Besides becoming one of the best college basketball coaches of all time, leading the Duke Blue Devils for 42 years (1980 through 2022), Mike Krzyzewski was also in charge of coaching some of the best teams on the international basketball scene.
He was an assistant coach to Chuck Daly when the “Dream Team” traveled to Barcelona for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, where they didn’t lose a single quarter. Sixteen years later, he was in charge of the so-called “Redeem Team” for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
A lot of comparisons have been made between these two teams, and “Coach K” once made his pick between the two talented squads.
Coach K picks Dream Team over Redeem Team
Back in 2020, “Coach K” went with the 1992 team, citing Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson as the main reason why that team would be impossible to beat.
“They weren’t at the same age at that time,” Coach K once said. “Jordan was in his prime, although he’s always in his prime. Larry had a lot of back problems then and Magic had been out for a year. And not that they were at his level at that time, but if they were in their prime, all three of them, I’d take those three guys to start any team.”
“You’re talking about three of at least the Top 6 or 7 in the history of the game,” added Krzyzewski. “Magic is probably the best point guard ever. Jordan may be the best player ever, although Kobe’s right there and LeBron. And Larry was just unique. You talk about being a competitor, there aren’t as many players like that anymore.”
The Redeem Team brought the spark back to Team USA, but the impact the 1992 squad had remains unmatched. Of course, you couldn’t go wrong either way in this debate.