SI Insider: We Might Never Get the Full Story on Isiah Thomas Not Being Included on The Dream Team
One of the layers peeled back in the most recent episodes of 'The Last Dance' was the exclusion of Isiah Thomas from the 1992 Dream Team, and exclusion has been largely attributed to Michael Jordan.
Not one to play with Thomas, Jordan denied that he was a driving force behind Thomas being denied a spot. But that narrative conflicts with much of the reporting that has been done on it.
SI's Jack McCallum, who literally wrote the book on The Dream Team, has reported that Jordan specifically told USA Basketball that he didn't want to play with Thomas. And if you think about it, keeping Thomas off the team required someone or some ones with some serious heft. Jack McCloskey, the Piston's general manager, was on the selection committee. Detroit coach Chuck Daly was USA basketball's head coach. Now, it's certainly not as simple as Jordan said, "No." It's very clear that several members of the team had no interest in playing with Thomas.
Scottie Pippen has said as much, and Magic Johnson acknowledged his frosty relationship with Thomas around that time. According to Johnson, Karl Malone wanted no part of Thomas.
But I wondered, going into this documentary, if Jordan would open up more about what really happened in 1992. And I wondered if Jordan would be confronted with the specific reporting on what took place. Unfortunately, the answer to both those questions is, "No." And we may never know the full story about Isiah Thomas, Michael Jordan and that 1992 Dream Team.
