1992 Dream Team: Undisputed Best Team in Basketball History
In 1992, the most remarkable basketball team ever was assembled: “The Dream Team.” The roster consisted of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Clyde Drexler, Scottie Pippen, Chris Mullins, and Christian Laettner. Aside from Christian Laettner, the entire “Dream Team” will be or are already in the Hall of Fame as individual players. The 92’ Olympic team was so dominant that the actual team itself was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
In order to understand the dominance of this team and the effect that they had on the game of basketball, you have to understand the history of the team. The timing was very important because the 88’ Olympics marked the first time Team USA didn’t win gold in basketball. “The Dream Team” had to prove to the entire world that the US was home to the greatest basketball players and that the NBA was still the most competitive basketball league in the world.
The team had one of the GOAT’s of basketball, Michael Jordan. They had the best point guard of all time, Magic Johnson. They had two of the best forwards of all time, Charles Barkley and Karl Malone. On top of all that star power, they had two of the best centers the league had ever seen, Patrick Ewing and David Robinson. “The Dream Team” steamrolled every team that they faced in the group games by an average of forty-six points. They scored on average 110+ points per game in every game they played, except the medal game, in which they had one hundred and three points. They were able to beat a very good Croatian team led by Tony Kukoc and Drazen Petrovic in the gold medal game by thirty-two points, which was the closest any team got in that Olympics to the untouchable Dream Team. Every time they stepped onto the court, they dominated and finished 8-0 in Barcelona.
What made this team so great was the way that they unified all of the team's stardom and large-than-life personalities to create a flawless team. Despite them having MJ and Bird, who are two of the greatest players to play the game, it was Charles Barkley who led the team in scoring during that Olympics. MJ and Bird back in the NBA didn’t trust almost anyone else with the rock, but this just goes to show the amount of trust between the players on this team. Chuck Dailey, who was the head coach for “The Dream Team,” never had to call a timeout; he just let his team play. The team gelled together so well and the teamwork was on another level that we just hadn’t seen in the game of basketball before and haven’t since. Regardless of them playing against each other in the NBA, there was never conflict, just greatness.
By Avner Belsky