Dream Team Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
- Alternative meaning: Dream Team
In 1996 and 2000, Dream Teams II and III captured the gold medals. However, Dream Team IV's performance in the 2004 Summer Olympics all but denied them, and perhaps future teams, the right to the "Dream Team" nickname. They lost three games on their way to a bronze medal. That record represented more losses in a single year than in the 68 previous years combined. It was also the first time since NBA professionals became eligible that the U.S. men's basketball team returned home without gold medals.
Dream Team I featured Michael Jordan, and a number of others among those who are considered the best basketballers in history:
Unfortunately, this extraordinary team was kept from the upper limit of its potential greatness by the addition of Laettner, the only amateur, rather than more qualified players, such as Isiah Thomas or Dominique Wilkins. Thomas, in particular, was vocal about his exclusion from the team, especially in USA Basketball's decision to choose Stockton over him as the backup point guard. Although Laettner was an excellent player in college, and was selected to an All-Star team in his early years in the NBA, he has had a disappointing professional career, and was indisputably the weak link of the Dream Team.
The team won all of its games by huge margins, beating Croatia in the gold medal game by 32 points. Whilst the opportunity to see the game's greats playing together was appreciated, the team's occasionally belittling attitude to opponents was not.
Interestingly, Stockton was the only Dream Team member to wear his normal number in the Olympics (12). In fact, he was the only Dream Team member who could wear his normal number. In international tournaments, player numbers are restricted to those between 4 and 15; all other Dream Team members normally wore numbers outside the allowable range.
Dream Team II cruised through the 1996 Olympics, defeating every other team by margins greater than 20 points. They captured the Gold Medal after defeating Yugoslavia 95-69. Lenny Wilkens coached this team, and they definitively lived up to the expectations of the thousands of fans that went to see their home team. Dream Team II was the last of the "invincible" Dream Teams.
During the late nineties, international basketball began to gather attention as more and more foreign players became stars in the NBA. Therefore, Dream Team III had the enormous task of proving that USA Basketball was still the most dominant of the world. The new team that was assembled featured NBA players but this time, very few of them were dominant superstars. Instead, Dream Team III featured for the first time "average" NBA players.
A major shock came on the semifinals game when Lithuania fell to the Dream Team by only two points, 85-83, after Lithuanian star Sarunas Jasikevicius missed a three-pointer at the buzzer that would have won the game. Dream Team III eventually won the Gold Medal against France in a very close game, which the Americans won 85-75. Though Dream Team III won the 2000 Olympics undefeated, for the very first time the American superstar team began to lose its aura of invincibility.
After more than ten NBA superstars declined invitiations to play on Dream Team IV, the team that was assembled to represent the United States in the 2004 Summer Olympics generally consisted of NBA players who fit into one of two categories: young, or good-but-not-great. The only established superstars to accept invitations to play basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics were Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson. This was also the least racially diverse "Dream Team" to date.
Although the team was sometimes called a "Dream Team" because it was composed of NBA players, it is likely that the media will end the use of that nickname after their performance. Indeed, some media outlets took to calling them the "Nightmare Team." "Dream Team IV" was defeated by Italy by 17 points in a friendly game in Cologne, Germany; two days later, also in Cologne, the "Dream Team" needed an Iverson three-pointer from just inside the half-court line to keep its friendly game against Germany from going into overtime. For the very first time, the world saw that in fact the "Dream Team" was beatable. The vulnerability of the Americans was confirmed on August 15, 2004 when the Puerto Rican National Basketball Team defeated them 92-73 in the very first game of the 2004 Olympics in Athens. It was only the third Olympic defeat ever in the history of the United States and the first one for a Dream Team. Carlos Arroyo of Puerto Rico led the attack in the game that demonstrated that international basketball had caught up with the NBA.
After winning close games against Greece and Australia, the U.S. team lost another game against Lithuania, dropping to 2-2 in the Olympic tournament. Sarunas Jasikevicius, who missed a three-pointer that would have beaten the U.S. in the semifinals four years earlier at Sydney, scored 28 points to lead the Lithuanians.
Even though they managed to win easily against Angola, 89-53, because of the goal average rules Dream Team IV entered the quarterfinal round in 4th place, the lowest seed of their group. The Americans faced undefeated Spain in their quarterfinal game and finally put up a dominant performance. Led by Stephon Marbury's 31 points, Dream Team IV defeated the Spaniards 102-94, eliminating them from medal contention.
This is an Article on Dream Team. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Dream Team Dream Team I
Dream Team I Lineup
Because of this star line-up, the team's games usually began with the opposite team taking pictures of their opponents - their idols.Results at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona
Final Standings at Barcelona 1992
Dream Team II
The second Dream Team participated in the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta. Though the star quality of team was not as impressive as the previous team, Dream Team II still had incredible, talented players, including NBA MVPs and some the young stars of the time.Dream Team II Line-up
Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, and David Robinson were the only players who participated in both Dream Teams I and II. Results at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta
Final Standings at Atlanta 1996
Dream Team III
Line-up of Dream Team III
Dream Team III participated in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and was coached by Rudy Tomjanovich. It began by defeating its first rivals by large margins but suddenly the margins began to shrink. The preliminary game against Lithuania 85-76 was the first time a Dream Team failed to win by double digits.Results of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney
Final Standings at Sydney 2000
Dream Team IV
Dream Team IV Line-up
"Dream Team IV" was coached by Larry Brown.
The most disappointing moment for the team came in the semifinals when they were defeated by Argentina 89-81, ending the Dream Team's lock on the gold medal. Dream Team IV ended the Olympics with 104-96 win over Lithuania to win the bronze medal. It marked only the third time that an American team failed to win gold, and the first time for a Dream Team. Before 2004, the American team only lost two games in all previous Olympic tournaments, whereas this one lost three.Results at the 2004 Olympics in Athens
Final Standings at Athens 2004