18) 1936 (Berlin)

Notable players: Joe Fortenberry, Francis Johnson, Frank Lubin, Sam Balter, Tex Gibbons

Basketball made its debut as a competitive sport at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin (it had previously been an exhibition test sport in 1904) and it was hardly recognizable compared to today’s game. The contests were played outdoors on a court made out of clay and sand with something resembling a water-logged soccer ball. Several games ended with the losing team failing to crack double digits, and the U.S. team’s first opponent, Spain, had to forfeit the game due to complications with the Spanish Civil War. The U.S. roster was made up of spare parts from several AAU teams, one of which was sponsored by the Universal Pictures movie studio. After defeating the Spaniards via forfeit, the Americans rolled past Estonia and the Philippines to reach the medal round (it was a weird format. 21 nations competed. The first two rounds were double elimination and the U.S. got a bye in the third round to take on the Philippines in the quarterfinals). They stomped Mexico, 25-10, in the semifinals, then played a war of attrition with Canada in the gold medal game. With torrential downpours sullying the outdoor court and rendering dribbling nearly impossible, U.S. captain Joe Fortenberry led all scorers with seven points in a 19-8 victory. Canadian-born sport inventor James Naismith was one of about 900 people who braved the weather to witness the historical game, and he handed out medals in the succeeding ceremony. With the NBA still a decade away from forming, most of the players either quit basketball after the Olympics or played several seasons of semi-pro ball before moving on to other pursuits.

17) 1952 (Helsinki)

Notable players: Clyde Lovellette, Bob Kurland, Bob Kenney, Ron Bontemps, Dan Pippin, Marc Freiberger

Much of the credit for basketball becoming an Olympic sport can be given to legendary Kansas coach Phog Allen, who campaigned tirelessly for its inclusion in the 1936 event. 16 years later, Allen got his chance to coach at the Olympics, leading a squad that mostly dominated the competition but featured only one truly impressive player. That was Clyde Lovellette, who had just finished his collegiate career at Kansas under Allen, with a senior season that included a national title, a scoring title, a tournament MVP award, a Player of the Year award, and an NCAA record for most points scored in a tournament. He kept that momentum going in Helsinki, averaging a team-high 13.7 points per game while leading the U.S. to an undefeated run to the gold medal. The roster was mostly filled out with Lovellette’s Kansas teammates though one notable omission was future Team U.S.A. coach Dean Smith. They won all eight games they played in the tournament en route to the gold medal, with only Brazil managing to keep the final score within single digits. Lovellette is the only member of the team to eventually reach the NBA, though many of the non-Kansas players were stars of the rival AAU, most notably the seven-foot Bob Kurland, who had been a rival of George Mikan in his college days and was eventually inducted in the Naismith Hall of Fame.

16) 2004 (Athens)

Notable players: Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, LeBron James, Lamar Odom, Dwyane Wade

On paper, this was arguably one of the three or four most talented teams in U.S. history. But the results speak for themselves. Before 2004, U.S. basketball had just two total losses in Olympic competition. This team managed to lose three times in one tournament, including a 19-point loss to Puerto Rico during the preliminary round that was easily the biggest defeat in U.S. history. So what went wrong? For starters, though the team featured recent MVPs Allen Iverson and Tim Duncan, many of the NBA’s top players declined to participate. Shaquille O’Neal and reigning MVP Kevin Garnett already had gold medals in their possession and opted to use the summer to rest, while Kobe Bryant was mired in his sexual assault trial and Tracy McGrady cited security concerns post-9/11. Meanwhile, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwyane Wade were obvious talents but were just coming off their rookie years and lacked experience. The team was also missing a pure point guard, with Iverson and Stephon Marbury having shoot first mentalities, and the outside shooting required to compete in the international style. Throw in the seemingly disengaged Larry Brown at coach and an increasingly talented international field and you had this disaster that ended with a semifinal loss to Argentina leaving the team settling for a bronze medal.

15) 1988 (Seoul)

Notable players: David Robinson, Danny Manning, Mitch Richmond, Dan Majerle, Hersey Hawkins, Stacey Augmon

The last team to not feature pro players sometimes gets an unfair rep for failing so spectacularly that the Dream Team became a forgone conclusion. Though this ’88 edition doesn’t fully deserve that notoriety, it was notable for controversy and for failing to win the gold medal. The disputation started with the head coach position being granted to John Thompson, whose track record of success at Georgetown was undeniable but so was his contentiousness with the media. Thompson kept things secretive throughout the roster paring process, which made his ultimate decisions all the more controversial, including the selection of just one player from the Western U.S., UNLV forward Stacey Augmon (Arizona’s Sean Elliott and Stanford’s Todd Licthi were the two final, and most head-scratching, cuts). The team was obviously still stacked, anchored by David Robinson, Mitch Richmond, and Danny Manning, and rolled into the semifinals where the Soviets awaited. It was the first Olympic meeting between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. since 1972, due largely to boycotts in 1980 and 1984. This time the Russians didn’t need help from the officials late, as big performances from Arvydas Sabonis and Sarunas Marciulionis powered them to a 82-76 upset. The Americans had to settle for defeating Australia for the bronze medal. As opposed to popular belief, the Russians, who went on to defeat Yugoslavia for the gold medal, were not made up entirely of amateur players, as their best competitors like Sabonis would be given high-ranking government positions to essentially play for the national team for money.

14) 1972 (Munich)

Notable players: Tom Henderson, Doug Collins, Bobby Jones, Jim Brewer, Dwight Jones, Mike Bantom

If they hadn’t been cheated out of the gold medal by poor – possibly illicit – officiating, this team would rank much higher. But fair is fair in terms of our rankings, so their ultimate silver medal performance needs to be taken into consideration. Their loss to the Soviet Union in the gold medal finals was the first in Olympics history for the U.S., breaking a streak of 63 consecutive wins that started in 1936. Though they came into the tournament heavily favored as always, there were concerns about this American roster, which was the youngest in team history and lacked star power. Bill Walton, Julius Erving, Bob McAdoo, Jim Chones, Paul Westphal, and George McGinnis were amongst the top players that declined invitations to the team, either due to injury, desire to rest, or by virtue of having signed an ABA contract, negating their amateur eligibility. There was also trepidation about the head coach, Henry Iba, who had led the U.S. to gold medals in 1964 and 1968 but also gained a reputation for his authoritarian style which was exponentially rankling younger players. There was obviously still a lot of talent on the team, with Doug Collins, Tom Henderson, and Dwight Jones leading the way in a balanced attack, as the U.S. easily won their first eight games heading into the gold medal match. The controversy of that game started with three seconds left and the score tied 49-49. Collins sank a free throw to give the U.S. the lead, but the Soviets protested, claiming they had called a timeout prior to his attempt. In the resulting confusion, Collins was awarded the free throw to give the U.S. a 50-49 lead, but the Soviets managed to make an illegal substitution and draw up a final inbounds play. They got not one but two attempts at the game winning basket, due to a clock malfunction, and on the second try Sergei Balov hit the game winner. The Americans made several appeals to the IOC and other governing bodies that were ultimately denied, and to this day have not accepted their silver medals.

13) 1948 (London)

Notable players: Alex Groza, Ralph Beard, Don Barksdale, Bob Kurland, Vince Boryla, Ray Lumpp

In the 12-year gap, caused by World War II, between the first Olympics basketball tournament and the second the sport had grown exponentially in the United States. College basketball’s popularity had spiked in the late ’30s thanks to the introduction of the NCAA Tournament, while two pro leagues, the BAA and NBL had cropped up and would officially merge in 1949 to create the NBA. The U.S. Olympic Basketball Committee was still sorting out the best strategy for selecting the roster, and in 1948 they settled on holding a tournament of the top collegiate and AAU teams. The winners were Phillips 66ers, an AAU team from Oklahoma sponsored by the titular petroleum company, with the Kentucky Wildcats, who were defending NCAA champs featuring the famed “Fabulous Five” as runners-up. The USOC took five players from each of those teams, plus a selection of some of the best players from the remaining amateur competitors. While basketball was on the rise in America, most other countries had actually regressed in the sport since 1936, due mostly to the ravages of war. The tournament was a cakewalk for the U.S., winning their eight games by an average of 37 points, with only Argentina managing to keep the final score within single digits. Coach Omar Browning opted to switch starting lineups between his five Phillips players and five Kentucky players game-to-game, with the 66ers getting the honors of starting in the gold medal match against France, a 65-21 romp. Wildcats star Alex Groza was the leading scorer, followed by Bob Kurland of the 66ers and AAU star Don Barksdale, who became the first African-American player in Olympic basketball history.

12) 1976 (Montreal)

Notable players: Adrian Dantley, Scott May, Phil Ford, Walter Davis, Mitch Kupchak, Quinn Buckner

Though they exacted some level of revenge for the 1972 team by returning the U.S. to gold medal status, things weren’t exactly easy for the Americans in 1976. They were nearly stunned in the preliminary round by Puerto Rico featuring Marquette’s Butch Lee, who was engaging in his own vengeance against the U.S. team that didn’t even invite him to try out. The Americans survived that game by a final of 95-94, and also had a close call against Yugoslavia, who led the U.S. at halftime, and Czechoslovakia, who fell to the U.S. by just five points. There would be no direct redemption for the U.S. against the U.S.S.R., as the Soviets were upset in the semifinals by Yugoslavia, denying a rematch of the 1972 finals. After knocking out the host Canadians in the semifinals, the Americans cruised past Yugoslavia in their second match-up, with Adrian Dantley leading the way with 30 points as the U.S. clinched gold with a 95-74 win. Dantley, who had just finished his junior year at Notre Dame and would soon declare early for the NBA Draft, was the team’s leading scorer, followed by Indiana’s Scott May, who also led the team in rebounding. The assists leader was Phil Ford, who was one of four North Carolina players on the team that was helmed by their college coach Dean Smith.

11) 1968 (Mexico City)

Notable players: Spencer Haywood, Jo Jo White, Charlie Scott, Mike Silliman, Cal Fowler, Bill Hosket

Four years before the 1972 team faced infamy for a controversial gold medal game loss to the Soviet Union, this squad may have avoided the same fate just by luck. The U.S. technically entered the 1968 Olympics as co-favorites with the Soviets, after the U.S.S.R. soundly defeated them in a series of exhibition games earlier in the summer. The U.S. roster was making headlines less for the players on it and more for the ones who passed on the opportunity, especially Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who opted to boycott the Olympics in protest of the treatment of Black Americans and the Vietnam War. Though Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) was the only high-profile openly political defector, many other top players dropped out of consideration, including Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes, and Pete Maravich, while future NBA All-Stars Dan Issel and Calvin Murphy were amongst the final cuts. The U.S. was left with three great players in Jo Jo White, Charlie Scott, and Spencer Haywood, who, at 19 years old, became the youngest participant in U.S. Olympic basketball history. Despite the travails the American team went undefeated in Mexico City, surviving a challenge from Puerto Rico but otherwise dominating the competition. Similar to 1976, their expected gold medal match-up against Russia was deferred when the Soviets were upset by Yugoslavia in the semifinals. The U.S. soundly defeated Yugoslavia 65-50 to clinch the gold medal. Haywood established himself as one of the game’s biggest stars by leading the way with 16.1 points per game, while White ran the offense effectively. The remainder of the roster was mostly nondescript, and this would be the last U.S. team to feature players drawn from the AAU and military ranks, with the 1972 edition starting the tradition of picking from only the top collegiate players.

10) 1964 (Tokyo)

Notable players: Bill Bradley, Walt Hazzard, Jerry Shipp, Lucious Jackson, Joe Caldwell, Mel Counts

On a team featuring future NBA stars Bill Bradley, Lucious Jackson, Walt Hazzard, and Joe Caldwell, it was Jerry Shipp, an AAU player who would never suit up for a pro team in his career, who led the U.S. in scoring with 12.4 points per game. A star at Division II SE Oklahoma State, Shipp was drafted by the Knicks in 1959 but opted to join the Phillips 66ers of the AAU so that he could retain his amateur status and represent the U.S. in international competition. He was the star of the 1963 Pan American Games team that won gold and the 1963 FIBA World Cup team that finished in fourth. He was one of the first players selected for the 1964 Olympics roster, which also included fellow AAU star Larry Brown in addition to the top NCAA talent. Several of them, such as Hazzard and Caldwell, had to put their NBA rookie seasons on hold due to the Olympics taking place in October to avoid Tokyo’s summer heat and September typhoon season. It would take a lot more than that to slow down this team, which won all nine of its games, eight of them by double digits and six by at least 20 points. Their only real challenge came from Yugoslavia, who kept things relatively close in a 69-61 U.S. victory in the preliminary round. There was a lot of hype coming into the tournament about the ballyhooed Soviet team, but the Americans cruised past them in the gold medal game, 73-59, led by 17 points from Jackson.

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By the numbers: U.S. Olympic men’s basketball teams

Overall record: 136-6 (16-1 in gold medal games; 2-0 in bronze medal games; 19-2 in semifinals; 17-0 in quarterfinals; 88-3 in preliminary group play)
Medal results: 18 golds, 1 silver, 2 bronzes
Longest win streak: 63 games (1936-1976)
Biggest margins of victory: +83 (156-73 vs Nigeria in 2012); +72 (101-29 vs Thailand in 1956); +68 (116-48 vs Angola in 1992)
Biggest margins of loss: -19 (92-73 vs Puerto Rico in 2004); -8 (89-81 vs Argentina in 2004); -7 (83-76 vs France in 2020)
Biggest margin of victory in gold medal game: +44 (65-21 vs France in 1948)
Most appearances: Carmelo Anthony (4); LeBron James (3); David Robinson (3); Kevin Durant (3)
Most gold medals: Anthony (3); Durant (3)
Most career points: Durant (435); Anthony (336); James (273); Robinson (260); Michael Jordan (256)
Most career points (pre-NBA): Spencer Haywood (145); Oscar Robertson (136); Jerry Lucas (134); Bob Kurland (134); Adrian Dantley (116)
Most career rebounds*: Robinson (125); Anthony (125); Durant (118); James (95); Patrick Ewing (87)
Most career assists*: James (88); Durant (88); Chris Paul (74); Scottie Pippen (73); Leon Wood (63)

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9) 2000 (Sydney)

Notable players: Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, Alonzo Mourning, Ray Allen, Jason Kidd, Allan Houston

It was a hard lesson that wouldn’t be fully learned until the next Olympics, but this is where it became readily apparent that other countries could challenge the U.S. in basketball even if the roster was stacked with NBA All-Stars. Unlike their predecessors in 1996, which had a roster featuring five holdovers from the original 1992 Dream Team, the 2000 squad had just one player that had also participated four years earlier, Gary Payton. It was otherwise a mix of veterans that weren’t quite good enough to make the ’96 team (Tim Hardaway, Alonzo Mourning, Steve Smith, Allan Houston) and youngsters that were just starting to make their mark on the NBA (Kevin Garnett, Vince Carter, Ray Allen). Three notable missing names were Tim Duncan, who has rehabbing a knee injury, Kobe Bryant, who turned down the invitation due to his honeymoon, and reigning league and Finals MVP Shaquille O’Neal, who claimed that winning one gold medal in 1996 was enough for him. Led by Rudy Tomjanovich, the Americans won their first four games easily, including a 119-72 opening salvo against China, which featured a young Yao Ming, and a 46-point blowout of New Zealand. But things tightened up from there, with a win over France that featured the famous Carter dunk over the seven-foot Frederic Weiss but was only won by 12 points, and then a scare in the semifinals against Lithuania. The U.S. prevailed over the Lithuanians 85-83 when a buzzer beater three-pointer by Sarunas Jasikevicius came up just short. The U.S. had a slightly easier time in the gold medal game against France, pulling away late for an 85-75 win. Carter was the team’s leading scorer, with 14.8 points per game, while Garnett was the leader in rebounds and Jason Kidd in assists. All three of them turned down the opportunity to attempt to repeat as gold medalists four years later.

8) 1984 (Los Angeles)

Notable players: Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, Steve Alford, Sam Perkins, Wayman Tisdale

A.k.a. the last U.S. amateur team to win gold, which holds a special place in many fans’ hearts. Three members of this team, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, and Michael Jordan would eventually play for the Dream Team in 1992, while Charles Barkley (who reportedly clashed with coach Bobby Knight, go figure) and John Stockton were amongst the final cuts. In other words, the talent was stacked in 1984, which is no surprise as the NBA was in the midst of arguably its greatest run of draft talent in league history. Befitting anything involving Knight, the trials were controversial, not just for the cuts but for some stars, like Len Bias and Sam Bowie, declining to participate, potentially in a rebuke to Knight, while Indiana’s Steve Alford was a shocking addition to the roster. Also featuring solid future NBA players in Alvin Robertson, Vern Fleming, Wayman Tisdale, and Sam Perkins, the U.S. still dominated the Olympics, thanks in no small part to the boycott of the Soviet bloc nations. Jordan led the way with 17.1 points per game, establishing himself as an international star just as the NBA was starting to make inroads with non-American audiences. No one came within single digits of the U.S. in their eight wins, with West Germany putting up the biggest fight in a 78-67 game.

7) 2016 (Rio)

Notable players: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Carmelo Anthony, Paul George, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green

With owners starting to cause a rabble over potential player injuries and the Zika virus scare looming, the lead up to the 2016 Olympics was as much about the players who withdrew as the players who played. 2012 holdovers LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Anthony Davis, and Chris Paul all turned down offers to rejoin, while Stephen Curry, Blake Griffin, John Wall, and Kawhi Leonard opted not to make their Olympic debut. There were two key players that looked to repeat from 2012, and they made all the difference in 2016. For Carmelo Anthony, it was actually his third consecutive Olympics appearance, cementing him as a FIBA legend while Kevin Durant was the undisputed tournament MVP, averaging 19.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. The Americans faced some significant challenges from what was indisputably the most talented international pool in Olympics history. In the preliminary round, they held off Australia 96-86 despite 30 points from Patty Mills, squeaked by Serbia, who got a huge performance from Nikola Jokic, and held off a late rally from a French team that featured Nic Batum, Rudy Gobert, and Boris Diaw. The U.S. had one more difficult game in the semifinals against the always tough Spaniards, highlighted by the Gasol brothers, before cruising in the gold medal game, defeating Serbia easily in a rematch, 96-66, behind 30 points from Durant. Beyond the top two stars this was still a stacked and entertaining team, featuring Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Kyrie Irving (fresh off hitting “the shot” to help the Cavs upset the Warriors in the NBA Finals), DeMarcus Cousins, and a feel-good story in Paul George, who made his triumphant return to international basketball after breaking his leg preparing for the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

6) 1956 (Melbourne)

Notable players: Bill Russell, K.C. Jones, Ron Tomsic, Bob Jeangerard, Chuck Darling, Jim Walsh

Up until the Dream Team, many considered the debate over the best U.S. Olympic team to be between consecutive rosters in 1956 and 1960. That the 1956 team is so renowned is especially remarkable considering how limited they were by the Olympics taking place in late November and early December. This was due to Melbourne being the first host site in the Southern hemisphere, meaning that their summer is actually from December to March. The games were therefore scheduled to overlap with the ’56-’57 NCAA and NBA seasons, causing most of the biggest college stars and impending NBA rookies to withdraw their names from consideration. But there was only one player in the 1956 NBA Draft class who truly mattered anyway and luckily for the U.S. team, he was determined to live out his Olympic dream no matter the cost. That man was Bill Russell, who had just delivered back-to-back NCAA titles to San Francisco, and slightly delayed his career beginning with the Celtics team that he would soon lead to 11 championships. In between, Russell made time for Olympic glory, leading the Americans to wins in all eight of their games by an average of 53.5 points. That included a 101-29 preliminary win over Thailand and 101-38 semifinals drubbing of Uruguay. Joining Russell on the team as its second best player was his former NCAA teammate and future Celtics teammate K.C. Jones, who was delaying his NBA career anyway due to military service (he eventually joined the Celtics in ’58-’59). The rest of the roster was packed with AAU and military service players, none of whom accomplished anything notable in basketball after these Olympics.

5) 2012 (London)

Notable players: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Love, Chris Paul

Just like Dream Team III in 1996, the encore for the “Redeem Team” in 2012 had a thankless job of maintaining dominance. If this team had struggled in any way in this tournament, they would have gone down as a joke, but because the 2008 team had received so much glory for returning the U.S. to gold medal status, a repeat in 2012 was just not going to generate the same excitement. The roster featured five returning players from 2008: LeBron James (at the height of his powers), Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Deron Williams. They added Kevin Love, Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala, Russell Westbrook, and Tyson Chandler from the 2010 FIBA World Cup champions, and then gave the last two spots to Blake Griffin and James Harden. Even with Kobe aging, that’s a better roster on paper than the 2008 team, but it just didn’t spark the same admiration. Griffin tore his meniscus during the team’s training camp and was replaced by the recently drafted Anthony Davis, as a throwback to Christian Laettner’s inclusion on the 1992 team. They struggled in some exhibition games, raising concerns about the team’s lack of size, but turned things around for the Olympics, winning all eight of their games by an average margin of 32.1 points. Lithuania, led by Linas Kleiza, proved the toughest fight, leading the Americans late in the second half before the U.S. managed to come back for a 99-94 win. The gold medal game rematch with Spain was also a good one, with the Americans holding off a late rally to win 107-100. James became the second player after Michael Jordan in 1992 to win NBA MVP, Finals MVP, and an Olympic gold medal in the same year. He was also one of five past, current, or future NBA MVPs on this roster, which tied it with the 1996 edition as the second most all-time, trailing only the Dream Team, which had six MVPs.

4) 1960 (Rome)

Notable players: Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Jerry Lucas, Walt Bellamy, Terry Dischinger, Adrian Smith

As good as this team was, it could have been even better. It was a tradition up until 1972 for the U.S. team to feature a collection of NCAA, AAU, and military players. In the 1960 trials it became obvious that the NCAA had the far superior pool of talent, but the USA Basketball Committee still deferred to custom, populating the roster with seven NCAA players, four AAU players, and one armed forces rep. This meant that several collegiate stars, including Ohio State’s John Havlicek and Providence’s Lenny Wilkens were left off. Not that they were needed. Led by Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Jerry Lucas, Walt Bellamy, and Adrian Smith (who was, by far, the greatest military service member rep in team USA history), the American team won their games by an average margin of 42.4 points in a dominant performance. Robertson was the leading scorer with 17.0 points per game, while Lucas dominated the medal round, scoring 27 points in a semifinal win over Italy and a game high 23 in the gold medal final against Brazil. Also featuring future NBA All-Stars Bob Boozer and Darrall Imhoff, and ’62-’63 Rookie of the Year Terry Dischinger, this was almost undoubtedly the greatest amateur team ever assembled. They were collectively inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame as a team in 2010, where individual members West, Robertson, Bellamy, Lucas, and coach Pete Newell already had plaques residing.

3) 1996 (Atlanta)

Notable players: Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, David Robinson, Gary Payton, Hakeem Olajuwon, Karl Malone

How do you follow up not just the greatest basketball team in Olympic history, but maybe the greatest collection of talent in the history of the sport? Well, for starters, you try to bring back as many of those players as possible. The 1996 team landed five Dream Team members in Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Scottie Pippen, and David Robinson. Teaming up with Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon (who had participated for the Nigeria national team in his youth and had to receive a special FIBA exemption to play in these Olympics for the U.S.), Gary Payton, Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Mitch Richmond, and Reggie Miller, they were deemed Dream Team III, as the 1994 FIBA World Cup winning roster already had the Dream Team II designation. With the games taking place in Atlanta, it was the first and as of this writing only time that NBA players have participated in an Olympics in an NBA arena, though no member of the team played for the Hawks (in fact, no member of the team ever played for the Hawks at any point in their career, and no active member of the Hawks has been named to an Olympic team in the pro era). Though they lacked some of the wattage star power of the original Dream Team, and certainly didn’t inspire quite the same awe, Dream Team III played about as effectively, winning all of their games by 20 or more points, including a 95-69 drubbing of Yugoslavia in the gold medal game. They took an egalitarian approach to their offense, with nine players averaging eight-plus points per game, with Barkley leading the way with 12.4. Despite the cakewalk, coach Lenny Wilkens predicted after the tournament that the rest of the world would soon catch up to the United States, which would prove prophetic soon enough in the 2000 scare and 2004 upsets.

2) 2008 (Beijing)

Notable players: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul

Following the embarrassment of the 2004 Olympics, U.S.A. basketball underwent a complete retransformation from the top down. Legendary NBA executive Jerry Colangelo was brought in to take over as director and he immediately set about rebuilding the program. He named Mike Kryzyzewski as coach and they benefitted from a huge influx of talent that had taken the basketball world by storm since America’s 2004 bronze medal finish, highlighted by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony, who all committed early on to the 2008 squad. Kobe Bryant, who was unable to participate in 2004 due to his then ongoing rape trial, was the biggest get, as the reigning league MVP and unquestioned best player. All-Stars Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Deron Williams, and Chris Paul were also on the team, but in a lesson learned from earlier failures, Colangelo didn’t just stock the entire roster with the perceived best overall players. He added Jason Kidd, then well past his prime, as a veteran presence, plus shooting specialist Michael Redd, defensive stalwart Tayshaun Prince, and rebounder extraordinaire Carlos Boozer. The pressure was high, especially playing in China, which had quickly grown into a basketball-crazed nation, but the U.S. team proved itself up to the task. They dominated the competition, winning their first seven games by an average margin of 30.2 points before finally facing a stiff competition from Spain in the gold medal game. Wade was the leading scorer, with 16.0 points per game, including a game-high 27 in the gold medal final, but Bryant was the unquestioned leader, who took over down the stretch against Spain to help the U.S. pull away for a 118-107 win. While other teams before and since may have won by larger margins or put up more impressive stats, this team faced arguably the highest pressure since the Dream Team but managed to come away easily earning their nickname of “Redeem Team” by re-establishing America’s basketball dominance.

1) 1992 (Barcelona)

Notable players: Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen

Not only the Olympic team by which all others will be forever measured, but the basketball team, period. We’ll grant up front that two of the biggest names, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, were well past anything resembling their prime, but this team still featured four of the 12 greatest players of all time, according to our list, and nine of the 32 greatest. It had six NBA MVPs (with a combined 14 trophies between them) in Johnson, Bird, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, and David Robinson, which is the Olympic team record, plus the all-time assists leader (John Stockton), two players with 10+ All-Star appearances (Patrick Ewing and Clyde Drexler), and a player generally regarded as the greatest perimeter defender of all time (Scottie Pippen). It’s no surprise that the Dream Team completely changed the sport, especially internationally, where a generation of young fans across the globe got their first taste of watching top flight competitive basketball. This U.S. team won all eight of their Olympic games by 30 points or more, for an average margin of 43.8 points, and that stat makes the games seem even closer than they really were. The talent level internationally obviously wasn’t at the same level in 1992 that it was in 2004 or later, but the American dominance still can’t be overstated. They were collectively elected to the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2010, and 11 of the 12 players (all except Christian Laettner) have been individually inducted, as have three of the four coaches, led by head coach Chuck Daly.