EXCLUSIVE: 'Embarrassed' Dream Team out to avenge USA's failure at Olympics
It's been more than three decades since the iconic United States 'Dream Team' of 1992 won gold at the Barcelona Olympics.
The team was stacked with a who's who of talent, including Scottie Pippen, Clyde Dexter, John Stockton, Magic Johnson, and the great Michael Jordan to name a few.
This year, the 12-man roster to Paris is flush with some of the best names in the NBA.
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LeBron James is the biggest name in that team alongside Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Kawhi Leonard, Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Bam Adebayo, and Tyrese Haliburton.
LeBron James celebrates winning gold at the 2012 London Olympics. Getty
"It's an all-star game but it'll be played completely differently because the all stars sort of mess around and giggle and everything else – but they're gonna respect the other countries," Boomers legend Shane Heal told Wide World of Sports.
"What's evolved over the years is America now knows the rest of the world can play. Some of the best players in the whole world are from Europe, so they know that the rest of the world can play.
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"They're gonna come out hard and they're gonna come out respecting everybody else because they're pros.
"The talent, the depth, the size, they've got every position covered, they shoot the ball, they can defend, they can rebound, they've got depth. No other country can obviously produce what they can do."
The 1992 USA Men's Basketball Olympic Team pose for a team portrait. NBAE via Getty Images
The men's USA basketball team is the most successful at the Olympics having won gold 19 times. They've only missed out on gold four times and have only failed to score a medal once.
At the most recent FIBA World Cup last year, however, the men's team was only fourth. According to Heal, there's an appetite for the USA to bounce back emphatically.
"They are definitely the favourites and they are definitely the favourites by a long way. I don't think they'll get beaten. It's difficult to see what teams can challenge though," he said.
"You know, these guys are going for a reason. They're going, they're committed. These guys have just played long seasons and they're going to get a gold medal for America because they feel embarrassed that the other teams haven't been able to do it.
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Paolo Banchero (left) and Anthony Edwards (right) of the United States react late in the fourth quarter during the FIBA Basketball World Cup semi-final game against Germany. Yong Teck Lim via Getty Images
"They're committed, they're into it, they've got the experience, they've got the depth, they've got every position covered. It's gonna be really tough for anyone to knock them off."
Even if the odds are stacked against most teams, every country will take the United States seriously and treat the contest as something of a privilege.
"Every game, every team is gonna throw their best hit at America," said Heal.
"We' were lucky enough to play against probably the second best dream team in '96. We played off with them in the final four to go into the gold medal game.
"It's tough but it's also a great challenge playing against the best in the world. Every team will rise to that challenge and it's exciting. It's great for basketball to see those guys there."
Shan Heal will appear as a basketball expert on Stan Sport's Olympics Daily and Paris Preview shows throughout the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
