“‘This ain't 92 anymore’ don’t work on me!!”: Gilbert Arenas dreams big with LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry for Team USA in Paris 2024

Team USA suffered a massive disappointment after finishing fourth at the FIBA World Cup 2023, despite being the favorite to win gold. Following its loss in the semifinals against Germany, American coach Steve Kerr spoke about how it “is not 1992 anymore” as the world has improved.

However, some have since questioned whether the world has really improved that much or whether Team USA struggled due to its lack of superstar representation.

This comes as most of the NBA’s top American superstars like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry opted not to participate in this year’s World Cup. According to former Washington Wizards star point guard Gilbert Arenas, if Team USA really put out its 12 best players, it would still be dominant.

In a recent Instagram post, Arenas called out everyone who has been comparing the current iteration of Team USA to the 1992 “Dream Team.” His reason was that the 1992 U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team actually had a team composed of the top NBA players:

“Please stop with this dumb narrative, you coaches and the media,” Arenas said.

“‘This is not 1992 anymore, like the rest of the world is catching up.’ Stop with that narrative. The only thing we don’t have over 92 is intelligence. We gotta realize, 92 put out a team to prove to the world, ‘We are dominant.’"

Arenas then pointed out that almost every single member of the Dream Team was an All-NBA player in 1992. This is in contrast to The USA’s 2023 World Cup team, which had zero players who made an All-NBA team last season.

“12 players on the USA team. The 92 Dream Team, hint, Dream Team, out of the 12, nine of those players were All-NBA players,” Arenas said.

“First and Second Team, not even Third Team. First and Second-Team All-NBA. That means out of the 10 spots on the First and Second Team, nine of the players came out of that. Like, the only player that didn’t make the team was Tim Hardaway, which he should have, he averaged 23 and 10 that year.

"He’s the only player out of the first two teams that didn’t make it, and I think he was hurt because he didn’t play the following year."

Arenas continued:

“The other three players, we’re gonna call them props. Magic Johnson, who was hurt and retiring. Larry Bird, back: done, doesn’t play. And then Christian Laettner.”

Arenas then attributed the modern-day state of Team USA to politics and called on American superstar players to once again participate in the tournament:

“Politics have changed. It’s been politics,” Arenas said.

“Think about what y’all are trying to do. You’re trying to create a perfect team. That’s what makes this dumb. The Dream Team put out the best players. The players would sacrifice and go win gold. You guys are trying to sacrifice yourselves. Like, ‘This ain’t 92 anymore.’ Prove it. Show it to me. Put out the best 12 players in the NBA!”

In his caption on his IG post, Arenas also named some of the NBA’s top American superstars that he wants to see participate in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris:

“I'm sorry but, ‘This ain't 92 anymore’ don’t work on me!! #2024 (Curry, Booker, KD, LBJ, AD) subs (Kyrie, Dame, Tatum, Kawhi, Jimmy) saving 2 spots (PG, Zion, Ja, Bam, Jaylen Brown, Trae Young). WE BLOWING EVERYONE OUT. Stop playing with our name."

Gilbert Arenas says the Dream Team only needed minor changes to be at peak strength

Former Washington Wizards star point guard Gilbert Arenas and the 1992 U.S. men's Olympic basketball team

Later on in his rant about the state of Team USA basketball, Gilbert Arenas added that the 1992 Dream Team was close to peak strength. According to Arenas, the team only needed a few minor moves to have the best team possible. These include swapping out then-aging NBA legends Larry Bird and Magic Johnson and then-rookie Christian Laettner for more productive stars.

“To make the team better, s**t, we take out Bird, put in Dominique Wilkins. Take out Magic, since he was hurt, and put in Tim Hardaway or Zeke (Isiah Thomas). Shaq (O’Neal) for Christian Laettner, who was rookie of the year that year,” Arenas said.

“That’s the only way you make that team better. There was no removing the other nine, these were the best of the best.”