Carmelo Anthony’s bold claim on Team USA GOAT squad debate

Ahead of the Paris Games debate raged over which Team USA squad was the greatest, one NBA legend has had his say on it all.

The Team USA basketball squad for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics are often considered the greatest squad ever assembled.

Known more commonly as ‘The Dream Team’, the squad was the first American team to feature professional players from the NBA.

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Led by Michael Jordan, the squad was loaded with some of the best players on the face of the planet and in what shouldn’t be a shock, they cruised to the gold medal with an average winning margin of 43.75 points.

But while many have them atop the mountain of greatest teams ever assembled, NBA legend Carmelo Anthony has a different Olympic squad at the top of his list.

Anthony played in four Olympic Games campaigns, collecting three gold medals and one bronze medal to add to his historic accolades.

And while even he points out his bias on the conversation, it’s the 2012 squad from the London Games that he says was the best squad assembled.

The 2012 squad belong in the GOAT conversation. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

A squad that featured Anthony alongside the likes of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant rolled their way to the gold medal finishing with an average winning margin of 31.12 points.

“For me the ‘92 Dream Team was just amazing. They set the tone, they opened the doors, they globalised this game,” Anthony said to news.com.au.

“I would say the ‘08 team, the way that team was actually assembled and we were up against a wall, this team (‘24) wasn’t up against the wall … it was just social media being up against Team USA.

“In ‘08 it was a total different situation, I don’t think also 2012 gets a lot of love. The 2012 USA team is very underrated, to me that’s one of the top teams that USA ever put together.

“Especially now being in the position that I’m in to go back and watch and see and just learn and understand at those times to have a different perspective I think the 2012 team should be in the conversation when you talk about the best USA teams.”

Outside of the gold medal game, Team USA were an unstoppable force. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

With time now on his side after retiring from the NBA, the 10-time All Star is enjoying life post-retirement and has taken on a global ambassador role with the NBL’s Next Stars program.

The initiative has seen star players from Josh Giddey to LaMelo Ball play in the NBL before heading to the States and making their mark in the NBA.

Anthony says his role in it all is to bridge the pipeline between Australia and the rest of the world, but also said the league has stamped its mark on the global stage.

“The NBL is arguably the second best league behind the NBA,” Anthony said.

“It’s the most like brand new in the sense that the way it’s being branded and the excitement and the eyeballs of everybody that’s watching … not just in Australia but around the world.

“For me to be a part of that it aligns with my goals of globalising the game of basketball.”

Melo is loving life with his new NBL role. (Photo by Will Russell/Getty Images)

While attention remains on the NBL’s Hoops Fest unfolding in Perth … focus is starting to shift towards the upcoming 2024/25 NBA season. Anthony however, enjoying his retirement life, was caught off guard with the fact the season was just around the corner.

“I’m still in summer mode, I didn’t even realise that the season was a month away,” Anthony said.

“So I haven’t really dug deep into the teams, I don’t even know who’s on what team. But I will dive back into it.”

Pressed on who he thinks will be the team to beat, Anthony begrudgingly said you can’t go past the NBA champion Boston Celtics.

“Boston is still the team, they the champs. It’s hard for me to say that but you still have to go through Boston,” Anthony said.

Carmelo Anthony at Evening With event in Melbourne.

Carmelo Anthony at Foot Locker QV in Melbourne.

“New York got a lot better but at the same time, Philly got a lot better. So there’s these teams that have gotten better, so I think they’re the teams that are going to be there.

“Of course we want to see Minnesota and what they’re about but they have to go through the growing pains, they have to go through development and seeing where they’re really at and truly who they are.

“I would love to see those guys there but you look at Boston it’s the same group of guys. They lost together, they put time in, they cried and bled together and now they witnessed success together so in sports man you got to go through it, it’s not just an overnight thing.”

The 2024/25 NBA season gets underway on Wednesday October 23 when the Celtics play the Knicks at 10:30am (AEST).