Before the Olympic Games in Barcelona, the media, fans and opponents all agreed that the US basketball team, the Dream Team, was unbeatable. And so it was.
To this day, the original 1992 “Dream Team” is considered the best team that has ever played together. Neither in basketball, nor in any other sport, has there been a greater collection of superstars. The Dream Team’s participation was made possible by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Basketball Federation (FIBA). They approved the admission of NBA professionals to the Olympic Games in 1989. A welcome opportunity for NBA commissioner David Stern to demonstrate to the world the supremacy of the USA.
Michael “Air” Jordan, Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Larry Bird were among the twelve chosen to represent their country in Barcelona. There was enormous media interest from the very beginning. Chuck Daly, coach of the superstars: “It was like travelling with twelve rock stars. It was like uniting Elvis with the Beatles.” No-look passes, slam dunks and tricks galore – it was showtime in Barcelona. With an average margin of victory of 43.8 points, the team won all the games of the tournament.
Angola, Croatia, Germany, Brazil, Spain, Puerto Rico and Lithuania: This was the list of opponents until the final. In the final, the Dream Team once again played against the Croats. As superior and unchallenged as the superstars dribbled their way through the tournament, so was the course of the game in the final. In the end, the NBA pros won 117-85, but winning the gold medal was just the beginning. The performances of the Dream Team created a worldwide basketball boom and subsequently a trend that was to change the NBA: Basketball players from all parts of the world signed on with teams from the NBA. The number of foreign players multiplied. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic are some of today’s superstars from Europe who followed the path paved by the Dream Team.
