From the start they were penciled in as the 1992 Olympic gold medalist team. The media, their opponents, and fans of basketball all agreed that this team would be unbeatable. And it was.
Featuring basketball's best of the best, the U.S. men were never challenged as a new era of international basketball made its debut. International rules, which had previously prevented only NBA players from being eligible for Olympic basketball, were changed by the FIBA membership on April 7, 1989, by virtue of a 56-13 vote in favor of "open competition." With the rule change, USA Basketball set forth on its mission of assembling the best possible team, and what a team USA Basketball assembled!
Cruising through the Olympic qualifying tournament with an unblemished 6-0 record, the USA Olympic men's basketball team later strolled almost as easily past its Olympic opponents en route to an 8-0 record and the Olympic gold medal.
Opening against Angola, behind Barkley's 24 points the U.S. squad stomped to a one-sided 116-48 victory. Facing a talented Croatian team a day later, the "Dream Team" managed a 33-point win, 103-70. Jordan led the U.S. team with 21 points. The U.S. team had an easy time with a solid Germany team, rolling to a 111-68 victory as Bird, who had been bothered by a nagging back injury, returned to his All-Star form to lead the USA offensive attack with 19 points, while Karl Malone chipped in 18. While seven "Dream Team" members scored in double digits, Barkley (12-14 FGs) set a USA Olympic single game scoring record with 30 points as the USA crushed Brazil, 127-83. Closing out pool play against host Spain, the U.S. scored a convincing 122-81 victory.
Advancing to the quarterfinals, Mullin accounted for a team high 21 points as the USA easily defeated Puerto Rico, 115-77. Meeting Lithuania in the semifinals, a talent filled team that featured four of the top six scorers from the Soviet Union's 1988 Olympic gold medal winning team, the American team jumped out to 11-0 and 34-8 leads to quickly put this contest out of reach and went on to record an impressive 127-76 win as nine U.S. players scored in double figures.
Facing Croatia in the gold medal contest, the U.S. again prevailed in the rematch, this time winning by 32 points, 117-85. Jordan led the U.S. in the gold medal contest with 22 points, while Barkley and Ewing accounted for 17 and 15 points, respectively.
Averaging an Olympic record 117.3 points a game, the USA squad won by an average of 43.8 points and the closest any opponent could come was 32 points (117-85 versus Croatia in the gold medal game).
"You will see a team of professionals in the Olympics again," said USA coach Chuck Daly. "But I don't think you'll see another team quite like this. This was a majestic team."
| NAME | POS | HGT | WGT | AGE | AFFILIATION (SCHOOL) | HOMETOWN |
| Charles Barkley | F | 6-6 | 250 | 29 | Phoenix Suns (Auburn) | Bala Cynwyd, PA |
| Larry Bird | F | 6-9 | 220 | 35 | Boston Celtics (Indiana State) | Brookline, MA |
| Clyde Drexler | G | 6-7 | 222 | 30 | Portland Trail Blazers (Houston) | Portland, OR |
| Patrick Ewing | C | 7-0 | 240 | 30 | New York Knicks (Georgetown) | Fort Lee, NJ |
| Earvin Johnson | G | 6-9 | 220 | 32 | Los Angles Lakers (Michigan State) | Beverly Hills, CA |
| Michael Jordan | G | 6-6 | 198 | 29 | Chicago Bulls (North Carolina) | Chicago, IL |
| Christian Laettner | F | 6-11 | 235 | 22 | Duke University | Angola, NY |
| Karl Malone | F | 6-9 | 256 | 29 | Utah Jazz (Louisiana Tech) | Salt Lake City, UT |
| Chris Mullin | F | 6-7 | 215 | 29 | Golden State Warriors (St. John's) | Alamo, CA |
| Scottie Pippen | G/F | 6-7 | 210 | 26 | Chicago Bulls (Central Arkansas) | Northbrook, IL |
| David Robinson | C | 7-1 | 235 | 27 | San Antonio Spurs (U.S. Naval Acd.) | San Antonio, TX |
| John Stockton | G | 6-1 | 175 | 30 | Utah Jazz (Gonzaga) | Salt Lake City, UT |
| HEAD COACH: Chuck Daly, New Jersey Nets | ||||||
| ASSISTANT COACH: Lenny Wilkens, Cleveland Cavaliers | ||||||
| ASSISTANT COACH: P. J. Carlesimo, Seton Hall Univ. (NJ) | ||||||
| ASSISTANT COACH: Mike Krzyzewski, Duke University (NC) | ||||||
| TEAM PHYSICIAN: David Fischer, Minneapolis, MN | ||||||
| TEAM PHYSICIAN: Steve Lombardo, Los Angeles Lakers | ||||||
| TEAM PHYSICIAN: Norman Scott, New York Knickerbockers | ||||||
| ATHLETIC TRAINER: Ed Lacerte, Boston Celtics | ||||||
| 1992 USA RESULTS (8-0) | 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES FINAL STANDINGS | |||||
| USA | 116 | Angola | 48 | 1. United States (8-0) | 7. Germany (3-5) | |
| USA | 103 | Croatia | 70 | 2. Croatia (6-2) | 8. Puerto Rico (3-5) | |
| USA | 111 | Germany | 68 | 3. Lithuania (6-2) | 9. Spain (3-4) | |
| USA | 127 | Brazil | 83 | 4. Com. of Ind. States (5-3) | 10. Angola (2-5) | |
| USA | 122 | Spain | 81 | 5. Brazil (4-4) | 11. Venezuela (2-5) | |
| USA | 115 | Puerto Rico | 77 | 6. Australia (4-4) | 12. China (0-7) | |
| USA | 127 | Lithuania | 76 | |||
| USA | 117 | Croatia | 85 | |||
G/GS FGM-FGA PCT 3PM-3PA PCT FTM-FTA PCT REB/AVG PTS/AVG AST BLK STL
Barkley 8/4 59- 83 .711 7- 8 .875 19- 26 .731 33/ 4.1 144/ 18.0 19 1 21
Jordan 8/8 51-113 .451 4- 19 .211 13- 19 .684 19/ 2.4 119/ 14.9 38 4 37
Malone 8/4 40- 62 .645 0- 0 .000 24- 32 .750 42/ 5.3 104/ 13.0 9 5 12
Mullin 8/2 39- 63 .619 14- 26 .538 11- 14 .786 13/ 1.6 103/ 12.9 29 2 14
Drexler 8/3 37- 64 .578 6- 21 .286 4- 10 .400 24/ 3.0 84/ 10.5 29 2 19
Ewing 8/4 33- 53 .623 0- 0 .000 10- 16 .625 42/ 5.3 76/ 9.5 3 15 7
Pippen 8/3 28- 47 .596 5- 13 .385 11- 15 .733 17/ 2.1 72/ 9.0 47 1 23
Robinson 8/4 27- 47 .574 0- 0 .000 18- 26 .692 33/ 4.1 72/ 9.0 7 12 14
Bird 8/3 25- 48 .521 9- 27 .333 8- 10 .800 30/ 3.8 67/ 8.4 14 2 14
Johnson 6/5 17- 30 .567 6- 13 .462 8- 10 .800 14/ 2.3 48/ 8.0 33 0 8
Laettner 8/0 9- 20 .450 2- 6 .333 18- 20 .900 20/ 2.5 38/ 4.8 3 3 8
Stockton 4/0 4- 8 .500 1- 2 .500 2- 3 .667 1/ 0.3 11/ 2.8 8 0 0
USA 8 369-638 .578 54-135 .400 146-201 .726 288/36.0 938/117.3 239 47 177
OPP. 8 214-586 .365 57-187 .305 103-151 .682 180/22.5 588/ 73.5 109 13 104
Continuing the dominance displayed in Barcelona by the 1992 USA Olympic Team (Dream Team I), USA Basketball's 1994 Men's World Championship of Basketball Team dominated its opponents by an average of 37.7 points a game and rolled to the 1994 FIBA World Championship gold medal.
Under the direction of Golden State Warriors head mentor Don Nelson, the USA squad for the first time ever at a World Championship featured NBA players. Compiling an unblemished 8-0 record, the United States' capturing of the gold medal marked just the third time an American squad has won the world title and reaffirmed the USA's dominance on the court.
The USA opened the 1994 World Championship of Basketball with a 115-100 victory over Spain as Joe Dumars and Reggie Miller led the USA with 21 and 20 points, respectively. Exploding for a 55-point victory over China, 132-77, Shaquille O'Neal led the USA with 22 points in 18 minutes of action, while Dominique Wilkins and Miller each added 15 points. The USA rolled to a 105-82 victory over Brazil in the team's final preliminary round game asO'Neal, playing 22 minutes, finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds, while Shawn Kemp and Alonzo Mourning finished with 15 points each.
Starting slowly against Australia, the game was tied 31-31 with 8:45 to go in the opening half, but by halftime the Americans had pulled out to a 62-48 advantage. The second half was all USA as it cruised on to a 56-point win, 130-74. Miller led the USA scoring frenzy with 31 points on 9-10 shooting from the field (5-6 3-pt FGs), Mark Price added 17 in the win and Dan Majerle had 14 points. Facing Puerto Rico, the U.S. rolled to a 134-83 victory as O'Neal scored 29, Miller made eight of 11 3-point shots to finish with 28 points and Wilkins added 22. Using its superior depth to wear Russia down, the USA team capped the quarterfinals round with its sixth straight win, a 111-94 victory over Russia. O'Neal paced the USA with 21 points, Dumars added 20 points and Derrick Coleman accounted for 15.
Shooting just 40.0 percent (34-85 FGs) for the game from the field, and finishing with under 100 points for the first time, the USA relied on its defense as it earned a berth in the gold medal game with a 97-58 win over Greece. Miller led the U.S. with 14 points.
Saving its best game for last, the USA dominated the gold medal contest from start to finish as it trounced Russia 137-91. Hitting 16 of their first 17 shots, Dream Team II led 25-10 with the game less than five minutes old and never looked back. Wilkins led the offensive attack with 20 points, while O'Neal added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Mourning and Kemp accounted for 15 and 14 points respectively. The USA's 137 points were the second most ever by a USA team in the World Championships.
| NAME | POS | HGT | WGT | AGE | NBA TEAM | COLLEGE |
| Derrick Coleman | F | 6-10 | 230 | 27 | New Jersey Nets | Syracuse |
| Joe Dumars | G | 6-3 | 195 | 31 | Detroit Pistons | McNeese State |
| Tim Hardaway | G | 6-0 | 195 | 27 | Golden State Warriors | Texas-El Paso |
| Kevin Johnson | G | 6-1 | 190 | 28 | Phoenix Suns | California |
| Larry Johnson | F | 6-7 | 250 | 25 | Charlotte Hornets | UNLV |
| Shawn Kemp | F | 6-10 | 245 | 24 | Seattle SuperSonics | Trinity Valley C.C. |
| Dan Majerle | G | 6-6 | 220 | 28 | Phoenix Suns | Central Michigan |
| Reggie Miller | G | 6-7 | 185 | 28 | Indiana Pacers | UCLA |
| Alonzo Mourning | C | 6-10 | 240 | 24 | Charlotte Hornets | Georgetown |
| Shaquille O'Neal | C | 7-1 | 301 | 22 | Orlando Magic | Louisiana State |
| Mark Price | G | 6-0 | 178 | 30 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Georgia Tech |
| Steve Smith | G | 6-8 | 208 | 25 | Miami Heat | Michigan State |
| Isiah Thomas | G | 6-1 | 185 | 33 | Detroit Pistons | Indiana |
| Dominique Wilkins | F | 6-8 | 218 | 24 | Boston Celtics | Georgia |
| HEAD COACH: Don Nelson, Golden State Warriors | ||||||
| ASSISTANT COACH: Don Chaney, Detroit Pistons | ||||||
| ASSISTANT COACH: Pete Gillen, Providence College (RI) | ||||||
| ASSISTANT COACH: Rick Majerus, University of Utah | ||||||
| TEAM PHYSICIAN: Stephen Haas, Washington Bullets | ||||||
| TEAM PHYSICIAN: John A. Hefferon, Chicago Bulls | ||||||
| ATHLETIC TRAINER: Tom Abdenour, Golden State Warriors | ||||||
| ATHLETIC TRAINER: Ron Culp, Miami Heat | ||||||
| 1994 USA RESULTS (8-0) | 1994
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL STANDINGS
| USA | 115 | Spain | 100 | 1. |
United States (8-0) | 9. | Argentina (5-3) | USA | 132 | China | 77 | 2. |
Russia (5-2) | 10. | Spain (5-3) | USA | 105 | Brazil | 82 | 3. |
Croatia (7-1) | 11. | Brazil (2-6) | FINAL ROUND | 4. | Greece
(4-4) | 12. | Germany (5-3) | USA | 130 | Australia | 74 | 5. |
Australia (5-3) | 13. | South Korea (3-5) | USA | 134 | Puerto Rico | 83 | 6. |
Puerto Rico (3-5) | 14. | Egypt (1-7) | USA | 111 | Russia | 94 | 7. |
Canada (4-4) | 15. | Cuba (3-5) | USA | 97 | Greece | 58 | 8. | China
(2-6) | 16. | Angola (1-7) | USA | 137 | Russia | 91 | | ||||||||||
G FGM-FGA PCT 3PM-3PA PCT FTM-FTA PCT REB/AVG PTS/AVG AT BK ST
O'Neal 8 62- 87 .713 0- 4 .000 20- 38 .526 68/ 8.5 144/ 18.0 4 15 9
Miller 8 44- 73 .603 30- 57 .526 19- 20 .950 13/ 1.6 137/ 17.1 18 0 9
Wilkins 8 38- 67 .567 8- 21 .381 17- 22 .773 26/ 3.3 101/ 12.6 8 1 6
Dumars 7 33- 57 .579 16- 31 .516 6- 6 1.000 10/ 1.4 88/ 12.6 20 0 6
Mourning 8 37- 54 .685 1- 3 .333 12- 17 .706 41/ 5.1 87/ 10.9 5 9 7
Price 8 25- 62 .403 19- 45 .422 8- 10 .800 20/ 2.5 77/ 9.6 29 1 12
Kemp 8 31- 45 .689 0- 1 .000 13- 26 .500 54/ 6.8 75/ 9.4 12 9 8
Majerle 8 23- 51 .451 15- 33 .455 9- 13 .692 18/ 2.3 70/ 8.8 13 1 6
Coleman 8 26- 38 .684 6- 10 .600 11- 13 .846 31/ 3.9 69/ 8.6 6 4 11
Johnson 8 20- 40 .500 2- 2 1.000 7- 11 .636 41/ 5.1 49/ 6.1 7 2 2
Johnson 8 16- 34 .471 0- 2 .000 8- 9 .889 14/ 1.8 40/ 5.0 31 1 8
Smith 8 7- 20 .350 6- 13 .462 4- 8 .500 10/ 1.3 24/ 3.0 14 1 4
USA TOTALS 8 362-628 .576 103-222 .464 134-193 .694 346/43.3 961/120.1 167 44 88
OPP. TOTALS 8 237-541 .438 55-147 .374 130-175 .743 225/28.1 659/ 82.4 99 17 43
Just as its predecessor, the 1992 U.S. Olympic Team did, the 1996 USA Men's Olympic Team proved itself as the best en route to compiling a perfect 8-0 record and capturing the gold at the Atlanta Summer Olympic Games.
Coached by Lenny Wilkens, the NBA's all-time winningest coach, and relying on another collection of NBA superstars, the '96 Olympians continued the "Dream Team" legacy with class and distinction. Featuring a balance of respected veteran all-stars and some of the game's brightest young players, record crowds watched the U.S. capture the gold. Attracting 258,106 spectators during the USA's eight games, the U.S. averaged 32,263 fans per game.
Behind an 18 point, sevenrebound performance from three-time Olympian David Robinson, theU.S. over- came a sluggish start toopen the Games with a 96-68 win over Argentina. Scoring a team leading 12 points, Karl Malone led a balanced USA scoring effort that saw nine players score between 12 and seven points as the U.S. rolled to an 87-54 win over Angola. Lithuania was expected to test the American squad, but behind 18 points and a team high five rebounds from Charles Barkley, the U.S. strolled to a convincing 104-82 victory.
Scottie Pippen's 24 point performance led seven U.S. players in double-digit scoring as the United States established four USA Olympic records and in the process trounced China 133-70 while an Olympic basketball record crowd of 34,417 watched. Grant Hill tossed in 19 points, and Reggie Miller, who hit a USA Olympic record five-of-eight three-point field goals, added 17 points. The USA's 133 points were the most ever for a U.S. Olympic squad. Concluding preliminary pool play against 1992 Olympic silver medalist Croatia, the U.S. cruised to the 102-71 win as Mitch Richmond led the charge with 16points, and Barkley added 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Facing Brazil in quarterfinals action, guard Anfernee Hardaway scored 14 points and Shaquille O'Neal added 11 points and 11 rebounds as the U.S. dominated Brazil 98-75 with a crowd of 31,740 watching.
Meeting Australia in the medal semifinal game, in front of 34,069 fans and behind Barkley's 24 point and 11 rebound showing, the USA downed Australia 101-73.
In the gold medal game, witnessed by an Olympic men's basketball record crowd of 34,600, the U.S. finished strong to hand Yugoslavia its only loss of the Games 95-69 and earn the gold medal. Struggling with its shooting early, the U.S., which trailed by seven points midway through the first half, fought back to take a 43-38 lead at halftime. Only leading 51-50 with 14:03 remaining, the U.S. sealed its gold medal after recording an 18-4 scoring run to take control 69-55. The USA was paced by game highs of 28 points (9-11 FGs) and seven rebounds from Robinson, while Miller finished with 20 points and Hardaway added 17.
| NAME | POS | HGT | WGT | AGE | AFFILIATION (SCHOOL) | HOMETOWN |
| Charles Barkley | F | 6-6 | 252 | 33 | Phoenix Suns (Auburn) | Bala Cynwyd, PA |
| Anfernee Hardaway | G | 6-7 | 200 | 24 | Orlando Magic (Memphis State) | Windermere, FL |
| Grant Hill | F | 6-8 | 225 | 23 | Detroit Pistons (Duke) | Bloomfield Hills, MI |
| Karl Malone | F | 6-9 | 255 | 33 | Utah Jazz (Louisiana Tech) | Salt Lake City, UT |
| Reggie Miller | G | 6-7 | 190 | 30 | Indiana Pacers (UCLA) | Indianapolis, IN |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | C | 7-0 | 250 | 33 | Houston Rockets (Houston) | Sugar Land, TX |
| Shaquille O'Neal | C | 7-1 | 301 | 24 | Orlando Magic (Louisiana State) | Windermere, FL |
| Gary Payton | G | 6-4 | 190 | 28 | Seattle SuperSonics (Oregon State) | Seattle, WA |
| Scottie Pippen | F | 6-7 | 225 | 30 | Chicago Bulls (Central Arkansas) | Highland Park, IL |
| Mitch Richmond | G | 6-5 | 215 | 31 | Sacramento Kings (Kansas State) | Granite Bay, CA |
| David Robinson | C | 7-1 | 235 | 30 | San Antonio Spurs (U.S. Naval Acd.) | San Antonio, TX |
| John Stockton | G | 6-1 | 175 | 34 | Utah Jazz (Gonzaga) | Salt Lake City, UT |
| HEAD COACH: Lenny Wilkens, Atlanta Hawks | ||||||
| ASSISTANT COACH: Jerry Sloan, Utah Jazz | ||||||
| ASSISTANT COACH: Bobby Cremins, Georgia Tech | ||||||
| ASSISTANT COACH: Clem Haskins, University of Minnesota | ||||||
| TEAM PHYSICIAN: Steve Haas, Washington Bullets | ||||||
| TEAM PHYSICIAN: John Hefferon, Chicago Bulls | ||||||
| TEAM PHYSICIAN: Bruce Moseley, Houston Rockets | ||||||
| ATHLETIC TRAINER: Steven Brace, Creighton Univ. (NE) | ||||||
| ATHLETIC TRAINER: Ron Culp, Miami Heat | ||||||
| 1996 USA RESULTS (8-0) | 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES FINAL STANDINGS | |||||
| USA | 96 | Argentina | 68 | 1. United States (8-0) | 7. Croatia (4-4) | |
| USA | 87 | Angola | 54 | 2. Yugoslavia (7-1) | 8. China (2-6) | |
| USA | 104 | Lithuania | 82 | 3. Lithuania (5-3) | 9. Argentina (3-4) | |
| USA | 133 | China | 70 | 4. Australia (5-3) | 10. Puerto Rico (2-5) | |
| USA | 102 | Croatia | 71 | 5. Greece (5-3) | 11. Angola (1-6) | |
| USA | 98 | Brazil | 75 | 6. Brazil (3-5) | 12. South Korea (0-7) | |
| USA | 101 | Australia | 73 | |||
| USA | 95 | Yugoslavia | 69 | |||
G/GS FGM-FGA PCT 3PM-3PA PCT FTM-FTA PCT REB/AVG PTS/AVG AST BLK STL
Robinson 8/3 34- 50 .680 0- 0 .000 28- 40 .700 37/ 4.6 96/ 12.0 0 3 5
Miller 8/5 33- 64 .516 17- 41 .415 8- 9 .889 8/ 1.0 91/ 11.4 17 0 8
Pippen 8/7 37- 71 .521 8- 23 .348 6- 11 .545 31/ 3.9 88/ 11.0 26 4 13
Barkley 7/4 31- 38 .816 2- 4 .500 23- 32 .719 46/ 6.6 87/ 12.4 17 1 6
Richmond 8/3 25- 54 .463 11- 26 .423 16- 19 .842 13/ 1.6 77/ 9.6 10 0 10
O'Neal 8/3 31- 50 .620 0- 0 .000 12- 23 .522 42/ 5.3 74/ 9.3 7 8 5
Hardaway 8/1 25- 44 .568 4- 13 .308 18- 25 .720 22/ 2.8 72/ 9.0 35 1 11
Malone 8/4 29- 51 .569 0- 0 .000 9- 17 .529 36/ 4.5 67/ 8.4 11 1 8
Hill 6/1 22- 36 .611 2- 6 .333 12- 16 .750 17/ 2.8 58/ 9.7 21 1 18
Payton 8/6 14- 37 .378 3- 7 .429 10- 19 .526 25/ 3.1 41/ 5.1 36 0 6
Olajuwon 7/2 13- 29 .448 0- 0 .000 9- 13 .692 22/ 3.1 35/ 5.0 8 3 6
Stockton 8/1 10- 19 .526 1- 2 .500 9- 11 .818 6/ 0.8 30/ 3.8 22 0 13
USA 8 304-543 .560 48-122 .393 160-235 .681 305/38.1 816/102.0 210 22 109
OPP. 8 190-452 .420 61-161 .379 121-174 .695 201/25.1 562/ 70.3 119 9 51