The 2024 Team USA men’s basketball team continues action in the medal round with the goal of bringing home an eighth gold in the last nine Summer Olympics.
That run started in 1992 with the use of professional players and has continued through the present day, creating many debates along the way. Would the Dream Team beat the Redeem Team? How would the 2024 team fare against those teams?
Mike Macdonald joins Pelissero for exclusive interview during training camp ‘The Insiders’
Seattle Seahawks new head coach Mike Macdonald joins NFL Insider Tom Pelissero for exclusive interview during training camp.
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Why not spin that debate in a different direction and create a Dream “Dream Team.” We used a formula to rank the 108 players who have played for Team USA from 1992-2008.
We did not base this on career achievements, however. We took the NBA accomplishments from the four seasons leading up to a player’s appearance on Team USA. So a player on this year’s team would have their honors from 2020-21 to 2023-24 toward their total.
What were those variables in the formula?
NBA MVP: 5 points each
All-NBA First Team: 3 points each
All-NBA Second Team: 2 points each
All-NBA Third Team: 1 point each
NBA Finals appearance: 1 point each
NBA championship: 2 points each
NBA Finals MVP: 1 point each
NBA scoring title: 1 point each
NBA All-Star game selection: 1 point each
Simple, right? Each player’s performance in the Olympics did not alter the player’s ranking. The formula is not perfect science, and there are some anomalies that will lead to serious arguments. This is just one statistical way to find the best team on paper over the last nine Summer Olympics. Here is the Dream “Dream Team.”
