More than thirty years after the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the issue of Isiah Thomas 's snub from the original Dream Team remains an interesting basketball topic. We've heard arguments from both sides of the fence, and we've heard from many people already, including those who were actually on the team.
Most recently, former Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Chris Mullin was asked about the topic during his recent appearance on the "It is what it is" podcast, and the St. John's product interestingly sided with Isiah on the subject matter.
"If you look at that point in time," said Mullin. "He was by far and then historically a Top 3 point guard of all time, somewhere like that, right? Yeah, so he could easily be on the team, no question."
"Mully" was mum about why "Zeke" was snubbed
When the first ten names for the Dream Team were revealed, Thomas was a year removed from winning back-to-back NBA titles. Isiah was the 1990 NBA Finals MVP, and if you consider the all-time point guard rankings during that time, he was arguably behind only Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson, as Chris mentioned.
Of course, Mullin was asked why he thought Thomas didn't make the team. However, the five-time NBA All-Star didn't answer the question directly. Instead, Chris kind of tried to jokingly give away his reasoning.
"I mean, that's kinda out there and kinda not," added Mullin. "I mean, I watch your documentary too. Let me say this. I didn't get a call from David Stern or Chuck Daly saying, 'Hey, who you want to play with?' They asked me, 'Do you want to be on the team?' I said, 'Yeah, when do I show up?'"
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Larry Legend said he was surprised Isiah wasn't part of the team
Like Mullin, Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird also thought that "Zeke" deserved to be part of the Dream Team and was even surprised that he did not make it. But more than a person or persons, Bird blamed USA Basketball's selection process for the Thomas snub.
"The problem with a selection process like that is that a lot of guys are left off," the legendary forward said in his book "Bird Watching." "Of course, there was going to be controversy over who didn't make it, and the one guy most people were talking about was Isiah Thomas. I know he must have been hurt by it. Hell, Isiah was one of the top players in the league. He helped Detroit win two championships. He was one of those special players, and, to be honest, I wondered myself why he wasn't on the team."
There was no doubt that Thomas' resume was Dream Team-worthy. As Mullin said, if you watched the documentary—and we know what documentary he was talking about—you kind of get the idea why.
Related: "He was alienated from those guys" - Clyde Drexler named the Dream Team members who didn't want Isiah Thomas on the team
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