By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Serbia coach Svetislav Pesic compared the USA Basketball team for the 2024 Olympic Games to the 1992 Dream Team, saying that this year’s squad is superior.
“This American team is better than the original Dream Team from 1992,” Pesic said, per Mozzart Sport. Although we don’t deal with them and I won’t talk to my players about them.” Serbia and USA will actually clash in the Group stage of the Olympics.
Pesic faced the Dream Team as head coach of the German national team in the Olympics. His side – like every other team back then – was crushed 111 – 68 by Michael Jordan and co.
“I was there with the German team and then we thought there were no better players than these,” Pesic said. “This team that will appear in Paris will be stronger than the Dream Team, with the fact that not everyone will prepare just for them like not everyone was prepared just for the Dream Team in 1992. Although everyone wanted to take a picture with them. We don’t want that now.”
After finishing with the silver medal in the 2023 World Championship, Serbia will now aim to take it a step further and win the gold. After missing the 2023 World Cup, Nikola Jokic, will be joining the team, along with Charlotte Hornets guard Vasilije Micic who was also absent last year.
“We need to see what basketball is like outside the USA,” Pesic added. “We’ll talk about the Americans when the time comes for them.”
USA will also look to reclaim the top of international basketball after a disappointing fourth-place finish in the World Cup. Under Steve Kerr, USA Basketball goes all in with a team that features LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards and Anthony Davis, among others.