Of course there have been many exceptional sports teams in the past who were utterly dominant in their disciplines, but I would suggest that the global superstars sent out (albeit only for a single tournament) to represent the United States basketball team that Olympic year were different. Many transcended their sport and had achieved iconic status in the process.
Sporting dynasties
The NFL has seen dominant franchises. The 1970s saw Pittsburgh Steelers' Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris cutting swathes through defences. The San Francisco 49ers owned the 1980s. Bill Walsh's all-star cast featured future Hall of Famers, Randy Cross, Ronnie Lott, Roger Craig, Joe Montana and the seemingly uncoverable Jerry Rice, take the Vince Lombardi trophy to the bay area three times. This feat was matched by the devastating Dallas Cowboys trio of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin in the early 1990s and Bill Belichick's New England Patriots in the early 2000s.
In basketball, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics famously traded NBA championships during the 1980s and the Chicago Bulls' unprecedented 'three peat' during the 1990s was spectacular. In ice hockey, Wayne Gretzky's Edmonton Oilers cleaned up Stanley Cups like confetti throughout the 1980s.
