Every four years the Olympics come around and every four years the US Men's Olympic basketball team is expected to win the Gold Medal. 12 of the best players in the world team up for one summer with one goal in mind; To win gold.
The reason they are expected to win gold is because all 12 of their players play in the NBA. While most countries are lucky to have five or six NBA players on their roster. This gives the United States a massive advantage over every country.
After winning a bronze medal in the 1988 Olympics, the US allowed the pro athletes to play. For the 1992 Olympics, the Dream Team was created, and NBA players have been playing in the Olympics since. Here is a ranking of every US Men's Olympic Basketball roster since 1992.
The 12 players on this team were Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, Dwyane Wade, Carlos Boozer, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Emeka Okafor, Shawn Marion, Amar'e Stoudemire, Tim Duncan, Lamar Odom, and Richard Jefferson.
On paper there were a lot of big names but six players on this team had played two or less seasons and two never made an All-Star team at any point in their career. At the time the Olympics happen, there were a total of 14 All-Star appearances, 14 All-NBA selections, and three MVPs.
The main reason this team ranks last is because they won the Bronze Medal. It was a national embarrassment and why the USA committee takes their selection process so seriously now.
8. 2000 Australia
This roster had a total of 30 All-Star appearances, 22 All-NBA selections, 12 All-Defensive selections, and three Defensive Player of the Year winners. This team was young, as no player had currently won an MVP or championship, but they were talented.
Their 12 players were Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Ray Allen, Vin Baker, Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, Tim Hardaway, Allan Houston, Jason Kidd, Antonio McDyess, Alonzo Mourning, Gary Payton, and Steve Smith.
This team edges out the 2004 team because they won gold. They aren't higher because Olympic basketball wasn't as great at the time, and a lot of these players weren't near the best version of themselves yet.
Their roster consisted of Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Jerami Grant, Draymond Green, Jrue Holiday, Keldon Johnson, Zach LaVine, Damian Lillard, JaVale McGee, Khris Middleton, and Jayson Tatum.
There are also some obvious reasons why this team isn't ranked high. For starters, three players on the team have never made an All-Star team in their career. At that point in time, Lillard and Durant were the only notable superstars on the roster.
Despite that, this team had a total of 29 All-Star appearances, 18 All-NBA selections, 12 All-Defensive selections, an MVP, a Defensive Player of the Year, and seven championship rings — a lot of all-around experience but a lot of the other teams had more talent.
For the most part, they dominated but was in a nail biter against France in the Gold Medal game.
6. 2016 Rio
The 2015-16 season was one of the best NBA seasons ever, which was capped off by this USA Olympic team winning gold. Their roster had Jimmy Butler, Kevin Durant, DeAndre Jordan, Kyle Lowry, Harrison Barnes, DeMar DeRozan, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins, Paul George, Draymond Green, and Carmelo Anthony.
Those 12 players combined for 33 All-Star appearances, 23 All-NBA selections, nine All-Defensive selections, one MVP, and four championships. They had a nice collection of talent that could fill every role the team needed.
The edge that this team has over the previous three is having the higher average margin of victory; 22.5 points. They also had more talent that was in the middle of their prime while playing in a much harder era of Olympic basketball.
The 1996 Olympic team was the second time they allowed the pros to play, which gave them the nickname, Dream Team Two. This team is the most experienced team on the list so far. There were a total of 69 All-Star appearances, 65 All-NBA selections, 29 All-Defensive selections, three MVPs, four Defensive Player of the Years, and six championships.
This was all accomplished by Charles Barkley, Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Mitch Richmond, Reggie Miller, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Shaquille O'Neal, Gary Payton, and Hakeem Olajuwon.
This team was stacked as their average margin of victory was 23 points. The reason it's low on the list is because of the competition they had to face. The rest of the world didn't start to catch up to the US until after the 2000 Olympics. Having all that talent compared to the rest of the world skews the numbers.
4. 2008 Redeem Team
After the embarrassing performance that was the 2004 Olympic team, the USA committee wanted to take the Olympics more seriously. Enter the 2008 Redeem Team. They would accomplish their goal, winning Gold, and in dramatic fashion.
Their roster had Carlos Boozer, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Deron Williams, Michael Redd, Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul, Tayshaun Prince, and Carmelo Anthony. Combined they had 38 All-Star appearances, 31 All-NBA selections, 24 All-Defensive selections, one MVP and five championships.
This roster was also extremely talented. Their average margin of victory in these Olympics were 27.9 points with their closest game being the gold medal game, which they won by 23 points.
The biggest knock that this team has from being higher on the list is that they lack experience. A lot of the key players on the team were young. This is why many of those players will tell you how important Kobe being on the team was.
The 2012 London team was essentially a better version of the 2008 Redeem Team. There were five returning players, but the rest of the roster had much more all-around talent than the Redeem Team did at the time.
This team had Tyson Chandler, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Andre Iguodala, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Love, James Harden, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis, and Carmelo Anthony. They combined for 43 All-Star appearances, 39 All-NBA selections, 22 All-Defensive selections, four MVPs, one Defensive Player of the Year, and six championships.
This team had more experience, more players either near or in their prime, and was simply just better. Their average margin of victory was 32.1 points, including a seven-point win over Spain in the gold medal game. At the time, it was the hardest era to win in and they still dominated.
The only reason this isn't higher is because these next two have unmatched talent.
2. 1992 Dream Team
This was the first year NBA players were allowed to play in the Olympics, and it did not disappoint. This team had 12 of the greatest players ever, 10 of them made the NBA's 75th Anniversary team, and 11 of the 15 best players in the world.
This team had David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, Clyde Drexler, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Chris Mullin, Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson, and Christian Laettner.
Laettner was still in college but the 11 NBA players at the time, combined for 68 All-Star appearances, 61 All-NBA selections, 20 All-Defensive selections, nine MVPs, two Defensive Player of the Year awards, and 12 championships.
This team was unfair as their average margin of victory was 43.8 points and their closest game was a 32-point win over Croatia in the Gold Medal game.
There are a few reasons this team isn't No. 1 and it's because Olympic basketball was weaker then. Most countries didn't have NBA players, so the Dream Team had an unfair advantage. The second reason is that some of their key players were at the tail end or out of their prime.
The story behind the 2024 Olympic Basketball Team is an interesting one. The 2020 team just barely squeaked by but after the 2023 USA FIBA Team didn't even medal, something needed to be done. This led to arguably the greatest basketball roster ever created.
Their 12 players were Stephen Curry, Anthony Edwards, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Derrick White, Tyrese Haliburton, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid, Jrue Holiday, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Davis, and Devin Booker. They have combined for 71 All-Star appearances, 59 All-NBA selections, 27 All-Defensive selections, eight MVPs and 15 championships.
This roster was by far the most experience and had a great balance of young and old players.
This team had an average margin of victory of 22 points with their closest game coming in the semifinal matchup against Serbia. Their performance is the most impressive because Olympic Basketball has caught up to America. The Dream Team played against nine other NBA players while this year they played against 60.
That alone is enough to have them as the number one Olympic roster, but having all that experience and talent is also unmatched too.
feed
