As a 10-year-old, Amaré Stoudemire watched in amazement when Michael, Magic, Bird and the USA Basketball’s Dream Team displayed to the world the best the sport had to offer in 1992.

The now 21-year-old Suns forward will have the opportunity to experience Olympic glory himself after being one of five players added to fill out the 2004 USA Senior National Team that will compete in the 2004 Olympic Games this summer, USA Basketball announced today.

Stoudemire joins Suns teammate Shawn Marion on the 12-man roster that will go for the gold in Athens, Greece in August. It will mark the fifth consecutive Olympics that will boast a current Suns player (Dan Majerle in 1988, Barkley in '92 and '96, and Jason Kidd in 2000), and the first time two Phoenix players will be representing America on the grandest athletic stage.

“It’s going to mean a lot,” an elated Stoudemire told Suns.com in an exclusive interview Friday. “When I was a kid growing up I remember watching Jordan, Barkley and those guys play on the USA team, Dream Team I and Dream Team II with Penny (Hardaway) and those guys. Now to have a chance to be a part of it, it’s extremely special.

“I’m going to enjoy the camaraderie, go out there and have a good time, and bring back the gold medal.”

This will be the first experience in international competition for the 2002-03 NBA Rookie-of-the-Year. While he acknowledged the incredible opportunity to represent the United States in a global setting, enjoyment of the game is still of top priority for the Florida native.

“The main thing is to just go out there and enjoy it,” said Stoudemire, who learned of his selection when his cell phone rang while hanging out on a beach in Miami. “It’s a chance to see the world, that’s the way I look at it. I just enjoy playing the game of basketball and when I get the opportunity to play, especially in the Olympics, I’ve got to step up.”

Suiting up with some of the top talent the game has to offer, including San Antonio’s two-time NBA MVP Tim Duncan and All-Star center Jermaine O’Neal of the Pacers, will prove to be an invaluable experience as Stoudemire prepares to enter his third season in the league.

“I think it’s going to help me out a lot,” the Suns' ninth overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft said. “It’s going to give me the opportunity to play five-on-five with the top talent, so that can’t do anything but help me get better as a basketball player.”

Stoudemire’s mother, Carrie, has watched her son succeed against improbable odds after entering the draft without collegiate experience and saw him become the first player to come into the league directly from high school, and win the award honoring the NBA’s top rookie.

“I’m overwhelmed,” Carrie Stoudemire said from her Scottsdale home. “At first I said, ‘Can this be real?’ Then I remembered that he won the Rookie-of-the-Year Award blinded in two eyes, and then he turned around with bad feet and a bad ankle and got the MVP (of the Rookie Challenge at last season’s All-Star Weekend). So why can’t this be real? I’m just really excited.”

Stoudemire and Marion will also be reunited with former Suns guard Stephon Marbury, who was also named to the squad Friday.

“That’s going to be fun,” Stoudemire said. “It’s going to seem like my rookie year all over again with all three of us on the same court playing together. We’re going to go out there and have fun, and put on a show.”

Stu Jackson, Chair of the USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team Committee, said he hopes the inclusion of Stoudemire to the squad that will compete at the Games of the XVIII Olympiad will be the first of many appearances at the international level.

"Amaré Stoudemire is a tremendous addition to the Olympic team,” Jackson said. “He can run, score, block shots and rebound which makes him one of the most talented and versatile players in the world. USA Basketball welcomes Amaré to his first international competition. We hope to have him on the senior national team for many years to come."

Twelve years after watching the Dream Team dominate the world competition and bring home the gold, Stoudemire will be living out his dream in taking advantage of a golden opportunity.