Dream Team 30 year anniversary : Where are the players of the USA team in Barcelona 92 now?
It’s been three decades, since the original ‘Dream Team’ took both Barcelona and the world by storm. Since that famous summer, one can imagine a lot has happened. Where are the guys from 92 and what are they doing now? Let’s find out!
A look back at the ‘Dream Team’ of Barcelona’s 1992 Summer Olympics
This summer, will mark 30 years since USA Basketball took the Olympics by storm with the entry of a basketball team made up of not amateurs or professionals, but rather the very best players on the planet at the time. To say it was a game changer would be an understatement, not just for USA Basketball, but for the wider world as well. There were no college players, nor were there players from lower leagues in the United States, as was normally the case. What we witnessed, was a collection of the most famous faces that the NBA had to offer.
Needless to say, Barcelona responded in kind. The fanfare surrounding the tea
was akin to what you would expect with the Beatles or Michael Jackson coming to town to say the least. Yet, this wasn’t about a concert, at least not musical. USA Basketball initially released a roster or ensemble if you prefer, with 10 names: Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, John Stockton and Chris Mullin. The final two selections — Clyde Drexler and college sensation/Duke prodigy Christian Laettner — were added later. It was a team for the ages and remains so to this day. The ‘Dream Team’ would go on to obliterate the opposition in Barcelona, winning by an average of 43.8 points per game with the smallest margin of victory coming in a 32-point win over Croatia in the gold-medal game. “You will see a team of professionals in the Olympics again,” said USA coach Chuck Daly. “But I don’t think you’ll see another team quite like this. This was a majestic team.”
Where are the Dream Team members today?
As mentioned above, a lot’s happened since that incredible summer some 30 years ago, but rest assured the love that we still have for those amazing players stays strong. Here’s a look at each of the members of the 1992 ‘Dream Team’ and where they’re at today:
Christian Laettner
In a show of respect to the traditional Olympic framework i.e., utilizing amateur players, the USA selected one single college player for the Dream Team. Fresh of two consecutive NCAA championships with Duke, that player was Christian Laettner. Incidentally, Laettner got the nod of the NBA’s No. 1 Draft pick that year, Shaqille O’Neal. Laettner would go on to play in each and every game of the Olympic gold medal run and would even post the best numbers from the free-throw line with 18 of his 20 shots drained. While it’s true that his NBA career didn’t live up to expectation, he did get himself an All-Star selection with the Atlanta Hawks in 1997. Today, Laettner has established himself as a well-respected developer of youth basketball talent through his Christian Laettner Basketball Academy.
David Robinson
The lone survivor of Seoul 1988 Olympics, where the USA won a bronze medal, Robinson and that collection of players were actually the catalyst that led to a call for NBA players to be included in the Olympic arena. The No. 1 overall Draft pick of 1981, Robinson actually only joined the San Antonio Spurs two years later due to his US Navy service. As a graduate of the US Naval Academy, Robinson remains to this day the only one who has ever played in the NBA.
