[2][3][4] At the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona, the team defeated its opponents by an average of 44 points en route to the gold medal against Croatia.

The Naismith Hall of Fame calls the team "the greatest collection of basketball talent on the planet".

[8] In the 1988 Summer Olympics, the Americans lost to the USSR and settled for bronze, their worst finish in the history of the tournament.

The decision led to professional players, particularly those from the United States' National Basketball Association, dominating the sport at the highest levels of international competition.

The change also warded off competition from the Goodwill Games, the biggest rival of the Olympics at the time, which was seeking to bring professional players into its basketball events.

[8]USA Basketball asked the NBA to supply players for its 1992 roster;[15] the league was initially unenthusiastic about this idea.

[8] In early 1991, Sports Illustrated labeled the forthcoming American roster as the "Dream Team" on the cover of its February 18 issue.

[16][15] The first ten players for the team were selected on September 21, 1991: Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls, John Stockton and Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz, Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers, Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics, Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks, Chris Mullin of the Golden State Warriors, David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs, and Charles Barkley of the Philadelphia 76ers.

[17] On May 12, 1992, Clyde Drexler of the Portland Trail Blazers was chosen over Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons for the final professional roster spot.

[16] The Australian Olympic delegation prominently threatened to boycott the games in protest of Johnson's presence, fearing that he might infect other athletes.

[23] Ewing, Jordan, and Mullin had won gold at the 1984 games; Malone had not made the team and saw his non-selection in 1984 as a challenge.

"[27] The selection committee considered several college players including Harold Miner, Jimmy Jackson, and Alonzo Mourning in addition to Shaquille O'Neal and Christian Laettner.

[28] O'Neal was the number-one pick in the 1992 NBA draft, but Laettner's Duke Blue Devils teams won consecutive National Championships in 1991 and 1992.

USA Basketball selected players whose style of play, it hoped, would resemble that of the Europeans the Dream Team would face.

Members included the penetrating guard Bobby Hurley, all-around players Grant Hill and Penny Hardaway, outside shooter Allan Houston, and the tough Chris Webber and Eric Montross.

[30][31] In late June, the Dream Team first met together in La Jolla, California, astounding and intimidating the collegians who watched them practice.

[32] Some of the college players visited Jordan's hotel room afterward and asked their hero for his personal items as souvenirs.

[8] The Dream Team made its international debut on June 28 at the Tournament of the Americas, an Olympic qualifying event in Portland, Oregon.

[8] The team defeated Cuba 136–57, prompting Cuban coach Miguel Calderón Gómez to say, "You can't cover the sun with your finger.

Daly also stated that the beds in the Village were a problem, as two of his athletes were over seven feet tall and he considered comfort a priority to keep the team rested.

[16] Opposing teams were nonetheless overwhelmed by the talent of the American roster, losing by an average of 43.8 points per game.

[44] Although this incident had no bearing on the final result (a 116–48 USA win), at the time there was a concern about the image of America to the rest of the world.

[8] Barkley was the Dream Team's leading scorer during the Olympics, averaging 18.0 points per game,[48] although the player selection committee had been unsure of his inclusion, worried that he would not represent the United States well.

Croatia, participating as an independent nation in the Olympics for the first time since its separation from the former Yugoslavia, briefly led the Dream Team by a score of 25–23 in the first half.

[42][49] By the end of the game, Team USA had pulled away and Stockton agreed to a Croatian player's plea not to shoot.

"[50] Daly said of the opposing teams "They'll go home and for the rest of their lives be able to tell their kids, 'I played against Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.'