1996 United States men's Olympic basketball team

The men's national basketball team of the United States won the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Led by Basketball Hall of Fame head coach Lenny Wilkens, the team won gold for the second straight Olympics. Nicknamed Dream Team III,[2][3] the team included five players who were Olympic teammates on the original "Dream Team", from the 1992 Olympic basketball tournament: Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, and David Robinson. Gary Payton was a late replacement for the injured Glenn Robinson.[4][5]

1996 United States men's Olympic basketball team
Head coachLenny Wilkens
1996 Summer Olympics
Scoring leaderUnited States Charles Barkley[1]
12.4
Rebounding leaderUnited States Charles Barkley
6.6
Assists leaderUnited States Gary Payton
4.5

Roster

With Michael Jordan intimating in 1994 that he would pass on the opportunity to participate in his third Olympic Games (previously in 1984 and 1992 (the Dream Team)) to "let others get their chance at a gold medal," USA Basketball officials sought to construct the team dubbed Dream Team III (Dream Team II was the moniker of the lesser-known 1994 USA Men's Basketball FIBA World Championship Team)[3] with a winning combination of veteran players from the 1992 Dream Team that won the gold medal in Barcelona and some of the league's best young talent.

When the first ten players of the 1996 United States Men's National Basketball Team roster were announced in the summer of 1995, that young talent, and first-time Olympians, included the likes of Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, Grant Hill, Shaquille O'Neal, and Gary Payton, who was added as a replacement for an injured Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson. Other veteran players who were first-time Olympians were Reggie Miller, Hakeem Olajuwon, and, Mitch Richmond, who was added in April 1996 along with Charles Barkley, completing the roster as the eleventh and twelfth members. Thus, the holdovers from the 1992 Olympic Team, Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, John Stockton, and Charles Barkley, coupled with the first-time Olympians, formed the 1996 United States Men's National Basketball Summer Olympic team roster.[3]

United States men's national basketball team – 1996 Summer Olympics roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.[6]Name[7]AgeHeightWeightFrom
PFBarkley, Charles336 ft 6 in (1.98 m)255 lb (116 kg)Phoenix Suns
PGHardaway, Anfernee256 ft 7 in (2.01 m)200 lb (91 kg)Orlando Magic
SFHill, Grant236 ft 8 in (2.03 m)225 lb (102 kg)Detroit Pistons
PFMalone, Karl336 ft 9 in (2.06 m)255 lb (116 kg)Utah Jazz
SGMiller, Reggie306 ft 7 in (2.01 m)190 lb (86 kg)Indiana Pacers
COlajuwon, Hakeem337 ft 0 in (2.13 m)255 lb (116 kg)Houston Rockets
CO'Neal, Shaquille247 ft 1 in (2.16 m)301 lb (137 kg)Orlando Magic
PGPayton, Gary286 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg)Seattle SuperSonics
SFPippen, Scottie306 ft 8 in (2.03 m)225 lb (102 kg)Chicago Bulls
SGRichmond, Mitch316 ft 5 in (1.96 m)215 lb (98 kg)Sacramento Kings
CRobinson, David307 ft 1 in (2.16 m)235 lb (107 kg)San Antonio Spurs
PGStockton, John346 ft 1 in (1.85 m)175 lb (79 kg)Utah Jazz
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Legend
  • From describes teams affiliated
    during the Olympics

Staff

1996 USA results

1996 Olympic standings

References
  1. 1996 Olympic Games : Tournament for Men 20 Jul. to 3 Aug. 1996 - Atlanta in United States of America.
  2. Rhoden, William C. (July 23, 1996). "Sports of The Times;Competitors Without a Competition". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 24, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2017. WAGERS were being taken on how badly Dream Team III would route Angola last night in Game 2 of its gold-medal tour.
  3. OlympicTalk (May 1, 2020). "Why Michael Jordan didn't return for 1996 Atlanta Olympics". NBC Sports. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  4. "Glenn Robinson off Dream Team". Associated Press.
  5. "Robinson Out of Olympics". Chicago Tribune.
  6. "Team USA Basketball: What About the 1996 Dream Team II?". Bleacher Report. September 3, 2008. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  7. "Games of the XXVIth Olympiad -- 1996". USA Basketball. NBA Media Ventures. September 14, 2012. Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
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