The United States won the men’s basketball gold medal with the 1992 Olympic “Dream Team.”
The United States selected a roster of established NBA stars for Barcelona 1992, following a rule change that allowed professional players to compete. The team included Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Scottie Pippen and David Robinson.
The Americans won every game by a wide margin. They defeated Croatia 117–85 in the final, while Lithuania won bronze. The team’s international popularity helped introduce NBA basketball and its leading players to a worldwide audience.
The 1992 squad is commonly known as the Dream Team. It was not the first United States team to win Olympic men’s basketball; that happened at Berlin 1936, when basketball made its official Olympic debut. The 1992 achievement was distinctive because of the unprecedented concentration of NBA talent.