Since the US didn’t start sending pros until 1992 it wouldn’t be fair to include players who weren’t eligible. So for the sake of argument let’s say they had to be 30 years old or younger at 1992. So players like Kareem/Wilt/Bill Russell/Jerry West/Elgin Baylor/Bill Walton aren’t applicable.
With those parameters who is the best American player without a gold medal?
Fun fact: playing in the Olympics cost Russell the first few weeks of the NBA season, and those missed games are why he didn’t win Rookie of the Year.
Tommy Heinsohn never let him forget it, either. (Of course, Tommy was more than a little motivated there.)