They are the artists formerly known as the Dream Team. You remember them? They were that eclectic bunch of multimillionaires who trounced the world at the 1992 Olympics. The present version is just as intimidating, complete with more tattoos than Brighton beach front, a world-class collective swagger and a market value that means even the lesser players have set up charitable foundations. But they are not the Dream Team. “We have no nickname,” Mike Krzyzewski, the head coach, said.

The willingness to distance this team from the glitz and glamour of past teams is understandable. The United States are still the biggest draw in town, selling out the 11,500-seat Cotai Arena in Macau two nights running, but Krzyzewski is keen that they are not mistaken for the Harlem Globetrotters. The Cirque du Soleil may be playing a few rows of slot machines away, but this is no circus.

The US are neither Olympic nor world champions. The NBA may rule, but the USA does not. Ouch. “This team is much more cohesive, much more united,” Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers star, said last night after the Americans beat Lithuania, bronze medal-winners in two of the past three Olympics, by a resounding 120-84. It goes farther than the suspicion that the USA have previously been a highly skilled mish-mash of highly tuned egos. Val Ackerman,

the president of USA Basketball, acknowledged as much in 2005 when he unveiled a blueprint for the future in the wake of an embarrassing third-place finish in Athens. “The strength of the competition in international basketball has escalated dramatically since the Dream Team made its debut in 1992,” he said. Shorn of the elixir of success, the Dream Team had the DTs.

Jerry Colangelo, the Phoenix Suns patriarch, who has a day named after him in Arizona, along with a gymnasium and a city street, was recruited as managing director. You do not get those things without knowing a thing or two - and so the team have won 25 games and lost one under his stewardship. They go into the Olympics as massive favourites, both with the fans and the bookmakers, but they have fallen from such heights before. “We're just the US Olympic basketball team,” Krzyzewski said. “I want to win gold, not because of what happened [finishing third in 2004], but because we really want it. You're more apt to achieve a goal by wanting it than by wanting to make up for the past.”

Not all the “non-Dream Team” can manage this newfound humility. LeBron James is every inch an NBA star. He wears a trademark headband, scored 20 points in the 114-82 win over Turkey on Thursday and has a grin that could pass for a harpsichord in the right light. He has also “guaranteed” a gold medal and spoken out about human rights, having previously been criticised for refusing to sign a petition condemning China's involvement in Darfur because he did not know enough about the issues.

That pragmatism bucked the USA trend for emotion. Take Chris Paul, the New Orleans guard, who carried a copy of his grandfather's obituary to every game he played as a college freshman. On the day of the funeral, he scored 61 points in a high school game, one for every year of his grandfather's life. It is that sort of emotion that caused a veteran like Jason Kidd, of the Dallas Mavericks, to say: “I would go to battle with Coach K any day of the week.” It is significant that “Coach K” - or Krzyzewski - is famed for his work at Duke University rather than in the NBA. His appointment was a Stateside version of back to basics. The ego had crash-landed in 2004 and American gripes about adjusting to the different style and refereeing in Europe were not enough to stop the bleeding.

The two games in Macau underlined the flashy side of the USA experience. Two salivating crowds are testament to their pulling power, but walk out of the arena and you are actually in a hotel that thinks it is Venice, complete with singing gondoliers and St Mark's Square. At least Las Vegas is authentic in its artifice, but Macau is a plastic paradise for gamblers and people who do not get out much.

Most USA watchers are confident, but James's statement has touched a nerve. Dwyane Wade, the outstanding Miami Heat guard, tried to explain it away, but ending up flailing. “I don't know what's the big deal about guaranteeing a win,” he said after bagging 32 points over two nights. “Some people are reporting it as a king-size guarantee, but we're not going to guarantee we're going to lose.” He was back-tracking into the small print.

The trouble for USA is that, despite looking like a Dream Team and sounding like one, there are others who are capable of giving them uncomfortable nights. Argentina, the defending champions, are flushed with NBA stars, while Spain, the world champions, have Pau Gasol, a 7ft centre who is a team-mate of Bryant's on the Lakers, leading their campaign. Eastern Europe has long become a stronghold while USA's first game against China will be dripping with emotion. The Chinese are dreaming even if the USA have long given up.