The Dream Team: When Michael Jordan and co. had the world at their feet
Ten members of the 1992 Dream Team were named in 1996 to be among the 50 greatest players in NBA history.
Published : Jul 13, 2021 14:22 IST
The original Dream Team was the United States of America (USA) Basketball Team which won Olympic gold in 1992 in Barcelona.
The squad, managed by Hall of Fame coach Chuck Daly, consisted of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Clyde Drexler, Chris Mullin, John Stockton and Christian Laettner.
The US trumped all its opponents by an average margin of 44 points before beating Croatia in the final.
It was the first time that American players featuring in the NBA competed at the Olympics.
Placed in Group A, the US began the campaign with a 116–48 win over Angola. It next defeated Croatia 103–70.
In its third Group game, it beat Germany 111–68. In its fourth, it thrashed Brazil 127–83.
In its fifth and final Group game, the US beat Spain 122–81.
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In the knockouts, it beat Puerto Rico 115–77. In the semis, it beat Lithuania 127–76.
Playing Croatia again, this time in the final, the US trotted to a 117-85 victory to claim the top prize.
Charles Barkley (18.0 ppg) led the Dream Team in scoring while Scott Pippen led the team with 5.9 assists per game (47 in total). Malone and Mullin led the Dream Team with 5.3 rebounds per game.
Ten members of that group were named in 1996 to be among the 50 greatest players in NBA history. The team was collectively inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame in 2009.
Squad: Christian Laettner, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Larry Bird, Scott Pippen, Michael Jordan, Clyde Drexler, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Chris Mullin, Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson.
Coach: Chuck Daly.