The 1992 Dream Team was arguably the best team assembled in basketball’s history. But the Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas was one of the biggest names missing from that team.
There have been many theories about Thomas’ absence from the team. Zeke believes it was none other than Michael Jordan who curated his snub from the 1992 Dream Team.
“They didn’t want me on the team,” Thomas said. “A lot of people were saying there was no secret meeting. So it just sounds like it’s just one guy [Michael Jordan]. I’m just saying, that’s the way it sounded, and if that’s how you felt, own it. If you didn’t feel that way, then clean it up.”
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Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas have had their differences over the years. During their playing days, the two superstars were fierce rivals. There was obviously some bad blood between them due to how the Bad Boys Pistons tried to hurt Jordan physically.
Keeping that in mind, it’s no surprise that Mike didn’t want Isiah on the 1992 Dream Team. Even without Zeke’s presence, the 1992 Team USA easily won the gold medal by destroying every team in the Olympics.
Isiah Thomas Says He Felt The ‘Sting Of Getting Cut’ For The First Time In His Life After Getting Snubbed From The 1992 Dream Team
Isiah Thomas is undoubtedly one of the best point guards to ever play in the NBA. He was the primary superstar on the 1989 and 1990 Pistons championship-winning rosters.
There were no doubts that Thomas deserved a place on the 1992 Dream Team. It obviously hurt Thomas, and he revealed it was the first time in his life that he felt the sting of getting cut from a team in his career.
“That was the first time that I didn’t make the team in my life,” Thomas continued. “I never felt the sting of getting cut… Did that sting? Did that hurt? Absolutely. Did I want to be on the team? One hundred percent. But I didn’t make it. Was I mad? Was I upset? Probably went through all that range of emotions… I just kept moving on.”
At the end of the day, there was nothing that Thomas could do after getting cut from the 1992 Dream Team. Even though he was hurt by it, he continued to focus on his NBA career.
Isiah Thomas Reveals The Only Positive About Not Playing For The 1992 Dream Team
Getting snubbed from the 1992 Dream Team was undoubtedly a tough thing to deal with for Isiah Thomas. While he believes it was Michael Jordan’s doing, his former teammate John Salley said it was Magic Johnson who didn’t want Zeke on the greatest basketball team ever assembled.
Either way, Thomas decided to focus on the positives of not representing Team USA at the 1992 Olympics. In fact, the Pistons legend believes he got more publicity than ever for not being featured on the Dream Team.
“I watched every game, and I rooted for the USA to win. I didn’t know why I didn’t make it, but do I feel like I should have been on it? Absolutely. But let me say this. Me not making it, has given me more pub (publicity) than if I would have made it!”
All things considered, Thomas is still a proud citizen of the United States of America. Keeping that in mind, he was obviously rooting for Team USA to bring home the gold medal.
He didn’t get a chance to help them to do it with his basketball skills, and the only silver lining about it was getting a lot of publicity. But we are sure Thomas would probably trade that publicity for playing on the Dream Team in a flash.
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