The 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball squad, dubbed the Dream Team, was the first American Olympic team to include active NBA players (NBA). Journalists all around the world have dubbed the team "the finest sports team ever formed." The team won the gold medal against Croatia at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, outscoring their opponents by an average of 44 points. The squad did not simply take home the gold. It had such an influence in the United States and across the world that the game of basketball benefits from it today, and it did so while putting up some ridiculous figures.
Roster
Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Clyde Drexler, Scottie Pippen, Chris Mullin, and Christian Laettner.
Coaching Staff
The Dream Team's head coach was Detroit's Chuck Daly. The assistant coach from the NBA ranks was Lenny Wilkens, who ranks second all-time in NBA history with 1,332 victories. Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and P. J. Carlesimo of Seton Hall were both on the coaching staff.
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1992 Olympics Group Stage
The United States marched to a one-sided 116-48 victory over Angola, thanks to Barkley's 24 points. A day later, the Dream Squad defeated a quality Croatian team by a score of 103-70. Jordan scored 21 points to lead the US squad. Bird, who had been hampered by a persistent back issue, returned to his All-Star form to lead the USA offensive effort with 19 points, while Karl Malone chipped in 18 for the Americans. Seven members of the "Dream Team" scored in double figures, and Barkley established an Olympic single-game scoring record with 30 points as the United States defeated Brazil 127-83. The United States won 122-81 over host Spain to finish pool play. Barkley scored 20 points and Clyde Drexler contributed 17 points.
1992 Olympics Knockout Stage
Mullin scored a team-high 21 points as the USA comfortably beat Puerto Rico, 115-77, to advance to the semifinals. Meeting Lithuania in the semifinals, a talented team that included 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 put the game out of reach and go on to win 127-76 with nine American players scoring in double figures. The United States defeated Croatia in the gold medal final, this time by 32 points, 117-85. Micheal Jordan scored 22 points to lead the United States to gold, while Barkley and Ewing scored 17 and 15 points, respectively.
The Dream Team went undefeated and won the gold medal game 117-85 over Croatia. Team USA averaged 43.8 points per game in the eight games. The Dream Team didn't look back after that. The beauty of it was how they blended all of their celebrity and personalities into a seamless demonstration of collaboration. Despite having two of the most prolific scorers in NBA history in Jordan and Larry Bird, Charles Barkley led the team in scoring. Coach Chuck Daly didn't have to use a timeout once. Even though they were used to battling against one another, the squad came together. There was never any rivalry, simply triumph.
