US Olympic Men’s Basketball: 1992 vs. 2024
Of all of the Summer Olympic events, men’s basketball has long been one of the most popular in the United States.
Since the NBA is the pinnacle of professional basketball and the NCAA essentially serves as a feeder system to the pros, the United States has always been one of the favorites when it comes to Olympic men’s basketball.
The US men’s national team did not lose a game between 1936 and 1968. However, the success of national basketball isn’t limited to the men. The US women’s national team has not lost a game since 1992.
Coming into the 2024 Summer Olympics, basketball has been a part of 20 Olympic games. The US men’s team has won 16 gold medals in that time. Argentina, the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia are the only other nations to ever win gold in men’s basketball.
It’s also worth noting that of the four years that the US didn’t win gold in men’s basketball, one of those years (1980) included the United States boycotting the Games.
The 2024 men’s Olympic basketball team has one of the most stacked rosters that the US has ever put together.
With names like Lebron James, Kevin Durant, and Jayson Tatum on the roster, it’s easy to make an argument for this squad being the best national team that the United States has ever put together.
However, there’s a team from yesteryear that has always been considered the pinnacle of men’s basketball in the United States.
The 1992 Dream Team is widely considered one of the greatest collections of Olympic athletes to have ever been assembled.
While there’s no way to know exactly how things would shake out if the USA Dream Team faced off against the 2024 men’s Olympic basketball team, there are plenty of ways to compare the two.
The 1992 Dream Team
The 1992 Dream Team is considered historic for many reasons. First of all, it’s one of only two Olympic basketball teams to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, joining the 1960 squad.
Secondly, 1992 marked the first time that the US national team was made of professionals.
Since the Olympics are largely based on amateur athletes who are among the best in the world at their sports competing against one another, the United States spent decades with college basketball players on the national roster.
However, other countries started finding ways to manipulate those rules, allowing the rest of the world to put the best players from their countries on their roster.
In April of 1989, FIBA, the governing body that oversees basketball on an international level, made a decision that would change the course of history when it comes to Olympic basketball. The United States would be allowed to use professionals on their roster for the first time.
Chuck Daly, who was the head coach of the NBA Champion, Detroit Pistons in 1989 and 1990, was the head coach of the squad that would immediately be labeled as the Dream Team.
One of the most interesting stats from the 1992 Dream Team’s historic run involves Coach Daly. He never used a timeout during the team’s games, which further illustrates the amount of control that the US team had in every game.
Who Was On the 1992 Dream Team?
The roster of the 1992 Dream Team reads like a “who’s who” of professional basketball. However, there was one interesting decision regarding the roster.
As a means of honoring the previous system which only allowed collegiate players on the roster, the decision was made to include one amateur on the roster.
Instead of Shaquille O’Neal, who was a standout at Louisiana State University, the decision makers for USA basketball chose Christian Laettner from Duke.
While their professional careers looked vastly different, Laettner was heralded as one of the best college players in the country, and his inclusion on the roster also made sense from a roster construction perspective, as Laettner’s skills meshed well with the rest of the roster.
Outside of Laettner, the rest of the roster was made up of NBA All-Stars, including:
• Charles Barkley (Phoenix Suns)
• Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)
• Clyde Drexler (Portland Trail Blazers)
• Patrick Ewing (New York Knicks)
• Magic Johnson (Retired)
• Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
• Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
• Chris Mullin (Golden State Warriors)
• Scottie Pippen (Chicago Bulls)
• David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs)
• John Stockton (Utah Jazz)
The addition of the recently retired Magic Johnson to this team was also a point of interest. In 1991, Magic Johnson walked away from basketball after testing positive for HIV. His inclusion on the Dream Team roster would play a pivotal role in his return to professional basketball.
How Dominant Was the Dream Team?
The Dream Team went undefeated in the 1992 Olympics, winning their games by an average of 44 points. Take a look at the scores of each of their games to truly understand the dominance.
Preliminary Round (Pool Play)
• U.S. 116, Angola 48
• U.S. 103, Croatia 70
• U.S. 111, Germany 68
• U.S. 127, Brazil 83
• U.S. 122, Spain 81
Quarterfinals
• U.S. 115, Puerto Rico 77
Semifinals
• U.S. 127, Lithuania 76
Final
• U.S. 117, Croatia 85
That level of dominance has not been duplicated since, but will the 2024 Paris Olympics be the year that Team USA destroys the competition like the Dream Team did?
A Look at the 2024 Men’s Basketball Team
The men’s Olympic Basketball team is led by Steve Kerr, who serves as the head coach of the Golden State Warriors. He has multiple championships as a player and a coach.
The staff also includes Mark Few, the long-time coach at Gonzaga, as well as Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat and Tyronn Lue of the Los Angeles Clippers, both of whom have won NBA Championships as coaches.
The roster is certainly a modern-day Dream Team, including some of the biggest names in the NBA. However, it’s important to note that the game of basketball has evolved. When the 1992 Dream Team came together, most of the top players in the league were American.
Today, some of the best players in the NBA come from other countries. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) is playing for Greece, which is his home country. Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) is playing for Serbia, and Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks) is from Slovenia, so while he’s not playing in the 2024 Olympics, he’s not eligible to be on the American team.
However, even without these players, who have four NBA MVP awards between them, as well as two NBA Championships, the 2024 Olympic basketball team is stacked.
The roster includes:
• Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat)
• Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns)
• Steph Curry (Golden State Warriors)
• Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers)
• Kevin Durant (Phoenix Suns)
• Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves)
• Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers)
• Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers)
• Jrue Holiday (Boston Celtics)
• Lebron James (Los Angeles Lakers)
• Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)
• Derrick White (Boston Celtics)
That roster represents some of the most successful players in the NBA. Between its members, Team USA has eight NBA MVP Awards and seven Finals MVP Awards. The roster also has a combined 13 NBA Championships, including three members of the defending champion, Boston Celtics.
Which Team is Better?
There are pundits on both sides of this debate who will claim that their chosen team is better than the other.
Ultimately, there’s no way to determine which team would win in a head-to-head contest. Even if you compare the stats of each player, you must also consider how much the game has changed in the 32 years that have passed since the Dream Team took the floor.
What we do know is that men’s basketball is consistently a chance for Team USA to carry on a tradition that dates back nearly 100 years. Will the 2024 team secure the gold medal? Only time will tell.