(CNN) -- For the elite basketball stars of the NBA and WNBA, winning Olympic gold is a given. Silver is for the losers. The U.S. men's team has been champion 13 out of 16 times since 1936. American women have topped the podium six out of eight. "Second place is unacceptable," says legendary center Hakeem Olajuwon, who was in the U.S. "Dream Team" that topped the podium in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. With teammates such as Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen, the Nigerian-American, who was born in Lagos, quickly came to realize that reality. "Coming to the United States, being there for so long, then it becomes -- you are expected to win gold," he told CNN's Aiming for Gold show.
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United States has dominated men's and women's Olympic basketball
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Legendary center Hakeem Olajuwon played in 1996 "Dream Team"
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Luis Scola was in Argentina team which snapped U.S. domination in 2004
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WNBA star Lisa Leslie won four straight gold medals for U.S..from 1996-2008
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