Gary Payton

Only months after losing to Chicago, Payton helped win a different championship: the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He was a late addition to "Dream Team III," replacing Glenn Robinson after an injury forced him to withdraw. Payton contributed to Team USA's drubbings of all eight of its opponents by leading the United States in assists.

When Payton returned to the Olympics in 2000, he proved to be a stand-out player for one important reason that had nothing to do with ball-handling skills: He was the team's moral leader. Not only did he make sure that all of the other players were fired up for games in which the outcome was never really in question, he also required that all of his teammates be good representatives of their country by not skipping the Opening Ceremonies. Once again Team USA easily defeated all of the other teams they played, even winning two games by margins of close to 50 points.