1) United States of America - 1992 (The dream team)
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Until 1989, FIBA rules prevented NBA players from participating in the Olympics, with the emphasis on amateur players largely. This was to change before the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, where the United States had their best display yet.
Their team was packed with absolute rockstars, a single look at the roster and you would see household names including Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Clyde Drexler and Patrick Ewing. Christian Laetnner was the only amateur on the squad, having been picked over emerging star Shaquille O’Neal.
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Such was their dominance that coach Chuck Daly did not call for one timeout through the course of the Olympics, some games even saw opposing players asking for autographs of the US team’s stars, clearly in awe of their star power.
They proved to be a phenomenon on and off the court, with their all-star line up delighting the fans as they went on to lift the gold medal with an average of a 44 point win margin over the course of the event. The team beat a talented Croatian side by 32 points in the final.
Astonishing.
