30 Olympic athletes who dominated their events

15. Michael Jordan

Similar to Carmelo Anthony, Michael Jordan’s inclusion on this list is representative of something larger than just his own individual dominance as a player. We all know that Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time, so it’s not a stretch to peg him here, even though USA basketball teammate Charles Barkley probably had the better overall Olympic performance in 1992.

Regardless, no one can contest the sheer dominance and awesome might that was displayed by the nicknamed “Dream Team” at the Barcelona Summer Games. The first Olympics to allow NBA players to compete, expectations were sky-high for the Americans heading into Spain, and Team USA didn’t disappoint. Opposing teams and players famously would ask the American NBA stars for their autographs both before and after rolling over and playing dead on the court.

In their first game against Angola, the Dream Team rattled off a 46-1 run at one point, eventually settling for a final score of 116-48. They then vaporized all challengers by an average point differential of 44 points a contest before decimating Croatia in the gold medal game, 117-85.

Calling a group of athletes “the greatest team ever assembled in any sport” would normally sound like overzealous hyperbole, but in the case of this particular All-Star squad, it’s quite simply the truth.

Next: 14. Edoardo Mangiarotti