With the 2012 Olympics ready to kick off Friday and all of the recent Dream Team 20th Anniversary talk it was impossible to not look back and break down the last five squads and what they have meant to the game. Not only are the rosters filled with a who’s-who of current and future Hall of Famers, but also the players that have shaped the sneaker game into what it is today. To celebrate another gold hopeful squad in London, we decided to break down The 20 Greatest Team USA Basketball Sneakers of All Time — let us know which pair is your favorite after the jump.
(Note: We didn't include this year's, as they should get some time to marinate first.)
LA Gear - Malone
Thrill Flight - GP
Player: Gary Payton
Year: 1996
The lower-tech remix of the Zoom Flight '95s were The Glove's go-to sneaker for the games in Atlanta. Sans the non-bug eye look and with the "jewel" Swoosh, the shoe is a certified '90s sleeper.
Flight 96 - Penny
Converse Cons - Magic
Question 2 - Allen Iverson
Converse Birds - Bird
Player: Larry Bird
Year: 1992
The diverse group of talent on the Dream Team may not ever be matched again and the same can be said about the kicks that led them to gold. This was Converse's last chance to bless Larry Bird and Magic Johnson with heat — while they were playing for the same team, no less — and the company did not disappoint.
Reebok Preacher Ice - Shaq
Nike Zoom GP II
Player: Gary Payton
Year: 2000
The United States' greatest trash-talker also had one of the best "Olympic" sneaker resumes in the past few decades. The Zoom GP IIs represented The Glove's on-court personal perfectly with an aggressive pattern that might have been louder than Payton while playing shut-down D. GP went gold twice on the court and on his feet.
Nike Ballistic Force
Year: 1992
A shoe that is often forgotten during Nike's golden era was so versatile that both David Robinson and John Stockton rocked them in the Barcelona Games. Ignore the fact that the high-top kicks were longer than Stockton's shorts — the midfoot strap was king in the early '90s.
Fila Grant Hill 2
Lebron 2 - Lebron
Player: LeBron James
Year: 2004
The first shoe to feature LeBron's name on the sneaker box was also his first sneaker for international play. The stacked Zoom Air is still one of the dopest concepts in a long line of thought-out designs for Nike's current king. Even if the 2004 team doesn't go down in history as the greatest (it won't), these kicks will rank up there in the Dream Team saga.
Ewing - Ewing
Player: Patrick Ewing
Year: 1992
Ewing's sneakers are making a much-needed comeback this year and we had to dap New York's greatest big man (pause) for his footwear in Barcelona. With everyone else getting some Olympic retro love we hope to see these on the shelves at some point in 2012.
Nike Air Rupt - Leslie
Nike BB4 - VC
Air Flight Lite II - Pip Mullin
Player(s): Scottie Pippen, Chris Mullin
Year: 1992
No Olympic shoe is in need of a retro drop more so than the Flight Lite IIs. Worn by versatile forwards Scottie Pippen and Chris Mullin during the Dream Team's domination in Spain, the shoe was incredibly lightweight and smooth. We're not ungrateful that the "Olympic" VIIs dropped...again, but we need Nike to drop some of the low-key performance classics again.