1936–1968 The United States joined
FIBA at the end of 1934 under the supervision of the
Amateur Athletic Union. The US men were dominant from the first Olympic tournament to hold basketball, held in Berlin in
1936, going 5–0 to win the gold, and joined by continental neighbors Canada and Mexico on the medal platform. Through the next six tournaments, the United States went undefeated, collecting gold while not losing a single contest in the games held in
London,
Helsinki,
Melbourne,
Rome,
Tokyo, and
Mexico City. Participation in these tournaments was limited to amateurs, but the US teams during this period featured players who would later go on to become superstars in professional basketball, including
all-time greats Bill Russell,
Oscar Robertson,
Jerry West, and
Jerry Lucas; the latter three competed on the 1960 Rome team often credited as the best US roster until the formation of the 1992 Dream Team.
Alex Groza and
Ralph Beard, both briefly NBA stars, made the 1948 squad as
Kentucky Wildcats, with 3-time
Oklahoma State All-American and 6-time AAU All-American, and Hall of Famer
Bob Kurland leading the way. The 1952 team included big man
Clyde Lovellette of the University of Kansas, a future Hall of Famer and NBA star. Kurland once again led the team to victory. The 1956 team was led by
San Francisco Dons teammates Bill Russell and
K. C. Jones, and defeated its opponents by an unsurpassed average margin of 53.5 points per game. The 1960 team included nine future NBA players, including four consecutive NBA Rookie(s) of the Year; Robertson (1961 NBA Rookie of the Year), Lucas (1964 NBA Rookie of the Year),
Terry Dischinger (1963 NBA Rookie of the Year), and
Walt Bellamy (1962 NBA Rookie of the Year) but also Hall of Famer
Jerry West and NBA All-Star(s),
Darrall Imhoff (1967 NBA All Star),
Bob Boozer (1968 NBA All Star),
Adrian Smith (1966 NBA All Star game MVP) and
Jay Arnette. They defeated their opponents by an average margin of 42.4 points per game.
1972–1988 The 1972 Olympic men's basketball gold medal game, marking the first ever loss for the US in Olympic play, ranks among the most controversial events in Olympic history. The United States rode their seven consecutive gold medals and 63–0 Olympic record to Munich for the
1972 Summer Olympics. The team won its first eight games in convincing fashion, setting up a final against the Soviet Union, holding a 6–0 advantage over the Soviets in Olympic play. With three seconds left in the gold medal game, American forward
Doug Collins sank two free throws after being hit hard by a Soviet player to put the Americans up 50–49. Immediately following Collins' free throws, the Soviets inbounded the ball and failed to score. Soviet coaches claimed that they had requested a timeout before Collins' foul shots. The referees ordered the clock reset to three seconds and the game's final seconds replayed. The horn sounded as a length-of-the-court Soviet pass was being released from the inbounding player, the pass missed its mark, and the American players began celebrating. Nevertheless, the final three seconds were replayed for a third time. This time, the Soviets'
Alexander Belov and the US's
Kevin Joyce and
Jim Forbes went up for the pass, and Belov caught the long pass from Ivan Edeshko near the American basket. Belov then laid the ball in for the winning points as the buzzer sounded. The US players voted unanimously to refuse their silver medals, and at least one team member,
Kenny Davis, has directed in his will that his heirs are never to accept the medals, even posthumously. It remains to this day a possibility that game officials were bribed by the
Communist party. After the controversial loss in Munich, 1976 saw
Dean Smith coach the US to a 7–0 record and its eighth Olympic gold medal
in Montreal. The success at this tournament pushed the US's all-time Olympic record to an impressive 78–1. The
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan prompted the United States and 66 other countries to
boycott the
1980 Olympics, held in Moscow. The 1980 US team, which featured a number of future NBA players, was the youngest American national team ever assembled. This team featured:
Mark Aguirre,
Rolando Blackman,
Sam Bowie,
Michael Brooks,
Bill Hanzlik,
Alton Lister,
Rodney McCray,
Isiah Thomas,
Darnell Valentine,
Danny Vranes,
Buck Williams and
Al Wood. Unable to compete in the Olympics due to the boycott, it instead participated in the "Gold Medal Series", a series of games against NBA all-star teams in various US cities, recording a 5–1 record.
Oscar Schmidt led his teammates to an achievement: after a 54:68 halftime score, Brazil beat the US 120 to 115. The 3-pointer line — introduced by FIBA just 3 years before — had become tactically relevant. Although not a major competition, Indianapolis '87 brought some important facts: for the first time in basketball history, the US was defeated at home; for the first time, in a final; for the first time, by a team that scored more than 100 points. This defeat would bring changes to the sport soon. The 1988 US team had a roster of collegians aged 20–23 that included future NBA all-stars
David Robinson,
Danny Manning, and
Mitch Richmond. The team came up short, winning the bronze medal. The American team lost to the gold medal winner Soviet Union in the semifinals, but then regrouped and went on to beat Australia 78–49 in the bronze medal game.
Dan Majerle led the team in scoring, averaging 14.1 points per game. This was the last time the American Olympic Team consisted exclusively of non-NBA (college) players.
1992–2000 The decade started with a semifinal loss to Yugoslavia in the
1990 FIBA World Championship, followed by another semifinal defeat to Puerto Rico in the
1991 Pan American Games in Havana. The 1990 championship marked the last time that the US was represented by college players at a major international tournament (World Championship & Olympics). The decades-long use of "shamateurs" by the Soviet Union,
Yugoslavia and other international teams prompted
FIBA to modify Because of this star line-up, the team's games usually featured opposing teams asking for pregame photos and autographs with their US opponents. As expected, the US team ran away with the gold medal; they were so much better than the competition that head coach Chuck Daly did not call a single timeout during the tournament. The 1992 Dream Team won by an average of 43.8 points (second most, behind the 1956 US team). The only time the US was remotely threatened was against Croatia, which was beaten by 32.
Michael Jordan and
Scottie Pippen became the first players to win both
NBA championship and Olympic gold medal in the same year, having played for the
Chicago Bulls. Regarding drug-testing the athletes, according to USA Basketball spokesman Craig Miller, "Since 1990, all of our teams have been tested in competition. I believe since around 1988 we have also been subject to out-of-competition testing. We have been 100 percent fully compliant with USADA and WADA." The United States fielded another team composed of NBA players in the
1994 World Championship, held in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This was an entirely new roster, as
USA Basketball elected to showcase stars who were not present at the 1992 Olympics. Composed primarily of younger NBA players, the team lacked the widespread appeal of its predecessor but nevertheless continued its dominance. Those players were
Derrick Coleman,
Joe Dumars,
Kevin Johnson,
Larry Johnson,
Shawn Kemp,
Dan Majerle,
Reggie Miller,
Alonzo Mourning,
Shaquille O'Neal,
Mark Price,
Steve Smith and
Dominique Wilkins. Coached by
Don Nelson of the
Golden State Warriors, this team easily captured the gold medal in tournament play. The team was referred to as the "Dream Team II". The third team composed of NBA players participated in the
1996 Summer Olympics held in
Atlanta. The star quality of the team was impressive as it featured five members of the original Dream Team (Barkley, Malone, Pippen, Robinson, and Stockton), plus two other members of the NBA 50 Greatest Players list,
Hakeem Olajuwon and
Shaquille O'Neal.
Lenny Wilkens coached the team. The Americans won another gold medal with an average margin of victory of 31.8 points per game. They captured the gold medal after defeating
Yugoslavia 95–69. With Atlanta being home to the
Hawks, these games were the first Olympics to take place in a city with an NBA team since the league started allowing its players to compete in the Olympics. The team was commonly referred to as the "Dream Team III". The
1998 World Championship in
Athens, Greece was different from the previous teams, as none of its players were current members of NBA teams. Because of
a labor dispute that led to a lockout, no active NBA players were permitted to compete in the tournament. The 12 NBA players picked before the lockout were
Tim Duncan,
Tim Hardaway,
Vin Baker,
Gary Payton,
Terrell Brandon,
Kevin Garnett,
Tom Gugliotta,
Grant Hill,
Allan Houston,
Christian Laettner,
Glen Rice, and
Chris Webber. The replacement team was composed largely of players from American colleges, the minor-league
Continental Basketball Association, or European pro leagues. The unheralded roster captured a bronze medal, considered a solid achievement given its lack of top-notch talent. The team was nicknamed the "Dirty Dozen" for its work ethic and teamwork. Undrafted free agent
Brad Miller became a two-time
NBA All-Star. Some of the other team members—including
Trajan Langdon,
Kiwane Garris,
David Wood and
Michael Hawkins—had brief spells in the NBA. All went on to have careers in Europe, with Langdon being named to the
Euroleague's
All-Decade Team for the 2000s. During the late 1990s, international basketball began to gather attention as more and more foreign players became stars in the NBA. Therefore, the 2000 US team had the enormous task of proving that American basketball could remain the best in the world. The new team that was assembled again featured
NBA players, but this time few of them were considered to be true superstars, as several elite players elected not to participate. The US team participated in the
2000 Olympics in
Sydney, Australia and was coached by
Rudy Tomjanovich. It won its first two games by lopsided margins, but faced more difficult competition thereafter. In a preliminary game against
Lithuania, the US team won 85–76, marking the first time a team of professional American players failed to win by double digits. Two games later, in a 106–94 victory over
France,
Vince Carter pulled off one of the most famous dunks in basketball history, jumping over the
French center Frédéric Weis on his way to the basket. (The French media would dub Carter's feat ''''—"the dunk of death".) A shock came in the semifinals when the United States defeated Lithuania by the close score of 85–83. Lithuanian star (and future NBA player, first with the
Indiana Pacers and later with the
Golden State Warriors)
Šarūnas Jasikevičius failed to get a potential game-winning 3-point shot off in time. The closeness of the semifinal game was so shocking that
NBC took the unusual step of showing the gold medal game live rather than on
tape delay. (The game started around 2 p.m. Sydney time on Sunday, October 1, which is late Saturday evening in the United States. NBC originally planned to show the game almost 24 hours later during its Sunday
prime time broadcast.) The US won the gold medal against France in a close game, 85–75. Though the US went undefeated on its way to the gold medal, the team began to lose its aura of invincibility for the first time.
2001–2004 As the United States had already qualified for the
2002 World Championship as the host country, USA Basketball decided to field players from the
National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) for the
Tournament of the Americas in August 2001. Coached by
Dan Sparks, the team finished last, losing all four games.
Marcus Banks led the team in scoring, averaging 18.0 points. The 2002 team competed in the World Championship in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Coached by George Karl, the team finished a surprisingly disappointing sixth in the competition. During the tournament, Argentina defeated the US in the second preliminary round group stage, thus becoming the first team ever to defeat a US team composed of NBA players. Yugoslavia knocked out the US in the quarterfinals, becoming the first team ever to defeat US team of NBA players in knockout stage. Then Spain repeated the outcome in the 5th place playoff. To a greater degree than in 2000, a number of top NBA players declined to participate, forcing USA Basketball to resort to picking mostly second-tier players. George Karl had a dispute with
Paul Pierce, one of the few superstars on the team, which led to Karl benching Pierce, the team's leading scorer, in Team USA's final game. The group has been considered one of sport's greatest flops, as they failed to produce as previous teams had. The United States lost 3 games in the tournament to countries with current or future NBA stars, like Argentina (led by
Manu Ginóbili), Yugoslavia (led by
Peja Stojaković and
Vlade Divac) and Spain (led by
Pau Gasol). Two NBA superstars,
Ray Allen and
Jason Kidd, accepted roles to play on the World Championship team, but were unable to play on that team due to injuries. Many other superstars, including
Kobe Bryant,
Shaquille O'Neal, and
Kevin Garnett, turned down invitations to play in that tournament. The close outcome of 2000 and the humiliating results of 2002 prompted a number of NBA superstars to agree to join the team for the
FIBA Americas Championship 2003, dubbed as the Dream Team IV, which the squad was required to participate in to qualify for the
2004 Summer Olympics. The team easily cruised to a first-place finish, earning it a spot in
Athens, Greece, the following summer. However, the dominant team that competed in 2003 could not be kept together. Nine of its 12 players elected not to participate in Athens. The new team consisted of some young NBA stars early in their careers, such as
Dwyane Wade,
LeBron James and
Carmelo Anthony. Only
Richard Jefferson,
Tim Duncan and
Allen Iverson were part of the 2003
FIBA Americas San Juan gold medal team. The team was coached by
Larry Brown. After struggles in several exhibition matches, the vulnerability of the 2004 team was confirmed when
Puerto Rico defeated them 92–73, from which they earned the nickname "Nightmare team" (as mock opposed to the Dream Team concept), in the first game of the
Olympic tournament in Athens. The 19 point defeat was the most lopsided loss for the US in the history of international competition. After the game, Larry Brown had strong comments about his coaching performance: "I'm humiliated, not for the loss – I can always deal with wins and losses – but I'm disappointed because I had a job to do as a coach, to get us to understand how we're supposed to play as a team and act as a team, and I don't think we did that". After winning close games against
Greece and Australia, The US fell to
Lithuania, dropping to 2–2 in the Olympic tournament. Even after an 89–53 win over Angola, the Americans entered the knockout rounds in fourth place due to goal average, the lowest seed of their group. The Americans faced undefeated Spain in their quarterfinal game, winning 102–94. However, the semifinal match saw the team defeated by
Argentina 89–81, ending the United States' hold on the gold medal. The US did rebound to capture the bronze medal by defeating Lithuania. Still, it marked only the second time that an American team failed to officially win gold (excluding the 1980 Moscow Olympics boycott and ignoring the 1972 debacle), and the first time for an American team composed of NBA players.
2006–2016 Following the disappointments in 2002 and 2004, USA Basketball appointed
Jerry Colangelo to be solely responsible for selecting the team. Colangelo made it clear that he would ask players for a three-year commitment—the
2006 FIBA World Championship and the
2008 Summer Olympics. In the 2006 Worlds, the team was eliminated by Greece in the semifinal, losing the game 101–95. The head coach was
Duke University's
Mike Krzyzewski, with assistants
Jim Boeheim,
Mike D'Antoni, and
Nate McMillan. While some prominent players, such as
Tim Duncan and
Kevin Garnett, stated that they did not plan to play for the team, superstars
Dwyane Wade,
Kobe Bryant and
LeBron James publicly announced their commitment for the 2006 Worlds and the ensuing 2008 Olympics. Wade, James and
Carmelo Anthony were named captains of the 2006 US World Championship Team. The United States Team, dubbed Dream Team V or the Redeem Team, dominated Group B in pool play, defeating
China,
Angola,
Greece,
world champion Spain, and
Germany by an average of 32.2 points. After finishing first in their group, the US earned the right to play the fourth-place finishers in Group A,
Australia. The United States soundly defeated Australia 116–85 in the quarterfinal. Next up for the Americans in the semifinals was the
2004 Olympic gold medalist Argentina, led by
Manu Ginóbili – the team that had beaten them in the semifinals four years prior. However, Ginóbili was hobbled by an ankle injury and only played sparing minutes in the first half. Behind Carmelo Anthony's 21 points, the US defeated Argentina 101–81 to reach the gold medal game. On August 24, the United States defeated Spain 118–107 to capture the Olympic gold medal with the electrifying spark by Team USA leading scorer Dwyane Wade adding 27 points with four 3-point shots and 100% shooting inside the line. The victory ended an eight-year drought at major international competitions (Olympics & World Championships) with the first win since
2000. Due to winning gold at the 2008 Olympics, the US automatically qualified for the World Championships. The US had not won the FIBA World Championship since
1994. It was initially believed that there would be only 2–3 spots available with most players returning from the 2008 Olympic team. However, by early July 2010, all ten invited players declined to participate, due to injury, free agency, rest, or personal commitments. Due to the roster being filled with 12 new players and the lack of star power, the team was dubbed the "B Team". Also, the coaches were criticized for selecting too many guards and inexperienced players, and not enough tall players. However, the team won all five of its preliminary games, four of those by double digits (the exception being the win against Brazil by 2 points). The success continued in the knockout stage with victories by 55, 10 and 15. In the
2010 FIBA World Championship final, the US beat host nation
Turkey by 17 points and won the gold medal. Tournament MVP
Kevin Durant broke several Team USA scoring records (most points in a tournament-205, most points in a single game-38, and average points per game-22.8). In addition,
Lamar Odom became the first player to win the NBA and FIBA World championships in the same year. Team USA executive director
Jerry Colangelo has said he's open to anyone from the 2010 team to play in future tournaments. By winning the gold medal, the US automatically qualified for the
2014 FIBA World Cup. The United States had automatically qualified for the World Cup by virtue of the gold medal won by their
2012 Olympic team. The Americans were considered favorites to win the
World Cup. The roster was filled with two players returning from the 2012 Olympic team, three from the 2010 FIBA Championship Team, while seven other NBA players made their senior international debuts. The 2014 roster featured four players or larger, the most of any US team since
Mike Krzyzewski began coaching the team in 2006. The team was also the youngest American team since
1992 when NBA players were first allowed on the team; the average player was 24.08 years old, roughly a half-year younger than their 2010 team. The team advanced to the knockout phase after starting the tournament 5–0 during the group stage. They went undefeated 9–0 in the tournament, winning by an average margin of 33.0 points. The United States was just the third country in World Cup history to repeat as champions. Combined with their 2010 World Championship along with gold by their 2008 and 2012 Olympic teams, they also became the first country in FIBA basketball history to win four consecutive major titles. The United States defeated
Serbia in the
World Cup Final by 37 points and clinched a berth for the
2016 Summer Olympics. Multiple withdrawals (largely triggered by a freak injury to
Paul George in a pre-2014 World Cup scrimmage) left the
2016 US team with just two players with prior Olympic experience (Durant and Anthony). The Americans seemed vulnerable in the preliminary round, narrowly defeating Australia, Serbia, and France by a combined 16 points. However, the team gained momentum in the quarterfinal match against Argentina, winning 105–78. The US team then defeated
Spain in the semifinals setting up a rematch versus Serbia in the gold medal game. The Americans proved their superiority, easily defeating their rival by 30 points. The team averaged 100.9 points per game with an average margin of victory of 22.5 points. Anthony, who won a record third straight Olympic gold medal, and Durant were top scorers. After the Olympics, Krzyzewski stepped down as the most decorated coach in USA Basketball history, having led three Olympic gold medal and two FIBA World Cup-winning squads.
2017–present In 2017, the United States would win a record 7th championship in the
FIBA AmeriCup. In 2019, the team struggled and finished in 7th place at the
FIBA World Cup. Despite featuring primarily young NBA players, the result was a huge shock and disappointment. At the
2020 Olympics in Tokyo, the United States reclaimed their glory by winning the fourth consecutive gold medal. Led by top scorers
Kevin Durant,
Jayson Tatum, and
Devin Booker, the team was able to dominate the tournament and defeat
France 87–82 in the final, despite losing to them early on in the group stage. Team USA played two exhibition games in Abu Dhabi in the run-up to the
2023 FIBA World Cup. It was the first time that the men's national team played in the United Arab Emirates. The team was coached by nine-time NBA champion
Steve Kerr, who won five titles as a player (three with the Chicago Bulls and two with the San Antonio Spurs) and four as head coach (with the Golden State Warriors). They ultimately finished fourth at the World Cup, behind Germany, Serbia, and Canada. After 2023's fourth-place result at the FIBA World Cup,
Grant Hill and Steve Kerr set out to convince more experienced players to play in the
2024 Summer Olympics. This included Lebron James, who had missed the last two Olympics;
Stephen Curry, who had never played in the Olympics; and Kevin Durant. Returning Olympians would be
Bam Adebayo,
Jrue Holiday,
Anthony Davis, and Jayson Tatum, while returning FIBA players included
Anthony Edwards and
Tyrese Haliburton. The team, dubbed "The LeVengers" by the media, would be the oldest U.S. men's basketball team, averaging 30 years and 9 months. Although six-time all-star
Kawhi Leonard was initially drafted onto the roster, he was replaced by Derrick White due to injury. Team USA would play five exhibition games before the Olympics; although they convincingly beat
Canada and
Serbia, they were forced into a close game by
Australia, who nearly overcame a 25-point deficit, and were at risk of losing to both
South Sudan and world champions
Germany. Durant would not play all five exhibition games due to a strained calf. During preliminary rounds of Olympic play, Team USA would go undefeated against Serbia, South Sudan, and
Puerto Rico, earning the No. 1 seed entering the quarter-finals. Once in the quarterfinals, the U.S. convincingly defeated
Brazil 122–87, with Booker leading the Americans with a team-high 18 points, before moving onto a second rematch vs Serbia in the semifinals. Here, Team USA won 95–91 after overcoming a 17-point deficit, with Curry scoring 36 points. In the final, the Americans faced hosts France for the second straight Olympics, with Curry scoring 24 points to lead the team to a 98–87 win. This win was Team USA's fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal in men's basketball. ==Honors==