The U.S. Men’s Olympic team roster for the upcoming Summer Olympics was recently announced. The star-studded lineup, including the best players in the NBA, like LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, and Jayson Tatum, among others, will represent the nation in Paris this year. This current Olympic team will be assigned the same task that the 1992 Dream Team and the 2008 Redeem Team were assigned back in their day. To restore Team USA’s dominance on the global stage. So while the anticipation builds, NBA legend Charles Barkley, a member of the Dream Team, was recently asked to pick the best Olympic team of all time.
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Sir Charles was put on the spot, during his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, with the question because he has been part of two exceptional Olympic teams, in 1992 and 1996. In addition to that, the Redeem Team was stacked with some of the greatest players of all time as well, led by the late, great Kobe Bryant. However, it was an easy answer for Chuck.
Barkley believed that the 1992 team was unique and the first time anyone had witnessed such an assembly of superstars. More importantly, for Barkley, the 1992 team had the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, who will always be the pinnacle of basketball excellence.
Barkley said, during the show, that the presence of Magic and Bird will always hold the top spot for him because they are two of the most important players of all time, who saved basketball from obscurity and helped change the game. He said, “Those are the two most important figures in NBA history. Then you factor in Michael Jordan, who’s like a supernova, which they don’t come along that often…Nothing can beat that kind of starpower.”
Going by the words of the Hall of Famer, the other teams are not even in competition for the ‘Best Olympic Team’ title.
When we look into the impact that the 1992 team was able to make on the sport at a global stage, it’s not wrong to crown them as the best. Even though there was an objective to earn the respect back for USA basketball, the Dream Team also proved to be a great promotional campaign for the NBA. A few years after that tournament, the league was flooded by foreign stars who were inspired by the Dream Team.
The U.S. Men’s Olympic basketball team for the 2024 Paris Olympics
After the devastating losses in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Team USA wants to set the records straight with the 2024 Olympic campaign. USA has always been the dominant force in the sport and the recent losses have been nothing short of a gut punch for the nation. For that reason, an 11 men roster was announced recently, and the 12th spot was initially kept open. The team boasts a lineup of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Haliburton, Jrue Holiday, and Jayson Tatum.
The 12th spot that was kept open was later filled in by Kawhi Leonard. This is a perfect mix of experience and quality in a team and while LeBron and KD will go in as veterans of the global sporting event, it will mark the debut for Steph at the Olympics. On paper, this team looks almost unbeatable and even though the standard of basketball at a global stage has gone up, it is highly unlikely that this team will end up losing their shot at the gold medal.
