SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Larry Bird stopped just short of calling the Dream Team the best squad ever assembled. With the talent standing behind him, he wouldn’t get much argument if he had.

The members of the 1992 Olympic champions joined him on stage yesterday as they were inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and the rest of the famed squad were Bird’s teammates in his last competitive games.

“Pretty good way to go out, winning the gold medal,” Bird said.

Their predecessors from the 1960 Olympics, a group led by Oscar Robertson and Jerry West, also were enshrined during the ceremony. Dream Teamers Scottie Pippen and Karl Malone were inducted as individuals, along with Cynthia Cooper, coach Bob Hurley of St. Anthony’s H.S. in New Jersey, and Lakers owner Jerry Buss.