team USA’s 2008 “Redeem Team” also has a genuine case, but Shaq understandably will always lean towards a team he was a part of regarding the comparisons.

To give credit where credit is due, it’s important to note that the 1996 national team was unbelievable in its own right. Finishing the tournament undefeated, including a 95-69 demolition of Serbia and Montenegro, the US destroyed the competition by an average of 32 points in their wins en route to a very convincing gold medal.

The case for the class of 92

The one aspect the Team of 1992 can hang their hat on for supremacy is the sheer talent the squad possessed. By no means was the 1996 roster short on star power, but without the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Patrick Ewing, comparing both rosters becomes increasingly difficult.

There was some crossover, with Karl Malone, John Stockton, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, and David Robinson making up the core of both sides, but without MJ, Bird, and Magic, it becomes hard to look past.

In addition to the talent, the 1992 team called zero timeouts in their run to gold, shot 57.8% from the field, held their opponents to 36% shooting, averaged over 117 points per game, and only allowed an average of just over 73 points on the defensive end.

The ’92 team also had every player except Christian Laettner individually inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, but the ultimate trump card may be the 1992 Dream Team itself joined the 1960 US roster as the only two teams to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in history.

Needless to say, despite all the overwhelming stats, it’s likely Shaq will never waver from his stance and personal bias, especially when he played a part in securing Olympic Gold.