Browsing the recently released 2008 Olympic basketball roster felt like seeing who would be cast for the next season of “The Surreal Life.” And to tell you the truth, I wasn’t nearly as excited about seeing Chris Bosh paired up with Dwayne Wade as I was about Chyna living with Mini-Me. I’m just bracing myself two years ahead for another disappointing turnout — with luck, Kobe Byrant and LeBron James will stay grounded and their big egos will allow them to stay on the roster, giving us the chance to witness the drama and finger-pointing of a bunch of B-list basketball players.
Comparing basketball now to what it was years ago, you can’t help but wonder what happened to the glory of playing for your country and winning a shot at a gold medal. It seems that ushering in the Kobes and the Carmelo Anthonys of the time introduced a new era to the NBA, with the slogan: Just give me the ball and I’ll make you money.
Maybe it’s the image of the unbreakable Dream Team featuring Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin, among others, that makes me think that no other team could even compete. And that was 14 years ago. All 12 of those players deserved to be on that roster and were grateful to be there, too. They were the big shots of their time, and no ego, no fear of getting injured and no meager paycheck was going to stop them from winning a gold medal. Together, they were so formidable that they were crowned the Dream Team, and no other team has even come close to the respect that those 12 were given.
I’ve come to terms with a lot of things in the NBA. I’m used to lower-scoring games, flashier players and egos bigger than the appendage between Shaq’s legs, but there’s one thing that I still can’t accept: the deterioration of the Olympic basketball team. Growing up, I’ve come to see how much the league has shifted from men that love to play to men that come to make money — and, with each passing Olympics, I realize more and more that nothing will ever compete with the Dream Team.
Looking over the 2008 roster, I don’t see any sign of this season’s dominating players, such as Tim Duncan, Vince Carter or Shaquille O’Neill. Even though I’m not a huge fan of Allen Iverson, the man wasn’t even asked to try out for the team — and to think that two years earlier, he and Duncan were two of the few all-stars who even had the heart to pave the road with a losing run in Australia.
For that, I have to give Iverson a little respect and feel a little outraged that he wasn’t even given the opportunity to earn a spot on the team. It’s just sad to see this shift happen, and watch the NBA Olympic team become a running joke among sports fans across the nation. There’s no longer any reliability or commitment in today’s players, and that’s why they’ll have trouble playing against countries that actually want to be at the games and win a gold medal.
Maybe I’m not giving credit where it’s due; China and Russia have genetically engineering Yao Mings competing for their country, making the competition that much harder. But, hey, at least they care enough about their team to do so. There are only so many things that you can take seriously in the NBA today and, like those Lakers, the 2008 Olympic team is definitely not one of them.
