MIES (Switzerland) - When it comes to basketball, the USA is the most successful country of all time.
In the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the USA and Yugoslavia have both reached top of the podium five times. There have been 19 World Cups dating back to 1950.
In the Olympics, they claimed 17 of a possible 21 gold medals since the sport made its debut at the Summer Games in 1936.
Which are the best of the best when it comes to the all-conquering USA teams?
5 - 1994
Shaq and Co march to World Cup glory
If everyone was excited about the Dream Team that took Barcelona by storm in 1992, there was the same level of interest about the first FIBA World Cup team that consisted of NBA players. And that was especially true with amazing talents like Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning and the Human Highlight Reel, Dominique Wilkins, in the team.
Shaq was MVP of the FIBA World Cup
This USA team had other household names like "Thunder" Dan Majerle and Kevin Johnson of Phoenix Suns fame, Larry Johnson, sharpshooters Reggie Miller, Steve Miller and Mark Price, Detroit Pistons "Bad Boy" Joe Dumars, the high-flying Seattle Sonic, Shawn Kemp, and Derrick Coleman.
Coached by Don Nelson, the Americans scored 100 or more points in seven of their eight contests and averaged 120.1 points a game. O'Neal, who averaged 18.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots in just over 17 minutes per game, was named MVP of the World Cup. Other All-Star Five members included Kemp and Miller.
4 - 2012
London Calling
The USA, who followed up their Redeem Team tour in 2008 with a Durant-inspired FIBA World Cup title triumph in Istanbul in 2010, arrived in the United Kingdom as favorites. But the tournament field was stacked. Russia had Andrei Kirilenko and France boasted NBA stalwarts Tony Parker, Boris Diaw and Nic Batum.
Argentina still had their golden generation of players and Lithuania remained a potent force. Australia, with Pat Mills and Joe Ingles back for a second straight Olympics, and Brazil, led by Marcelinho Huertas, Tiago Splitter and Leandro Barbosa, were dangerous opponents.
It was left to Spain, however, and their squad that consisted of world and European champions like the Gasol brothers, Pau and Marc, Juan Carlos Navarro and Rudy Fernandez, to give the Americans their toughest game in the Final.
The USA were loaded. They had LeBron, Kobe, Melo, 2010 World Cup MVP Durant, world champions and NBA superstars Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Andrew Iguodala and Tyson Chandler, along with James Harden, who with Westbrook formed a spectacular one-two punch in Oklahoma City.
Juan Carlos Navarro scored 19 points in the Final's first half
The USA had an even closer game against Spain in the Final than 2008, with Navarro pouring in 19 of his 21 points in the first half. The Europeans were up 71-70 midway through the third quarter. Led by Kobe's 17 points, and a Love's 9 points and 9 rebounds, the USA held on for a 107-100 win - the closest Final since 1972, when the Soviet Union beat the USA, 51-50.
3 - 2008
Redeem Team
After falling to gold-medal winning Argentina in the Semi-Finals of the 2004 Olympics, a tournament that led to an overhaul of the USA men's national team program and ushered in legendary hoops executive Jerry Colangelo as managing director and NCAA college play-caller great Mike Krzyzewski as coach, the USA set out to redeem itself and redeem it did!
The Americans, who had also fallen in the World Cup Semi-Finals to Greece in 2006, showed up at the Beijing Games with an unbeatable edge, downing opponents by an average of 30 points on their way to the title game.
The Beijing Olympics was loaded with great teams. Spain had won the 2006 World Cup behind Pau Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro, and Argentina had Manu Ginobili and their golden generation, while Lithuania had talent and experience in abundance, including players that had beaten the USA in 2004.
In their moment of truth against Spain in the Gold Medal Game, the USA relied on amazing talent that included LeBron, Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Deron Williams, Dwight Howard and Jason Kidd, with NBA stars Tayshaun Prince, Carlos Boozer and Michael Redd also on the team.
Kobe's 4 point play will be remembered forever
Instead of being blown out, as they had been in the first meeting at the end of the Preliminary Round by the USA, Spain threatened an upset before Kobe struck with a 4-point play midway through the fourth quarter. This USA team not only had talent, size and experience. The players avoided an upset because they had ice running in their veins. USA won the gold, 118-107.
2 - 2024
LeBron, Steph and KD light up the city of light
Thirty-two years on from the Dream Team's romp in Catalonia, the Olympics in Paris had the look of a wide open tournament with FIBA World Cup 2023 winners Germany, World Cup runners-up Serbia and hosts France title rivals for the USA.
It turned out to be the most competitive Olympics of all-time. USA won the gold medal, but only just! Serbia, with three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, and then France, with the amazing Victor Wembanyama and Guerschon Yabusele, pushed the USA to the brink of defeat in the final two games.
Led by LeBron James and Stephen Curry, USA came from 17 points down to beat Serbia in the Semi-Finals. USA then relied on Curry's second straight game of extraordinary sharpshooting, including several 3-pointers in the last 2:00 of the game, to beat France in the Gold Medal Game.
Curry was astonishing, hitting a combined 17 of 26 from 3-point range over the two games while James and Kevin Durant made their share of clutch plays and still others like Devin Booker, Joel Embiid, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Anthony Edwards, Anthony Davis and Derrick White all made major contributions for a team that also had NBA superstars Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton.
1 - 1992
Dream Team
It remains the most talked about team ever assembled, the first time a USA team had NBA players. In fact, the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona had a glittering array of stars on several national teams. Croatia had Drazen Petrovic, Toni Kukoc and Dino Radja, and Lithuania boasted Arvydas Sabonis, Sarunas Marciulionis, Arturas Karnisovas and Rimas Kurtinaitis.
Yet the USA had players already regarded as some of the best in the history of the sport, a unit led by Chuck Daly. The Hall of Fame coach had a roster of NBA All-Stars. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkely, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson and Chris Mullen, along with the two-time NCAA champion Christian Laettner of Duke, who was just turning pro, were unbeatable.
The one and only Dream Team
The Dream Team marched to the gold medal, defeating Croatia in the Preliminary Round and then in the title game. The USA were superior in every aspect, winning eight games by an averaged of 44 points. Lithuania, who had just gained independence from the Soviet Union, captured the bronze medal.
Honorable Mention
1996 - Dream Team III
Four years on from the Dream Team Olympics in Barcelona and two years after Dream Team II won the World Cup in Canada, the Americans had an awesome team on home soil for the Atlanta Games, yet there was plenty of punch on other rosters.
With Yugoslavia teams in all sports banned from international competition in 1992, the country was back in '96 and with a point to prove. Los Angeles Lakers star Vlade Divac headlined a terrific team that included greats like Dejan Bodiroga, Predrag Danilovic and Zarko Paspalj, while Lithuania had their iconic duo of Marciulionis and Sabonis. Australia were loaded, too, with Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal and Tony Ronaldson, whose 3-pointer at the end beat Croatia in the Quarter-Finals.
Yet the Americans were so eye-popping good that no one came close to beating them. The USA had world class centers in Shaquille O'Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon. Reggie Miller, Grant Hill, Anfernee Hardaway, Gray Payton and Mitch Richmond were NBA All-Stars and at the Olympics for the first time. There were also 1992 Dream Team players Barkley, Stockton, Malone, Pippen, Robinson. With Lenny Wilkens the head coach, the USA won by an average of 32 points. Their smallest margin of victory was 22 in a 104-82 Preliminary Round win over Lithuania. The Americans rolled to a 95-69 triumph over Yugoslavia in the Gold Medal Game.
FIBA
*This Top Five and the honorable mention are entirely subjective and in no way represent an official or accurate award, nor do they reflect FIBA's official stance. All comments are solely those of the author and expert panel, intended to entertain the fans.