Dream Team

It was every NBA Fan's dream come true. An international basketball rule change in 1989 paved the way for professional basketball players to compete in the Olympics for the first time at Barcelona in 1992. The only thing more fun than assembling a team of current NBA stars to represent the United States was watching them play.

Led by coach Chuck Daly and assistants Lenny Wilkens, P.J. Carlesimo and Mike Kryzyzewski, the first Olympic "Dream Team" was immediately favored to win gold.

Being one of the first ten players to be selected in the USA basketball team means only one thing, David Robinson is one of the ten best players on the planet.

Being selected to play in the Olympics is an honor most people could only dream of, and when you are talking about playing on the best team that ever played in the Olympics, it is an honor few can experience.

When you are talking about a team that snubbed future Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, super quick point guard Kevin Johnson, the Human Highlight Film Dominique Wilkins, and the King of the crossover Tim Hardaway, you are talking about the Dream Team.

Compose of nothing other than superstars of the NBA and the top college player, the dream team were called the gold medal winners of men's basketball before they even set foot on the court, and with good reason.

When you are playing basketball against a team consisting of players like Magic Johnson, Micheal Jordan, Larry Bird and David Robinson, you are supposed to lose, you are not even supposed to come close.

Teams in the tournament knew that the Dream Team will stand on the stage and receive the gold medal on the last day of the tournament, and as much as they hate to admit it, they are all just playing for the silver.

David Robinson, playing with torn ligaments in his left (shooting hand), played the back-up center position. Providing an intimidating presence in the middle, the Spurs' mountain in the middle limited those easy scores around the basket.

Whether swatting away weak layups, or collecting a tough rebound in a crowd (usually a crowd of his own teammates), Robinson provided solid interior defense that translate to tough scores for opponents. 

The team dominated headlines as well as the competition. Everywhere they went, the media followed. And the animated, trash-talking practices were sometimes bigger news than the games. In their first Olympic game together, the Dream Team trounced Angola 116-48 and never looked back, going 8-0 en route to the gold.

They were the only undefeated team in the tournament, averaging an Olympic record of 117.3 points a game. They won their games by an average of 43.8 points (the second highest in the men's basketball Olympics behind the 1960 USA men's basketball team that features Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson) and the closest any opponent could come was 32 points (Croatia in the gold medal final).

"You will see a team of professionals in the Olympics again," said Daly. "But I don't think you'll see another team quite like this. This was a majestic team."

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.

Dream team III, with such solid citizens as Olajuwon, forward Grant Hill of the Detroit Pistons and center David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs, was overwhelmingly populated with players so well-behaved they could be the Hall Monitor All-Stars.

"I think the message is clear that the NBA and USA Basketball want to win and win big, but they want to do it in a certain way," says Robinson, who was also a member (with current Dream Teamers Pippen, forward Charles Barkley of the Phoenix Suns and forward Karl Malone and guard John Stockton of the Utah Jazz) of the original Dream Team, at the 1992 Barcelona Games. "It's not for me to judge other teams or other players, but I think that some of the behavior that might be acceptable when you're playing pickup with your friends isn't acceptable when you're playing in international competition in front of the world."

Behind an 18 point, seven rebound performance from three-time Olympian David Robinson, the U.S. over- came a sluggish start toopen the Games with a 96-68 win over Argentina.

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. 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.

Attracting 258,106 spectators during the USA's eight games, the U.S. averaged 32,263 fans per game.

Robinson, holds the record for most point, in 1996 he scored 29 points in the final against Yugoslavia.