We Beat the Dream Team

Play trailer

We Beat the Dream Team

2025

1h 20m

Documentary

Sports

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

Tomatometer

6 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

WE BEAT THE DREAM TEAM reveals the little-known story of a group of college basketball players who were tasked with preparing Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan and the rest of the legendary “Dream Team” for their Olympic debut in 1992. In an unexpected twist, the college team, which featured Grant Hill, Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Bobby Hurley, Jamal Mashburn, Allan Houston, Rodney Rogers, and Eric Montross, shocked the NBA superstars by defeating them in a scrimmage – an outcome that ultimately helped propel the Dream Team to gold. The 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain marked the first-time professional basketball players were allowed to compete, giving rise to the legendary Dream Team. With the exception of Duke University’s Christian Laettner, who was the lone college athlete on the team, star college players were invited to the “USA Select Team” and brought in to the prepare the NBA superstars for the Olympics. Using the only surviving VHS copy of the secret scrimmage, interviews with the USA Select Team key players and coaches, and additional rare archives, the film revisits the sole game the celebrated Dream Team lost, unspooling the story from the perspective of the college athletes.

Watch on HBO Max

Stream Now

Alissa Wilkinson

New York Times

Feb 21

The results are delightful: It’s rare to see a documentary airing out a long-running beef as beautifully, good-naturedly and enjoyably as this one.

Go to Full Review

Alfred Castaneda

Shade Studios

Jul 30

We Beat the Dream Team is worth watching, if only for the Select Team’s firsthand accounts.

Go to Full Review

Marty Brown

Common Sense Media

Apr 16

This one is for fans only.

Go to Full Review

Scott Hines

Decider

Mar 12

If you can’t get enough of the Dream Team story, then there’s a lot to keep you satisfied here.

Go to Full Review

Stephen Silver

The SS Ben Hecht

Feb 22

The footage of the "game" isn't the best quality, but the director has something better up his sleeve.

Go to Full Review

Christopher Campbell

Nonfics (Substack)

Feb 14

It’s not the tightest documentary, nor the most visually engaging sports film, but Hill and friends spin a good yarn about that day.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Tim G

Dec 11

Breezy and enjoyable. Stretches the slight subject material a bit.

See more

Michael W

@mawilps May 25

This sports documentary was really good. The entire crew did an excellent job on telling this story about the college basketball players that beat the Dream Team. It was a very interesting story about what it means to be a team determined to win when professionals think you're just a bunch of pushovers. If you haven't seen this documentary yet, check it out sometime. It's a must see.

See more

stephen b

Mar 23

Was interesting to finally see some of the tape. I get highlighting the Grant Hill perspective, but the initial narration bogged it down in the beginning.

See more

Birithivy Y

Mar 16

We Beat The Dream Team - 7/10. To be honest, this doc is just okay, and could’ve been slightly better. It tells the story about the young team that beat the Dream Team in a warm up game. I’ve heard this story many many times before, whether it be in the book I read about the Dream Team, or in anything media related that involved the Dream Team in general. Seeing the young team’s members giving their take on the events was nice, and some of those players ended up being household names themselves. I think that’s why this doc is mute in a sense: it’s not like this team was a rag tag team of non pros. These were first round picks, college stars, and overall solid players. Whether people like to hear it or not, its a practise game, and had this been an actual regulation game, maybe this story would work better! But, for the sports fan in me, it still was a decent and good watch to fulfill my NBA nostalgia!

See more

Gerald W

Feb 23

This documentary is entertaining and provides lessons. The humor displayed by both players and coaches is something I enjoy. I believe the college players defeated the Dream Team. In my opinion, they made their case. The college players cough the DT sleeping. lesson! "No sleeping during the game" Chuck Daly's decision to remove the score is understandable to me. Think about what we would all be thinking in 1992 if he hadn't removed the score. Why telling this now?

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Michael Tolajian

Director

Grant Hill

Self

Chris Webber

Self

Penny Hardaway

Self

Bobby Hurley

Self

Jamal Mashburn

Self

The Last Rider

96%

96%

The Last Rider

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Last Rider

Black Ice

96%

90%

Black Ice

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Black Ice

The Herricanes

100%

%

The Herricanes

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Herricanes

Imported

%

%

Imported

Watchlist

Reggie

100%

91%

Reggie

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Reggie

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

WE BEAT THE DREAM TEAM reveals the little-known story of a group of college basketball players who were tasked with preparing Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan and the rest of the legendary “Dream Team” for their Olympic debut in 1992. In an unexpected twist, the college team, which featured Grant Hill, Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Bobby Hurley, Jamal Mashburn, Allan Houston, Rodney Rogers, and Eric Montross, shocked the NBA superstars by defeating them in a scrimmage – an outcome that ultimately helped propel the Dream Team to gold. The 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain marked the first-time professional basketball players were allowed to compete, giving rise to the legendary Dream Team. With the exception of Duke University’s Christian Laettner, who was the lone college athlete on the team, star college players were invited to the “USA Select Team” and brought in to the prepare the NBA superstars for the Olympics. Using the only surviving VHS copy of the secret scrimmage, interviews with the USA Select Team key players and coaches, and additional rare archives, the film revisits the sole game the celebrated Dream Team lost, unspooling the story from the perspective of the college athletes.

Director: Michael Tolajian
Producer: Moses Musilu, Michael Tolajian
Distributor: HBO
Production Co: TNT Sports
Genre: Documentary, Sports
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 17, 2025
Runtime: 1h 20m

Most Popular at Home Now