The 1992 USA Dream Team is arguably the greatest basketball team ever assembled. The best NBA players from the 80s and 90s were called up to represent the country in the Summer Olympics of that year, putting together a squad that looked unbeatable on paper and ended up being a nightmare for all their rivals.
Led by legends like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird, this team looked like the most incredible squad of all time, and they played exactly like that. Of course, they took this challenge as seriously as possible, but that didn’t mean they didn’t know they were the clear-cut favorites to take the gold medal in Barcelona.
Michael Jordan, for example, made it clear he was ready for the competition and was convinced nobody could touch him or his team. His Airness, who came off winning his second NBA championship, sent a big message to the rest of the national teams in the tournament, making it clear nobody was beating Team USA.
During an interview with Playboy, Jordan said:
“When you look at the talent and the teams we’re supposed to play against, it’s a massacre,” Jordan claimed. “It should never be close. We taught them the game of basketball. We’ve got people who have the ability and the height. We’re talking about the greatest players that play the game now and the team is the best team that’s ever been put together.”
“Who’s going to beat us? The Japanese? The Chinese?”, he added. “They can’t match up to the athleticism we’re going to have on this team.”
Jordan always boasted huge confidence during his NBA career. Imagine how confident he was knowing that he was sharing touches with Bird, Johnson, David Robinson, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Clyde Drexler, and more. And just like he predicted, they had a field day in Barcelona, beating his rivals with extreme ease, demonstrating they were the best team in the world by a lot.
USA Basketball has tried to replicate a team like that, and even though the 2012 team has plenty of fans and Kevin Durant believes is the best team of all time, the 1992 Dream Team was a once-in-a-lifetime squad.
