30 years ago today, The Dream Team played its first game

The 1992 United States olympics men's basketball team is one of the greatest rosters ever assembled in any sports.

On Feb. 18, 1991, the Sports Illustrated cover featured five members of the team in Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing with the words "Dream Team" across the front. It's one of the most iconic covers in the magazine's history and created excitement for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.





This team's roster is still scary to this day

1. Charles Barkley: The 11-time All-Star won and NBA MVP

2. Larry Bird: The three-time NBA champion and three-time MVP

3. Patrick Ewing: The 7-foot center was a 11-time All-Star

4. Magic Johnson: Five-time NBA champion and three-time MVP

5. Michael Jordan: Jordan was a six-time NBA champion, five-time MVP and a member of the gold-medal team in 1984.

6.Karl Malone: Malone was a 14-time All-Star and two-time MVP who ranks in NBA history in points scored.

7. Chris Mullin: Mullin was a five-time All-Star and one of the best shooters of the 1990s.

8. Scottie Pippen: Pippen was a six-time NBA champion and seven-time All-Star as Jordan's wingman in Chicago.

9. David Robinson: David was the 1995 NBA MVP and a two-time NBA champion with the Spurs.

10. John Stockton: The 10-time All-Star is the NBA's all-time leader in assists.

11. Clyde Drexler: Drexler was a 10-time All-Star who later won a NBA championship with Houston in 1995.

12. Christian Laettner: The lone college player on the team led Duke to back-to-back national championships in 1991-92.

The team did not just win the gold medal. It left an impact both in the United State and globally even outside the basketball game.

Everyone knew how great this team was that before their first game against Cuba on June 28, 1992, the Cuban players approached Kim Bohuny, who was in charge of relations with the international teams, to take pictures with the players.

Kim Bohuny told them that it would be possible after the game, but the Cubans insisted on doing it before! Chuck Daly, the coach of the "Dream Team", is not really excited but finally, he agrees. The players take the opportunity to take as many pictures as possible. A moment of eternity for them and a tasty anecdote, symbolic of the immense popularity of this team. It will be multiplied tenfold in Barcelona, in the Olympic context.

Here are the final results of these olympics games


USA Basketball