National Basketball Association

Is the 'Dream Team' the root of the United States' current basketball struggles?

Updated Jul. 29, 2021 3:51 p.m. ET

Times are changing for the United States in basketball.

After dominating the last two Olympic cycles in men's basketball, the United States national team is experiencing pushback from the rest of the world. And according to NBA Hall of Famer and current Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing, the root of the issue is the 1992 "Dream Team."

In 1992 – the first time NBA players were allowed to participate in the Olympics – the U.S. assembled the "Dream Team." It was a roster stacked with NBA superstars, one with a collection of players so well-known that they garnered a level of attention more fitting a rock band than a sports team.

Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. John Stockton and Karl Malone. Clyde Drexler and Charles Barkley. David Robinson and, of course, Ewing. And let's not forget Chris Mullin. All 11 of those players would eventually be Hall of Famers.

The lone exception was Christian Laettner, who had just finished a star-studded career at Duke.

The '"Dream Team" won every game of the 1992 Games by at least 30 points on its way to a gold medal.

At the time, many NBA owners were reluctant to let their stars play in the Games, but according to TIME, commissioner David Stern had "convinced stakeholders that the NBA’s Olympic participation would show his product off to the world."

Fast forward 29 years later and the repercussions of Stern's push are still being felt, at least in Ewing's eyes.

The U.S. isn't experiencing that same level of success because – as Ewing said – the rest of the world is catching up in NBA talent. This showed up during pre-Olympics exhibition games in Las Vegas when the U.S. lost to Nigeria and Australia. And it showed up in the Americans' opening game in pool play vs. France.

FS1's Joy Taylor explained how there is merit to Ewing's claims on "Speak For Yourself," saying that the 1992 Olympics was a worldwide introduction to high-level basketball that caused a trickle-down effect being felt today.

"That ‘Dream Team’ changed the history of basketball on planet Earth. It introduced high-level competition and superstars to the international world, and opened up basketball to everyone."

Look no further than the France team that the United States lost to in the opener.

France features four starters who have NBA experience, led by three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, as well as two reserves on their bench who are currently on NBA rosters. Five of those six players were first-round NBA Draft picks.

The Australian national team – one that the United States also lost to in exhibition play – features six players currently in the NBA, and Spain features future Hall of Famer Pau Gasol, as well as his brother Marc Gasol and point guard Ricky Rubio, both of whom are NBA veterans.

And then there is the case of Luka Dončić, who scored 48 points in his Olympic debut for Slovenia and is seen as arguably the best player in the world under the age of 25.

Combine this with the fact that the NBA's last three MVPs are Greece's Giannis Antetokounmpo (2019, 2020) and Serbia's Nikola Jokić (2021), and the evidence of the game's growth overseas is clear.

The United States could still very well win gold in Tokyo, but it won't be easy.

And this could be the new norm moving forward.

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