When FIBA voted in 1989 to allow NBA players into the Olympics, it led to a new system of choosing a U.S. men’s basketball roster.
For the 1992 Barcelona Games, there were no tryouts for the first time.
The NBA season ran much longer than the NCAA — they used to put college players on the Olympic team — and the best pros’ abilities didn’t need to be dissected any more than watching the 82-game regular season and playoffs. Nor did they need to further risk injury at a tryout.
So USA Basketball formed a committee and a two-year process to choose the 12 players for the first Dream Team.