ulnemjuh: Lebron James Carmelo Anthony Dwyane

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Traditionally composed of amateur players, a 1989 rule change by FIBA allowed USA Basketball to field teams with professional players. The first such team, known as the "Dream Team", won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, playing in the final against Croatia.

Carmelo Anthony / Dwyane Wade

LeBron James\x26#39;s Bike-A-Thon
With the introduction of professionals, the team was able to spark a second run of dominance after capturing only a bronze medal in 1988. A team of professional players competed at the 1994 FIBA World Championship, finishing first. In 1996, 2000, and 2008, the USA again captured gold medals.

Carmelo Anthony #15, LeBron

However, American dominance has lessened in recent years. Facing increased competition, the USA failed to win a medal at the 2002 FIBA World Championship, finishing sixth. The 2004 Summer Olympic team lost three games on its way to a bronze medal, a record that represented more losses in a single year than the country's Olympic teams had suffered in all previous Olympiads combined.

LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony

Determined to put an end to these failures, USA Basketball initiated a long-term project aimed at creating better, more cohesive teams. The USA won its first seven games at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan before losing against Greece in the semi-finals, ending the competition with the bronze medal. The USA won gold two years later, though, at the 2008 Summer Olympics with a dominant performance. This success was followed up at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, where despite fielding a roster featuring no players from the 2008 Olympic team, the USA did not lose a single game en route to defeating host Turkey for the gold medal, led by the tournament's MVP Kevin Durant.

Carmelo Anthony (L-R)

In This Photo: LeBron James,

The United States possessed a clear advantage in the early decades of international play. 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 were 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 U.S. roster until the formation of the 1992 Dream Team.

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and

LEBRON JAMES CARMELO ANTHONY

LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony,
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, a future Hall of Famer and NBA star, but Kurland once again led the team to victory. The 1956 team was led by San Francisco Dons Bill Russell and K.C. Jones.

Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James

left: Dwayne Wade, Carmelo

The 1960 team included a few future NBA players, including not just Robertson, Lucas and West, but also Terry Dischinger and another Hall of Famer in Walt Bellamy.