Making a Point on U.S. Basketball Teams
Making a Point on U.S. Basketball Teams
Making a Point on U.S. Basketball Teams
Bob Vetrone Jr.
The 1992 U.S. Men's Basketball Team (commonly referred to as The Dream Team) is known as the most prolific accumulation of basketball talent on one team in history. To that moment in their careers, the 12 members of that team (which included one player who had yet to appear as a pro) had scored nearly 146,000 regular season NBA points.
But you might be surprised to learn the 1996 team (which included five of the 1992 players) had amassed more NBA points (over 156,000) when they showed up for Olympic duty. They also had garnered more rebounds than their 1992 brethren. (The 1992 team had about 3,500 more asissts.)
This year's U.S. team NBA totals — 121,456 points, 37,025 rebounds and 29,399 assists — rank third against the other five U.S. teams that have included pros.
NBA totals for the U.S. men's teams entering their Olympic tournaments:
| Year | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| 1992 | 145,942 | 51,180 | 40,038 |
| 1996 | 156,484 | 57,826 | 36,491 |
| 2000 | 99,318 | 32,803 | 25,570 |
| 2004 | 61,963 | 21,464 | 13,757 |
| 2008 | 106,570 | 35,091 | 27,798 |
| 2012 | 121,456 | 37,025 | 29,399 |
