By Brandon Zhu
On this day in 1992, the U.S.A Olympic Men’s Basketball Team, nicknamed the “Dream Team,” defeated Croatia to win the gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics. 1992 was the first time NBA players were allowed to compete on the international stage. All 11 NBA stars took advantage of the new platform and dominated the competition. They were later inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame. The Dream Team defeated opponents by an average of 44points and embarrassed other teams by as much as 79 points. Since the introduction of NBA players, the U.S. has won gold at six out of the last seven Olympics. In 2004, Argentina knocked the U.S. from gold contention when San Antonio Spurs legend Manu Ginobili guided Argentina to a 89-81 victory over the United States in the Olympic semifinal round. Ginobili finished with a game-high 29 points.