2024 USA Men’s Basketball Team walked away with the gold medalbut it was much closer than expected.
Their 12-man roster, led by LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, was expected to breeze through the Olympics. Instead, they nearly lost an exhibition game to South Sudan, 101-100.
The narrow escape lowered the expectations of many, including former Philadelphia 76ers player Dwight Howard. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year shared on Gils Arena that he chose the 2008 “Redeem Team” over this year’s.
“That’s a good idea, I’m going with our team. We got a prime Kobe, a young LeBron, bald D-Wade. I had 2008. We were young, they were talking about Bron at 23, I’m 22, Melo at 24, Chris Bosh at 24! Oh my God,” Howard said. “That prime period, those were their years, Wade was 26 and Boozer was going crazy.”
There are a multitude of ways to debate the team’s superiority, but it’s important to note that there’s likely a bias toward Howard playing on the 2008 team. The debate over the number of All-Stars is a dead-end, as 11 of the 12 players on each team have been selected at least once in their careers. Tayshaun Prince (2008) and Derrick White (2024) are the only non-All-Stars in the field. It’s worth noting that the 2024 roster nearly took over before Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard left.
It’s nearly impossible to determine which group had the most firepower, but as Howard noted, age could play a role. The leaders of this year’s group are all well into their 30s, while the 2008 team was led by youngsters.
Regardless of personal preferences, both Team USA teams achieved their goal of winning gold.
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