Olympian Feats: History of U.S. Men's Basketball From Berlin to Rio

Summary of U.S. Men's Involvement in Olympics

Genesis of Olympic Basketball Participation

Dr. James Naismith is credited for inventing the game of basketball in 1891, but it wasn't until June, 1932, in Geneva, Switzerland that an international federation was formed to focus solely on basketball. Three years later, the International Basketball Federation (FIBB) was officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), helping pave the path for men's basketball to be implemented at the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympic Games. The FIBB is the forerunner of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

Naismith's protege, Dr. F.C. "Phog" Allen, was the driving force behind the addition of basketball to the Olympic Games. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, he conducted a personal crusade trying to coax Olympic officials to include the sport before it finally paid off.

In 1904, basketball was a new demonstration sport at the Summer Olympics in St. Louis, which also was part of the World's Fair the same year. Hiram College (Ohio), Wheaton College (Illinois) and the University of Latter Day Saints (known today as Brigham Young) were the three college teams invited to compete in what was officially called the "Olympic Collegiate Basketball Championship." Hiram finished the round-robin tournament 2-0 and was declared the champion and awarded the first Olympic gold medal in basketball.

The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) was recognized as the organization that would be responsible for United States teams in international competitions when the U.S joined FIBA as a member in 1934. Various committees controlled the selection of the U.S. Olympic teams and coaching staffs. For instance, the Games Committee selected from eight teams at the 1960 Olympics Trials--three AAU squads, the NCAA Tournament champion, an NCAA university all-star team, an NCAA college all-star team, an Armed Forces all-star team, and a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) all-star team.

Just prior to the 1972 Olympics, FIBA revoked its recognition of the AAU and instructed the U.S. to form a new organization containing representation from the numerous basketball outlets in the country. In 1974, the Amateur Basketball Federation of the United States of America (ABAUSA) was formed. ABAUSA changed its name to USA Basketball in October, 1989. Shortly thereafter FIBA modified its rules to allow professional basketball players to participate in international competitions, allowing the National Basketball Association to assemble a series of "Dream Teams".

The U.S. Women's National Team created what it hoped was a blueprint for success by fielding its squad more than a year in advance of the 1996 Olympics, paying players an annual salary of $50,000. The ladies also became a "dream team" of sorts, winning their first 39 exhibition games against U.S. colleges and foreign opponents by an average margin of almost 35 points. The $3 million long-range project enabled the U.S. to assemble a more mature female roster (average age of 27 compared to 21 in the '76 and '80 Olympics). After the formation of the WNBA, professional players also dominated the U.S. women's squad.

Three-time Olympian Dawn Staley carried the flag for the remainder of the U.S. Olympic delegation at the 2004 Opening Ceremonies in Athens. Following is a summary of U.S. involvement in previous Olympiads:

1936
Berlin, Germany
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (5-0); 2. Canada (5-1); 3. Mexico (5-2).
U.S. Coach: James Needles, Universal Pictures (Calif.).
Did You Know?: Each basketball team was limited to seven players per game, which were played on an outdoor tennis court on a surface of clay and sand. A rule banning players taller than 6-2 was rescinded only after the U.S. complained. Forward Frank Lubin, a 1931 UCLA graduate of Lithuanian ancestry, played and coached Lithuania to the 1939 European Cup Tournament title. Lubin, the second-leading scorer for the '36 U.S. squad, scored the game-winning basket for Lithuania against Latvia. Third-leading scorer Francis Johnson was a younger brother of assistant U.S. coach Gene Johnson (Globe Oilers, Kan.). Fourth-leading scorer Sam Balter went on to become a broadcaster for the Mutual Network and sports columnist for the Los Angeles Herald-Express before gaining membership in the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Legendary Kansas coach Phog Allen conceived a plan that had each high school and college withhold one cent from the price of each admission to one game played during the week of February 9-15 to finance the trip to Germany for Dr. James Naismith, the game's inventor. LIU's undefeated team (25-0) coached by Hall of Famer Clair Bee boycotted the Olympic Games. The LIU roster, comprised of sons and grandsons of Jewish and Italian immigrants, decided that if one team member chose not to participate, they all would refuse to compete in Hitler's Berlin.

U.S. Results
U.S. 2, Spain 0*
U.S. 52, Estonia 28
U.S. 56, Philippines 23
U.S. 25, Mexico 10
U.S. 19, Canada 8

*The U.S. was awarded a forfeit victory when its first opponent (Spain) didn't show up because of the Spanish civil war.

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

NOTE: The team was divided into two seven-man units that played one game and then sat out the next contest.

1948
London, England
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. France (5-2); 3. Brazil (7-1).
U.S. Coach: Omar Browning, Phillips Oilers (Okla.).
Did You Know?: The Phillips Oilers, winners of the national AAU title, defeated Kentucky, the 1948 NCAA champion, in the final game of the U.S. Olympic Trials (53-49). Each of the finalists wound up with five representatives on the U.S. squad. NIT champion St. Louis rejected an invitation to the eight-team Olympic Trials because the school's administration believed the players would miss too much class time. Former Oklahoma A&M All-American guard Jesse "Cab" Renick, one of the U.S. team members from the Oilers, was inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973 (1/4 Chickasaw and 1/4 Choctaw). Don Barksdale, a second-team selection in 1946-47, was the first African-American player named to an NCAA consensus All-American squad. Before serving a three-year stint in the U.S. Army, Barksdale's 18-point effort in 1942-43 helped UCLA end USC's 42-game winning streak in their intracity rivalry. In 1946-47, Beard and Groza were sophomores when they became the only set of underclassmen teammates named NCAA consensus first-team All-Americans in the same year since the start of the NCAA Tournament. Ken Rollins, the lone senior among Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp's "Fabulous Five," held standout guard Bob Cousy, the leading scorer for defending champion Holy Cross, to just five points in the 1948 NCAA Tournament semifinals. Wallace "Wah Wah" Jones lettered as a two-way end on three Kentucky football teams coached by the legendary Bear Bryant and lettered three times for the Wildcats' baseball team.

U.S. Results U.S. 86, Switzerland 21
U.S. 53, Czechoslovakia 28
U.S. 59, Argentina 57
U.S. 66, Egypt 28
U.S. 61, Peru 33
U.S. 63, Uruguay 28
U.S. 71, Mexico 40
U.S. 65, France 21

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

*Boryla played two seasons at Notre Dame (1944-45 and 1945-46) and then served in the military for two years before finishing his college career at the University of Denver (1948-49).

1952
Helsinki, Finland
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. Soviet Union (6-2); 3. Uruguay (5-3).
U.S. Coach: Warren Womble, Peoria Caterpillars (IL).
Did You Know?: U.S. Olympic team captain Ron Bontemps was a high school (Taylorville, Ill.) and college (Illinois and Beloit, Wis.) teammate of former Massachusetts, Michigan and Iowa State coach Johnny Orr. Their 1944 state high school championship team compiled a 45-0 record. Bontemps averaged a team-high 22 points per game for a Beloit squad that earned a bid to the 1951 NIT after defeating larger schools such as Washington State, Marshall, San Jose State and Loyola of Chicago. Beloit had an enrollment of 1,060 students. Guard Dean Kelley is the only player to have season scoring averages of fewer than 10 points per game in back-to-back years when he was named to the All-NCAA Tournament team (1952 and 1953 with Kansas). Charlie Hoag, one of seven Kansas players on the U.S. roster, was also a running back and captain of the Jayhawks' 1952 football squad and 26th-round draft choice of the Cleveland Browns in 1953.

U.S. Results
U.S. 66, Hungary 48
U.S. 72, Czechoslovakia 47
U.S. 57, Uruguay 44
U.S. 86, USSR 58
U.S. 103, Chile 55
U.S. 57, Brazil 53
U.S. 85, Argentina 76
U.S. 36, USSR 25

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

1956
Melbourne, Australia
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. Soviet Union (5-3); 3. Uruguay (6-2).
U.S. Coach: Gerry Tucker, Phillips 66ers (Okla.).
Did You Know?: The XVIth Olympiad, conducted during the U.S.'s winter time (Nov. 22-Dec. 1) because the seasons are reversed in Australia, delayed Bill Russell's NBA debut. Forward Dick Boushka, named president of Vickers Petroleum Corporation in 1963 at the age of 29, became the ninth president of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and swingman Gib Ford became president of Converse after serving in the Air Force. Coach Gerry Tucker had been an NCAA consensus first-team All-American in 1947 when the 6-4 center was the leading scorer for Oklahoma's NCAA Tournament runner-up. Tucker, an Army veteran from Winfield, Kan., originally attended Kansas State. Carl Cain, who sustained a herniated disc after entering the Army, played sparingly and was almost replaced by alternate Willie Naulls of UCLA. Cain was second-leading scorer and rebounder for Iowa team that lost to USF and Russell in 1956 NCAA Tournament championship game.

U.S. Results
U.S. 98, Japan 40
U.S. 101, Thailand 29
U.S. 121, Philippines 53
U.S. 85, Bulgaria 44
U.S. 113, Brazil 51
U.S. 85, USSR 55
U.S. 101, Uruguay 38
U.S. 89, USSR 55

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

1960
Rome, Italy
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. Soviet Union (6-2); 3. Brazil (6-2).
U.S. Coach: Pete Newell, California.
Did You Know?: Ohio State's John Havlicek didn't make the cut but eight members of the 12-man U.S. roster in 1960 went on to play at least nine seasons in the NBA. Jay Arnette, one of the four who didn't have a prolonged NBA career (three years with the Cincinnati Royals after a brief minor league baseball career in the Los Angeles Dodgers' farm system), was a Texas teammate and Olympic opponent of Albert Almanza, the third-leading scorer for the Mexican team that finished 11th. Two-time first-team All-America swingman Jerry West was denied an NCAA championship ring in 1959 when California center Darrall Imhoff, West's teammate with the Los Angeles Lakers for four seasons in the mid-1960s, tipped in a basket with 17 seconds remaining. Imhoff's high school coach was Bob Boyd, who went on to guide Southern California and Mississippi State. Allen Kelley and fellow guard Dean Kelley, a 1952 Olympian, are the only set of brothers to play together in two NCAA playoff title games (1952 and 1953 with Kansas). Walt Bellamy, Jerry Lucas' backup center, was named NBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 31.6 points and 19 rebounds per game in 1961-62. Lucas, a memory expert and motivational speaker, worked on educational programs while living in Compton, Calif.

U.S. Results
U.S. 88, Italy 54
U.S. 125, Japan 66
U.S. 107, Hungary 63
U.S. 104, Yugoslavia 42
U.S. 108, Uruguay 50
U.S. 81, USSR 57
U.S. 112, Italy 81
U.S. 90, Brazil 63

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

1964
Tokyo, Japan
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (9-0); 2. Soviet Union (8-1); 3. Brazil (6-3).
U.S. Coach: Hank Iba, Oklahoma State.
Did You Know?: Former UNC Charlotte coach and NBA standout Jeff Mullins compiled the lowest scoring average on the 12-man U.S. roster despite averaging 24.2 points per game for NCAA runner-up Duke. Mullins, who scored 14 of his 18 points against Puerto Rico in the semifinals, was one of eight major-college roster members to go on and play at least seven seasons in the NBA/ABA. But the squad's leading scorer was from a small college - SE Oklahoma State's Jerry Shipp. Walt Hazzard became the only Final Four Most Outstanding Player (UCLA '64) to later coach his alma mater in the tournament (1-1 playoff record with the Bruins in 1987). Larry Brown, who also coached UCLA, became the only mentor to leave an NCAA champion before the next season for another coaching job when he quit Kansas before the start of the next NCAA probation-marred campaign to return to the NBA after winning the 1988 title with the Jayhawks. Brown, coach of the 2004 U.S. Olympic team, is a former father-in-law of ex-Missouri coach Quin Snyder, a Duke teammate of '92 Olympian Christian Laettner in 1988-89. Joe Caldwell played for Brown in his first two seasons as a pro head coach (ABA's Carolina Cougars in 1972-73 and 1973-74). Bill Bradley, a U.S. Senator from New Jersey who ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 2000, is probably the most famous politician to play college basketball. Michigan sophomore sensation Cazzie Russell was handicapped by an ankle injury in his bid for a spot on the roster. Dick Davies' brother, Bob, was an All-American for Seton Hall before earning recognition as a first-team all-star in the NBL, BAA and NBA. Dick went on to become Goodyear's vice president of manufacturing.

U.S. Results
U.S. 78, Australia 45
U.S. 77, Finland 51
U.S. 60, Peru 45
U.S. 83, Uruguay 28
U.S. 69, Yugoslavia 61
U.S. 86, Brazil 53
U.S. 116, South Korea 50
U.S. 62, Puerto Rico 42
U.S. 73, USSR 59

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

1968
Mexico City, Mexico
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (9-0); 2. Yugoslavia (7-2); 3. Soviet Union (8-1).
U.S. Coach: Hank Iba, Oklahoma State.
Did You Know?: Spencer Haywood, the leading scorer for the U.S. squad, was at that time the youngest player (19) ever to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic basketball team. The U.S. team probably would have featured a different leading scorer and most assuredly would have averaged more than 67 points in its last three games if any or all of the following sophomore scoring sensations had been named to the squad: LSU's Pete Maravich (43.8 ppg), Niagara's Calvin Murphy (38.2) and Purdue's Rick Mount (28.5). Ken Spain was selected as an end by the Detroit Lions in the 16th round of the 1969 NFL draft and also had tryouts with the Houston Oilers, Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders. Mike Silliman's coach at Army was Bob Knight, who was in charge of the U.S. gold medal-winning squad in 1984. Bill Hosket's father, Wilmer, was named to the third five on College Humor Magazine's All-American team in 1932-33 when he was the fourth-leading scorer in the Big Ten Conference (8 ppg) as a member of Ohio State's league co-champions.

U.S. Results
U.S. 81, Spain 46
U.S. 93, Senegal 36
U.S. 96, Philippines 75
U.S. 73, Yugoslavia 58
U.S. 95, Panama 60
U.S. 100, Italy 61
U.S. 61, Puerto Rico 56
U.S. 75, Brazil 63
U.S. 65, Yugoslavia 50

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

1972
Munich, West Germany
Medal Winners: 1. Soviet Union (9-0); 2. U.S. (8-1); 3. Cuba (7-2).
U.S. Coach: Hank Iba, Oklahoma State.
Did You Know?: A 62-game Olympic winning streak for the U.S. ended in the most controversial game in international basketball history. Three seconds were put back on the clock on two separate occasions in the final before the Soviet's Aleksander Belov received a length-of-the-court pass between two American players and converted a game-winning layup. UCLA's Bill Walton became a post-defeat whipping boy in some quarters for not playing for the team. Swen Nater, Walton's backup with the Bruins, made the Olympic squad but quit during three-a-day workouts at Pearl Harbor. Iba, the only individual to coach three different U.S. Olympic squads, had seven of his former Oklahoma State players eventually coach teams into the NCAA playoffs: John Floyd (Texas A&M), Jack Hartman (Kansas State), Don Haskins (Texas-El Paso), Moe Iba (Nebraska), Bud Millikan (Maryland), Doyle Parrack (Oklahoma City) and Eddie Sutton (Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma State). Tom McMillen became co-chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness under Bill Clinton after serving as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland. The U.S., which trailed the USSR by eight points with less than six minutes left, led only once, 49-48, on Doug Collins' two free throws with three seconds remaining. Collins is the only former NCAA consensus All-American and Olympian to have a son participate in an NCAA Tournament championship game (guard Chris Collins of Duke '94).

U.S. Results
U.S. 66, Czechoslovakia 35
U.S. 81, Australia 55
U.S. 67, Cuba 48
U.S. 61, Brazil 54
U.S. 96, Egypt 31
U.S. 72, Spain 56
U.S. 99, Japan 33
U.S. 68, Italy 38
USSR 51, U.S. 50

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

1976
Montreal, Canada
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (7-0); 2. Yugoslavia (5-2); 3. Soviet Union (5-2).
U.S. Men's Coach: Dean Smith, North Carolina.
Did You Know?: Seven members of the 12-man U.S. roster were from coach Dean Smith's conference, including four from North Carolina, although the ACC didn't notch a victory in the 1976 NCAA Tournament. One of the non-ACC players was Notre Dame forward Adrian Dantley, who managed the highest-ever scoring average for a U.S. player in a single Olympiad (19.3 points per game). Ernie Grunfeld (New York Knicks) and Mitch Kupchak (Los Angeles Lakers) became general managers for NBA franchises while Quinn Buckner became an NBA head coach (Dallas Mavericks).

U.S. Men's Results
U.S. 106, Italy 86
U.S. 95, Puerto Rico 94
U.S. 112, Yugoslavia 93
U.S. 2, Egypt 0*
U.S. 81, Czechoslovakia 76
U.S. 95, Canada 77
U.S. 95, Yugoslavia 74
*The U.S. was awarded a forfeit victory when Egypt withdrew for political reasons.

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

1980
Moscow, Soviet Union
Medal Winners: 1. Yugoslavia (8-0); 2. Italy (5-3); 3. Soviet Union (6-2).
U.S. Men's Coach: Dave Gavitt, Providence.
Did You Know?: Argentina, Canada, China, Mexico and Puerto Rico all qualified for the Olympics along with the U.S., but they boycotted the Moscow Games in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. Each of the 12 U.S. team members became NBA first-round draft choices. A key member of the gold-medal winning Yugoslavian team was Kresimir Cosic, who led Brigham Young in scoring in 1971-72 (22.3 ppg) and 1972-73 (20.2 ppg) before becoming Deputy Ambassador to the United States for Croatia. Cosic died of cancer in May, 1995, at the age of 46. Isiah Thomas went on to assemble a prolific pro career but wasn't named to the 1992 "Dream Team."

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

NOTE: Statistics are for six games (5-1 record) in the "Gold Medal Series" in various U.S. cities against NBA All-Star teams.

1984
Los Angeles, California, USA
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. Spain (6-2); 3. Yugoslavia (7-1).
U.S. Men's Coach: Bob Knight, Indiana.
Did You Know?: Political repercussions persisted as the Soviet bloc countries boycotted the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Holy Cross coach Jack Donohue, who guided the Canadian National Team to a fourth-place finish, previously coached Power Memorial Academy in New York to a 163-30 record, including 71 consecutive victories with center Lew Alcindor in his lineup. Chris Mullin and Sam Perkins became teammates with the Indiana Pacers in 1998-99 after Vern Fleming and Wayman Tisdale were teammates with the same franchise for four seasons in the late 1980s. Steve Alford coached against Knight in the Big Ten Conference after becoming Iowa's bench boss. NBA all-time assists and steals leader John Stockton was cut in favor of Leon Wood, who became an NBA referee after his playing career.

U.S. Men's Results
U.S. 97, China 49
U.S. 89, Canada 68
U.S. 104, Uruguay 68
U.S. 120, France 62
U.S. 101, Spain 68
U.S. 78, F.R. Germany 67
U.S. 78, Canada 59
U.S. 96, Spain 65

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

1988
Seoul, South Korea
Medal Winners: 1. Soviet Union (7-1); 2. Yugoslavia (6-2); 3. U.S. (7-1).
U.S. Men's Coach: John Thompson Jr., Georgetown.
Did You Know?: Hersey Hawkins, the team's top outside threat, was sidelined because of an injury when the U.S. sustained a semifinal loss to the USSR in the first Olympic matchup between the superpowers since the controversial 1972 final in Munich. Guard Charles Smith, Thompson's star player for Georgetown, was the only member of the 12-man Olympic squad undrafted by an NBA team. Smith subsequently served prison time for vehicular homicide and later was found shot in the upper body in Bowie, Md., in a house where a significant amount of cocaine and evidence of a gambling operation were found. In the fall of 2003, Willie Anderson reportedly lost almost all of the $1.75 million he was to receive from a deferred 10-year contract with the San Antonio Spurs to the IRS and three women who said he did not pay child support.

U.S. Men's Results
U.S. 97, Spain 53
U.S. 76, Canada 70
U.S. 102, Brazil 87
U.S. 108, China 57
U.S. 102, Egypt 35
U.S. 94, Puerto Rico 57
USSR 82, U.S. 76
U.S. 78, Australia 49

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

1992
Barcelona, Spain
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. Croatia (6-2); 3. Lithuania (6-2).
U.S. Men's Coach: Chuck Daly, New Jersey Nets.
Did You Know?: "Dream Team I," winning its eight games by an average of 43.8 points, was assembled after international rules, which previously prevented only NBA players from being eligible for Olympic basketball, were changed by the FIBA membership on April 7, 1989, by virtue of a 56-13 vote in favor of "open competition." Three University of Houston products participated in the 1992 Games - David Diaz (Venezuela), Clyde Drexler (U.S.) and Carl Herrera (Venezuela) and a fourth, Rolando Ferreira, was cut by the Brazilian squad just prior to the competition.

U.S. Men's Results
U.S. 116, Angola 48
U.S. 103, Croatia 70
U.S. 111, Germany 68
U.S. 127, Brazil 83
U.S. 122, Spain 81
U.S. 115, Puerto Rico 77
U.S. 127, Lithuania 76
U.S. 117, Croatia 85

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

*Selected in first round of NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

1996
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. Yugoslavia (7-1); 3. Lithuania (5-3).
U.S. Men's Coach: Lenny Wilkens, Atlanta Hawks.
Did You Know?: Dream Team III averaged fewer points per game during the Olympics (101.8) than the U.S. women's squad (102.4). David Robinson, the first three-time U.S. Olympian in men's basketball, became the all-time leading scorer for the U.S. in Olympic competition. Reggie Miller's sister, Cheryl, was the leading scorer for the 1984 U.S. women's squad.

U.S. Men's Results
U.S. 96, Argentina 68
U.S. 87, Angola 54
U.S. 104, Lithuania 82
U.S. 133, China 70
U.S. 102, Croatia 71
U.S. 98, Brazil 75
U.S. 101, Australia 73
U.S. 95, Yugoslavia 69

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

2000
Sydney, Australia (XXVII)
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. France (4-4); 3. Lithuania (5-3).
U.S. Men's Coach: Rudy Tomjanovich, Houston Rockets.
Did You Know?: Grant Hill and Gary Payton were members of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team. Hill (three times with Duke) and Vince Carter (twice with North Carolina) were the only members of the 12-man squad to have participated in the NCAA Final Four. Payton was involved in a trade for Ray Allen midway through the 2002-03 season. Assistant coach Larry Brown played for the 1964 U.S. squad that included eventual Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Bradley. Lithuania forced the U.S. into its two closest margins (nine and two) since NBA players began competing in 1992.

U.S. Men's Results
U.S. 119, China 72
U.S. 93, Italy 61
U.S. 85, Lithuania 76
U.S. 102, New Zealand 56
U.S. 106, France 94
U.S. 85, Russia 70
U.S. 85, Lithuania 83
U.S. 85, France 75

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

2004
Athens, Greece (XXVIII)
Medal Winners: 1. Argentina (6-2); 2. Italy (5-3); 3. U.S. (5-3).
U.S. Men's Coach: Larry Brown, Detroit Pistons.
Did You Know?: Following a slew of withdrawals and rejected invitations, the U.S. roster included only Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson from the star-studded squad that won the Tournament of the Americas the previous summer. Mike Bibby, Jason Kidd, Karl Malone, Tracy McGrady and Jermaine O'Neal were named to the team, but withdrew because of injuries or personal reasons. After 24 consecutive victories, the pros incurred their first Olympic defeat (worst in U.S. history) when Puerto Rico jumped to a 22-point, first-half cushion en route to a 92-73 opening-round decision. The U.S. also lost to Lithuania before failing to overcome a 16-point, third-quarter deficit in a semifinal defeat against Argentina. U.S. star Tim Duncan, playing less than half of the game because of foul problems, scored only 10 points while San Antonio Spurs teammate Manu Ginobili poured in 29 for Argentina. The average age of the U.S. roster was 23.6, with nine of the players attending college two or fewer years. Despite hitting seven of eight three-pointers down the stretch in a bronze-medal game victory over Lithuania, the U.S. shot a meager 31.4% from beyond the arc over eight games.

U.S. Men's Results
Puerto Rico 92, U.S. 73
U.S. 77, Greece 71
U.S. 88, Australia 79
Lithuania 94, U.S. 90
U.S. 89, Angola 53
U.S. 102, Spain 94
Argentina 89, U.S. 81
U.S. 104, Lithuania 96

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

2008
Beijing, China (XXIX)
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. Spain (6-2); 3. Argentina (6-2).
U.S. Men's Coach: Mike Krzyzweski, Duke.
Did You Know?: The "Redeem Team" captured the American's first gold medal in a major international competition in eight years (since the 2000 Sydney Olympics). Dwyane Wade finished as the leading scorer for the U.S. with 16 ppg after scoring a team-high 27 points in the gold medal game against defending world champion Spain, which trailed by only two points early in the fourth quarter.

U.S. Men's Results
U.S. 101, China 70
U.S. 97, Angola 76
U.S. 92, Greece 69
U.S. 119, Spain 82
U.S. 106, Germany 57
U.S. 116, Australia 85
U.S. 101, Argentina 81
U.S. 118, Spain 107

U.S. Men's Roster and Statistics

2012
London, England (XXX)
Medal Winners: 1. U.S. (8-0); 2. Spain (5-3); 3. Russia.
U.S. Men's Coach: Mike Krzyzweski, Duke.
Did You Know?: The 12-man roster and three alternates had been undergraduate selections in the NBA draft. Deron Williams is the only roster member with as many as three seasons of college experience. Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Chris Paul were playing for different NBA teams than when they competed for the 2008 U.S. squad. Anthony and James joined David Robinson as three-time U.S. hoop Olympians. Anthony Davis replaced Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers/Oklahoma) on roster after Griffin incurred a knee injury. Margin of victory over Nigeria (83) was highest in Olympic history when Anthony scored a U.S.-record 37 points in only 14 minutes. James passed Michael Jordan on the all-time Olympic scoring list for Team USA while Kevin Durant passed Spencer Haywood for most points in a single Olympiad. Krzyzewski compiled a 62-1 record as U.S. coach.

U.S. Men's Results
U.S. 98, France 71
U.S. 110, Tunisia 63
U.S. 156, Nigeria 73
U.S. 99, Lithuania 94
U.S. 126, Argentina 97
U.S. 119, Australia 86
U.S. 109, Argentina 83
U.S. 107, Spain 100

U.S. Men's Roster

U.S. Men's All-Time Olympic Games Roster

*Played for an armed services or independent team when named an Olympian.

Schools With Most Different U.S. Basketball Olympians: 13 - North Carolina; 12 - Kansas; 11 - Kentucky; 10 - UCLA; 6 - Duke; 5 - Indiana; 4 - Georgetown, Houston and Oklahoma.

Major Schools Never to Have a Men's U.S. Basketball Olympian: Boston College, Brigham Young, Clemson, Dayton, Florida, Florida State, Miami (Fla.), Mississippi, Mississippi State, New Mexico, Northwestern, Oregon, Providence, Seton Hall, Temple, Texas Christian, Texas Tech, Tulane, Tulsa, Virginia, Western Kentucky, Xavier.