I've often wondered how that 1984 team would've done in a non-boycotted Olympics. Yes, they were collegians, but that might've been the most impressive collection of college basketball talent ever assembled. That was the team with Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, et al. That team was so loaded that future Dream Teamers Charles Barkley and John Stockton were cut during the trials. All of their games were pretty much blowouts, and I have to think they'd have handled themselves well against the Soviets, too.
Trivia question -- outside of the U.S. team, who are the only two basketball players who received a medal at the 1984 Olympics who later played in the NBA?
Hint: One of the players won two more medals in subsequent Olympic games, one of which he won while playing for a different country. His name is one you'll likely recognize, while the other is pretty obscure. The two players also share an unfortunate common bond. Answers are below in hidden text.
Drazen Petrovic -- won bronze with Yugoslavia in 1984, then won silver with Yugoslavia in 1988 and another silver with Croatia in 1992; played four seasons in the NBA with the Portland Trailblazers and New Jersey Nets from 1989-1993.
Fernando Martin -- won silver with Spain in 1984; played in 24 games for the Portland Trailblazers in the 1986-87 season.
Both men died in car accidents before they turned 30.