Grant Hill exclusive: "You're part of something bigger than yourself"

Grant Hill can remember the moment pointedly: Just 23 years old, he was making his Olympic debut at Atlanta 1996, when one of his childhood heroes, Muhammad Ali, emerged as the final torch bearer, lighting the flame at the Opening Ceremony.

It's one of the stand-out moments for Hill, now Team USA's managing director for men's basketball, in a Games that also included meeting athletics icon Edwin Moses, the "Magnificent Seven" - the U.S. women's gymnastics team - dining with athletes from all over the world and... let's not forget: Winning Olympic gold.

"It was all once-in-a-lifetime and something that I will forever be grateful for," Hill told Olympics.com in a recent exclusive interview. "And that experience, to do it when I was 23 years old... it was even more special."

Hill helped to hand-select the U.S. men's team for Paris 2024, where they are favoured - but not assured - to win gold. He hopes the squad, which features seven players who already have Olympic gold, will tap into that same Olympic spirit he felt in '96.

It's of the utmost importance, actually, he said.

"What I felt in '96 is pretty much exactly what these guys will feel in 2024," said Hill, now 51. "And that's what the returning guys have felt along the way through their experiences. It's what makes the Olympics so special and so desirable to be a part of.

"It comes around every four years; it's not something we see often," he added. "It's something that can differentiate you from everyone else if you're fortunate to have success and to win a gold medal."

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Grant Hill on Team USA: 'I have full confidence'

While the U.S. men have swept the last four Olympic golds - in 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2021 - the global field packs plenty of punch, including podium contenders in host France, Germany, Canada, Serbia and Japan.

"It's a very strong global field," Hill confirmed.

But that's where he wants his team to lean on its experience, in particular with three-time Olympic champion Kevin Durant, three-time medallist LeBron James, as well as NBA champion Steph Curry, who's making his Olympic debut.

"We do have experience; we have guys who've been in big moments, guys who've been in these Olympic moments," said Hill.

"Obviously you look at guys like LeBron James and Kevin Durant... to step up and just bring their excellence, bring their A-game," he continued. "You know, sacrifice, share the ball, play hard, compete and really just be the embodiment of the basketball excellence that we hold as a standard here in the U.S.

"I have full confidence that they're capable of doing it. And look forward to doing it."

While the squad features Joel Embiid and Derrick White suiting up for Team USA for a first time internationally, the range of experiences all comes back to one thing: Being on this team is something each player sought out.

"They all wanted to be a part of this," Hill said. "They know what it is; they know the feeling. They know the idea of being a part of something bigger than yourself."

Dream Team III: 'That was the best' experience

"That experience was incredible," Hill said of 1996, his lone Games. "To play with some incredible players, guys I respect and guys I learned from as the youngest player on that team, that was the best."

Hill had served as a part of the practice squad for the original Dream Team ahead of Barcelona 1992, fresh off of a second consecutive NCAA title with Duke.

But he would join the likes of 1992 champions Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson and John Stockton in Atlanta for what became known as "Dream Team III," with the second iteration having won the title at the 1994 World Championships.

"To win a gold medal and to be on that podium with the national anthem playing and your teammates all there... you know, it's something you have to experience to really kind of understand it," a reflective Hill said.

He still remembers, too, walking through the village and heading into the cafeteria, where the Dream Team III stood out - literally.

"We obviously were a high-profile group," he laughed.

**"**But, you get inspiration from seeing these other athletes who are the very best in their sport, competing on that stage," he said of the Games. "And so that was what to me was most memorable. And certainly one of the many things that I take from that experience."