In 1989 a landmark vote forever altered the state of international basketball . A group of FIBA delegates voted 56 to 13 to allow professional basketball players to play for their national teams at events like the FIBA World Cup and of course, the Olympics. Ironically, the United States was one of the 13 who voted against the policy so in some sense the utter dominance they unleashed on the world in the subsequent decades was begrudgingly.

With that vote, the door was opened for what eventually would become The Dream Team. There is no hyperbole for this team. At the time it was simply the greatest collection of basketball talent ever amassed on the same roster and treated like such. A traveling circus full of rockstars, the Dream Team waltzed to a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona with an average margin of victory of 44 points (behind Bill Russell’s 1956 US team and their 52-point average margin of victory, naturally). The team was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010, and the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2017.

But how does it fare now 32 years and eight iterations of Team USA men’s basketball since? The American basketball journey since that vote in Munich on April 7, 1989 has been a overwhelming success, but there have been rough patches along the way and as the saying goes “the world is catching up.”

The rosters since 1992 are a who’s who of megastars from the NBA. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kevin Garnett, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and more.

With nine total teams since the vote to allow professionals to participate in FIBA tournaments it’s time to figure out who is the top of the pyramid, and who falls in line behind the best Team USA Men’s Olympic basketball team since 1992.

9. 2004 Athens Summer Olympics

Record: 5-3 (Bronze)

Roster: Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Richard Jefferson, Stephon Marbury, Shawn Marion, Lamar Odom, Emeka Okafor, Amar’e Stoudemire, Dwyane Wade

Head coach: Larry Brown

There is an argument to be made for the talent at hand here but the results simply cannot be ignored. The blame game over the past decades has pointed fingers at everybody from Larry Brown for his coaching and decision to limit the playing time of young superstars LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, to the abysmal shooting from three-point range throughout. Whatever the case, the embarrassing 19-point loss to Puerto Rico to start the Olympics was just the third loss in the history of the program and still remains the biggest. Eventually they settled for the Bronze medal, a result that sent shockwaves through the basketball world and caused a top to bottom revamp of the USA basketball program.

– Eddie Gonzalez

8. 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics

Record: 8-0 (Gold)

Roster: Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Ray Allen, Vin Baker, Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, Tim Hardaway, Allan Houston, Jason Kidd, Antonio McDyess, Alonzo Mourning, Gary Payton, Steve Smith

Head coach: Rudy Tomjanovich

The team best known for Vince Carter’s Greatest Dunk of All-Time over Fredric Weis, this was also a precursor of things to come for Team USA. A razor thin two-point victory in the semifinal against Lithuania quited noise from pundits that sending NBA players to the Olympics had rendered the event inert. The players who passed on the opportunity like Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan were almost a bigger story than those who went to win the gold. The roster is fine, but nothing compared to those filled to the brim with legends that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing.

– EG

7. 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics

Record: 5-1 (Gold)

Roster: Bam Adebayo Devin Booker Kevin Durant Jerami Grant Draymond Green Jrue Holiday Keldon Johnson Zach LaVine Damian Lillard JaVale McGee Khris Middleton Jayson Tatum

Head coach: Gregg Popovich

It is about here where I felt like the US was asking a bit too much of Kevin Durant to keep being the imperialistic weapon we being to the Olympics to ensure Team USA captures gold. The thing to take away from this team is that the same Jayson Tatum who did not play much in 2024, was a primary reason along with Durant why Team USA did win gold. Tatum had 19 points off the bench to complement KD’s 29 against France to bring home the. gold. The 2020 team had five medalists join 2024, and that star experience lands them here in this ranking.

– Johnathan Tillman

6. 2016 Rio Summer Olympics

Record: 8-0 (Gold)

Roster: Carmelo Anthony, Harrison Barnes, Jimmy Butler, DeMarcus Cousins, DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Durant, Paul George, Draymond Green, Kyrie Irving, DeAndre Jordan, Kyle Lowry, Klay Thompson

Head coach: Mike Krzyzewski

I’m working to concede that I may be unfair to the talent on this roster due to age. It could honestly be rooted in that one video of the whole team singing “A Thousand Miles” with an annoyed Carmelo Anthony looking on like a disgusted chaperone on a middle school field trip. But to me, this team relied on the greatness of Durant throughout the games and for Melo to save them in the Gold Medal Game. Here is where the Olympic games got closer, and the ever-closing gap between the US and the rest of the world in basketball became noticeable. And even with all that, I believe this team would have won gold in this past Olympics.

– JT

5. 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics

Record: 8-0 (Gold)

Roster: Charles Barkley, Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway, Grant Hill, Karl Malone, Reggie Miller, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Gary Payton, Scottie Pippen, Mitch Richmond, David Robinson, John Stockton

Head coach: Lenny Wilkens

While recognize a lot of rankings and lists—a lot of them—are personal preference, the pitch for ’96 is simple: Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon. While Olajuwon was heading into year 13, Shaq was going into year 5. No Olympic team has seen that kind of interior presence since. Where ’96 lacks in top-of-the-pantheon perimeter players, it more than makes up for it in the paint. Add David Robinson to the mix and that’s a roster that gives every team in the history of basketball trouble. Even the four ahead of them on this list.

– JT

4. 2012 London Summer Olympics

Record: 8-0 (Gold)

Roster: Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Tyson Chandler, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Andre Iguodala, LeBron James, Kevin Love, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams

Head coach: Mike Krzyzewski

A fully actualized LeBron James and Kevin Durant led the 2012 team to gold in London after squaring off the the Finals. The reason why I do not place this team higher is because that OKC trio of Durant, Westbrook and Harden were not the MVP-caliber players they became later in that decade. The rest of the cast were all All-Stars, and really complemented the play of the two superstar forwards, with an elder Kobe Bryant there to rescue the team in the knockout round in case a game needed closing.

– JT

3. 2024 Paris Summer Olympics

Record: 6-0 (Gold)

Roster: Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Haliburton, Jrue Holiday, LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White

Head coach: Steve Kerr

The Avengers. It may feel like recency bias to place this team this high, but there are a lot of factors at hand. First, LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. That’s it. That’s the tweet. Even at their advanced ages this is the greatest version of a three headed monster Team USA has ever fielded at an Olympics. Still superstars and top 10 players even all over 35, it’s uncanny.

Secondly, the sheer level of competition they faced throughout is unmatched. The world truly is catching up, even though USA still reigns supreme.

Two instant classics in the semifinal and gold medal games, including iconic clutch performances from KD, Bron and Steph, this team is as good as any and may eventually land higher on lists like this after we have some more time to truly appreciate what we just saw in Paris. Add in a big man rotation that would dominate any era on any court, and you have a team with a real argument for No. 1.

– EG

2. 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics

Record: 8-0 (Gold)

Roster: Charles Barkley, Larry Bird Clyde, Drexler Patrick, Ewing “Magic” Johnson, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Chris Mullin, Christian Laettner, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, John Stockton

Head coach: Chuck Daly

The Gold Standard. Whether you feel 2008 or another Olympic team can beat this one, there is a reason ’92 is, “The Dream Team.” While Magic and Bird were past their prime, Michael Jordan was ascending into his—coming off a title and Finals MVP. In addition, the Dream Team had Hall of Fame players in their primes. Other than Magic and Bird, Patrick Ewing, Clyde Drexler and John Stockton were the oldest players at 30, with no one having completed 10 years of NBA service yet. The sheer depth of the roster is overwhelming. Ironically, it was Charles Barkley who led the team in scoring, the prime beneficiary of one of the greatest in the history of sports.

– JT

1. 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics

Record: 8-0 (Gold)

Roster: Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Jason Kidd, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Tayshaun Prince, Michael Redd, Dwyane Wade, Deron Williams

Head coach: Mike Krzyzewski

It’s simpler than it sounds. Prime Kobe, fueled by the angst of a Finals loss and heading into back-to-back titles, alongside athletic peak LeBron (maybe, because LeBron is kind of still an athletic anomaly). That slightly, ever so slightly, like the thinnest margins possible, edges out the Dream Team.

Funnily enough, it was Dwyane Wade who led the team in scoring, off the bench and on fewer shots than the dynamic duo, no less. Ultimately it’s the versatility of this roster, the gamebreaking ability to play Chris Bosh at center and the ferocity of the defense they played when they needed it most. At the end of the day, one Kobe and one LeBron is enough to overcome just about anything that can happen on a basketball court. In the dream scenario of the Redeem Team vs. The Dream Team, it’s that simple math that edges them over all Jordan brings and that depth in the front court.

Barely. Just barely.

– EG