(Mikias Girma, The Sheba Post | Washington DC) 

The 1992 Dream Team vs The 2012 Team? This has been the biggest question this week. Which Olympic basketball team would win?

When reporters asked Kobe Bryant, Kobe said, "We have just a bunch of young racehorses, guys that are eager to compete. So I don't know. It'd be a tough one, but I think we'd pull it out."

When Michael Jordan heard Kobe’s comments, Jordan said, "I absolutely laughed. For him to compare those two teams is not one of the smarter things he ever could have done."

Magic Johnson said, "I laughed as well. The 1992 Dream Team had 11 HOFs, 23 champ rings & the greatest player of all time in Jordan. No chance this years team would take us. Our '92 team had too many winners, were too smart & too competitive to lose to Kobe & the 2012 team."

Charles Barkley said, "I just started laughing. How old is Kobe Bryant? He's 34? And he's calling us old? At the time, we were only like 28, 29. Michael Jordan and I were the same age. We were both 29."

Like Jordan, Magic & Barkley, I and other basketball fans also laughed at Kobe's prediction! Betting against Michael Jordan is not a smart move. Even if you think the 2012 Team has a better roster than the Dream Team, don't bet against Jordan. Jordan didn't have the best roster when he won 6 championships. In the 1990's, the Knicks, Lakers, Pistons, Pacers, Cavaliers & Blazers may have had better rosters, but Jordan still won.

Jordan won without a great center; he had Will Perdue, Bill Cartwright and Stacey King. Also, he won with average players: Randy Brown, Jud Buechler, Steve Kerr & BJ Armstrong.

In the 1992 Olympics, Jordan had superstar centers: David Robinson & Patrick Ewing. He had Karl Malone, John Stockton, Charley Barkley, Clyde Drexler, Magic Johnson & Larry Bird! If you give Jordan this roster to play against the 2012 Olympic team, like we saw in the 1992 Olympics, Jordan's team would dominate.

"For him to make that comparison, it's one of those things where it creates conversation," Jordan said. "I guess we'll never know. I'd like to think that we had 11 Hall of Famers on that team, and whenever they get 11 Hall of Famers, you call and ask me who had the better Dream Team. Remember now, they learned from us. We didn't learn from them."

Even after his retirement, Michael Jordan wins and teaches lessons!