"Jordan faced plumbers": Basketball fans react to disparity in quality of competition between Dream Team and 2024 roster

When Michael Jordan and the Dream Team took the court in Barcelona for the 1992 Olympics, it marked the first time that NBA players were competing in the Olympics. Before that, teams were comprised of collegiate athletes, with Jordan winning gold in the 1984 Olympics before being drafted. At the time, Jordan and the Dream Team faced off against nine other NBA players in the Olympics.

Now, as LeBron James looks to lead the way for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, he and the team are set to compete against 61 NBA players from around the world. With more global players picking up basketball at a young age, the game has become more global since 1992.

This was seen in this year's NBA draft, where five of the 30 first-round picks were international players. Over the past six years, every NBA MVP has been born internationally.

Given the discrepancy between the level of competition the Dream Team faced, and the level of competition this year's US team will face, fans called out Jordan for playing in a weak era.

"Jordan faced plumbers narrative going up" - One fan wrote

"Dream team literally faced no competition lmfao, they were up against my principal and mechanic" - Another added

Others pointed out that it's natural for the league to get competitive over the past 30+ years:

"The game has changed since! Great to see the talent growing!! Makes the game that much better to watch!!!" - One added

Others weighed in on what the level of competition means for the NBA GOAT debate:

"This is a clear proof that LeBron is playing against world’s best basketball players while MJ is playing against world’s best plumbers. LBJ > MJ" - One wrote

Looking at the dominant play of Michael Jordan and the Dream Team at the 1992 Olympics

Leading up to the 1992 Olympics, where Team USA fielded a roster of NBA stars, the US Olympic Team came in third at the 1888 games. The bronze medal finish marked the worst outing in US Basketball history, and the following year FIBA voted to allow professionals to compete for their countries.

The US responded by rolling out a dominant team comprised of some of the biggest stars in NBA history, many of whom were in their primes. With co-captains Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, Team USA dominated.

The Dream Team rattled off five straight wins in the Group Phase of play, scoring triple-digits in all five games while holding opponents below 85 points. Then, in the knockout round, Team USA maintained their level of play while continuing their triple-digit scoring streak.

After three straight knockout-round wins, the Dream Team stood atop the world as the most dominant basketball team ever seen. The Dream Team was led in scoring by Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan, with Barkley averaging 18.0 ppg and Jordan averaging 14.9 ppg.

On the glass, it was more of the same with Karl Malone and Patrick Ewing averaging 5.3 rpg, and Barkley and David Robinson averaging 4.1 rpg. While their dominant play left the world in awe at the time, it sounds as though nowadays the level of competition they faced is becoming a major debate.