Ranking the 5 Best Team USA Men's Basketball Teams Since the '92 Dream Team

Aside from a nail-biting comeback that saw Team USA erase a 17-point deficit in the 2024 Paris Olympics Semifinals against Serbia, and then a couple of scares in the gold medal game, most of the drama surrounding this team revolved around how it compared to other iterations.

Specifically, is 2024's squad better than the legendary 1992 Dream Team that forever altered the course of basketball history?

That question will be answered below, where you'll also find out the three other teams that make up the five best since Team USA started sending professional players to the Olympics.

The ranking has to be subjective. Numbers aren't as widely available as they are from NBA action. Even for modern teams, advanced numbers are almost nonexistent. So, this is more about who we think would win a hypothetical matchup if everyone was healthy and at their peak.

Often viewed as the sequel to the Dream Team, the 1996 squad brought back several members of the superteam of all superteams, including Charles Barkley, David Robinson, John Stockton, Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen.

The 1996 team was also probably even more balanced than the previous version on offensive.

For the second consecutive Olympics, Barkley led the way in scoring, but his 12.4 points were just four clear of the team's ninth-leading scorer.

Barkley (12.4), Robinson (12.0), Reggie Miller (11.4) and Pippen (11.0) all averaged double figures. Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal both averaged five-plus boards. Gary Payton, Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill and Pippen all average north of three assists.

In other words, just about everyone got a chance to do just about everything.

Team USA's average margin of victory was 31.8 points, and its closest win was a 104-82 blowout over a Lithuanian team that included Arvydas Sabonis and the Chicago Bulls' current vice president of basketball operations, Artūras Karnišovas.

Much like the 1996 squad, 2012's Team USA was sort of overshadowed by the one that came before it.

In 2008, the Americans had the redemption storyline to raise their profile both then and now. In 2012, they were once again overwhelming favorites, but that doesn't mean they weren't challenged.

By this time, a Spanish team headlined by Pau Gasol had become an international powerhouse. In that year's gold-medal game, Gasol had 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. And he kept Spain close before falling, 107-100, to an American team that was absolutely loaded.

That squad featured Kevin Durant, who led the team at 19.5 points per game. Carmelo Anthony averaged 16.3, while LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Love were all in double digits, too. LeBron, Chris Paul and Deron Williams all provided plenty of playmaking. Love did a good job of cleaning the glass. And Tyson Chandler was an underrated addition as a rim protector and finisher in limited minutes.

Even with close games against both Spain and Lithuania, this version of Team USA still had a 32.1-point average margin of victory.

Team USA's third-place finish in 2004 wasn't simply the result of a dud from the Americans. That roster was less inspiring than some of the others since 1992, but the world made up a lot of ground by the early 2000s. And bouncing back from that underwhelming finish in 2004 was never going to be as simple as sending the biggest names.

The program was very deliberate in building its roster. Mike Krzyzewski's no-nonsense, college-style coaching helped the team focus in the face of improving competition. Kobe Bryant's example was obviously crucial there, too.

And while the gold-medal game against Spain was close (Team USA won 118-107), the 2008 Redeem Team still emerged from this tournament with a 27.9-point average point differential.

Dwyane Wade led the way with 16.0 points per game. LeBron, Kobe, Melo and Dwight Howard were all in double digits, as well. They got plenty of playmaking from Williams and CP3. And leadership from Bryant and Jason Kidd really solidified the quest for redemption.

Even with this year's Team USA as stacked as it is, name recognition might be even greater for 1992's Dream Team.

If you've spent just about any amount of time following the NBA, you're bound to have some memory of (or for the younger generation, some YouTube experience with) every member of the roster:

Barkley, Michael Jordan, Malone, Chris Mullin, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Christian Laettner and John Stockton.

Except for perhaps Magic and Stockton, both of whom were either dealing with or recovering from injuries for part of the Olympics, everyone on this roster could've dominated any opponent in the 1992 field. In whatever minutes they got, they typically did.

Barkley averaged 18.0 points in 18.6 minutes and made 71.1 percent of his shots. Jordan averaged 4.8 assists and 4.1 steals. Mullin hit 53.8 percent of his three-point attempts. Pippen led the team with 5.9 assists per game.

At no point in the tournament was this group even remotely challenged. Their average margin of victory was 43.8 points. The world was not ready, and Team USA made sure everyone knew it.

This year's version of Team USA had the greatest shooter of all time, and it's hard to imagine it getting past Serbia without his 36 points and nine threes. His perimeter onslaught in the fourth quarter against France might've been even more impressive.

It also has arguably the greatest player of all time in LeBron James, who registered a triple-double in this tournament.

It has Kevin Durant, arguably the best scoring forward in NBA history and the best individual performer in Olympic men's basketball history.

Oh, there's also a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Anthony Davis, the 2022-23 MVP in Joel Embiid, some of the game's most versatile combo guards in Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, one of its smoothest scorers in Devin Booker.

Heck, this roster is good enough for Jayson Tatum, a multi-time All-NBA selection and recent champion, to get (what should be) uncontroversial DNP-CDs (did not play-coach's decision).

The field of international competitors has never been as good as it is now. And yet, Team USA, specifically this 2024 iteration, still went undefeated and led for the majority of its eight games.