Dream matchup: Vegas sets odds for 1992 Dream Team vs. 2012 Team U.S.A.
Kobe Bryant sparked the debate over which U.S.A. men's basketball team is better: 1992 or 2012? Covers.com polled a group of Las Vegas oddsmakers to get their spread and total on this fictitious matchup.
- Kobe Bryant might as well have claimed that the world was flat when he said the U.S.A. men’s basketball team, which heads to London for the 2012 Olympic Summer Games at the end of the month, could beat the famed 1992 gold-medal winning “Dream Team”.
- Kobe Bryant: current Team USA would beat the 1992 Dream Team ...Kobe conceded that the Michael Jordan-led Dream Team, which was comprised of NBA legends and Christian Laettner, would have the size ad...
- The remarks sparked a heated debate among young and old basketball fans, with each side making a case for their generation’s greatest team. It even sparked a response from former “Dream Team” members Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley.
Michael Jordan mocks Kobe Bryant's diss that Team USA would ...2 hours ago ... Jordan told The Associated Press Thursday that he laughed, ''I absolutely laughed'' when hearing Bryant...- While basketball fans will never know the actual truth to this argument, we can see out what the oddsmakers think about a showdown between the two U.S.A. squads 20 years removed. Covers polled a handful of Las Vegas oddsmakers and sportsbook managers to get their spreads, totals and thoughts on which “Dream Team” would win – 1992 or 2012?
Jay Rood, race and sports book director at the MGM Mirage
Spread: 1992 -6.5
“He said 'could', which is significant,” Rood says of Bryant’s remarks. “I think ’92 played a more disciplined style and understood their roles better.”
Total: 189.5
“You want to think like an All-Star Game, so you want to stay in that 190ish neighborhood. I go with the half-point hook. No one wants a push on this.”
Andrew Patterson, Las Vegas Sports Consultants
Spread: 2012 -3
“The fact is these guys now are bigger, faster and stronger. Who are they going to put on Russell Westbrook? He’d blow (John) Stockton’s short-shorts off. The original ‘Dream Team’ is a smarter team but it’s been 20 years.”
Total: 190
“The offensive abilities on both sides are amazing. It would be like an All-Star game.” - John Avello, director of race and sports operations at the Wynn
Spread: 1992 -10
“Everyone likes to throw around the bigger, faster, stronger argument when comparing past and present. All those elements don’t apply to this group (1992). They have the best guards, the best shooters, the best big men. If they played 10 times, (1992) would win eight of them.”
Total: 185
“It wouldn’t be the game you thought it would be. There are tremendous defenders on both sides, they’d be tightening up. Ah, let me know when they’re playing because I’d love to see it. I guess we’ll see this one upstairs.”
Jimmy Vaccaro, oddsmaker for Lucky’s Race and Sports Book
Spread: 1992 -6
“If you had $85 in your pocket and it’s your last f@cking $85 left in the world: Who are you betting on?... I know when it comes down to the final minutes, I’m going with Jordan. Give me Jordan ever time.”
Total: 177
“I think with the international rules and the wide key, the ’92 team would set up shop down low. This is betting therapy. It’s practice. I’ve put out good lines and lost money on bad ones. With this, we’ll never know.” - What do you think the spread/total would be if the 1992 and 2012 men’s U.S.A basketball teams played each other?
