The 1992 USA Dream Team --- a Look Inside the Greatness

In 1992 the U.S. Sent NBA Players to Represent Them at the Olympics

It was the first time that a team like this had ever been put together, and when they arrived in Barcelona, it was like Beatle's were coming to town. Everyone was in awe of this team, and it wasn't a surprise, as the amount of talent being placed on the floor was like nothing the USA had ever tried to do before. As Magic Johnson put it, "we wanted to show everybody that a collection of all star players could come together and play as a team."

Before the 1992 Summer Olympics, the USA had always sent college players to represent the United States team, and while they also had some successes in the past, they couldn't really compare to the talent that was in the National Basketball Association. With that in mind, the U.S. decided to go in a different direction in 1992, and put together a "Dream Team" of the best that the NBA had to offer. The intent was to bring back the gold medal to the United States, and really show the world exactly what they had to offer.

The team that they put together consisted of the following players:

· Charles Barkley of the Phoenix Suns
· Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics
· Clyde Drexler of the Portland Trail Blazers
· Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks
· Earvin "Magic" Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers
· Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls
· Christian Laettner of Duke University
· Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz
· Chris Mullin of the Golden State Warriors
· Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls
· David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs
· John Stockton of the Utah Jazz

The coach of the Detroit Pistons, Chuck Daly, was brought on to coach the Dream Team, and with it, he brought the knowledge of several championship runs that his Pistons had performed. The inclusion of Christian Laettner on the team was right after his post-season heroics for Duke in the NCAA Tournament, and he consisted of the lone college player who would be on the roster. He didn't end up getting all that much playing time, but with the other players on the roster, 10 of which are Hall of Famers now, it was to be expected.