"Your reputation as a 'Bad Boy' it kind of means people aren't going to like you" - David Robinson talks about Isiah Thomas' Dream Team omission

isiah-thomas-and-david-robinson

David Robinson believes Isiah Thomas shouldn’t be surprised he wasn’t invited to Team USA’s 1992 Dream Team because everyone hated the Detroit Pistons. The Admiral, who was also an integral part of the 92 Olympic squad, appeared on the Bulls Talk podcast and gave his opinion on Thomas’ exclusion from the roster.

“If you have a reputation and you take pride in your reputation as a ‘Bad Boy’ it kind of means people aren’t going to like you. Can you be that surprised when people say, ‘I don’t really want to play with the ‘Bad Boys?” he said.

“I played against Bill Laimbeer, and I can’t count how many times he smacked me in my nose. I don’t know if he would be my first pick for the All-Star team. I’m a little bit surprised that there’s so much surprise that it went down this way because they were the Bad Boys,” he added.

Dream Team drama

Team USA’s most famous collection of talent was put together over three decades ago, but it still remains the most controversial international team that has ever existed. Most notably because of the hatred between Chicago Bulls icon Michael Jordan and “Zeke.”

Everyone on that roster or close to it has since given their thoughts on the situation, including Jordan’s running partner Scottie Pippen, who stated that having Thomas on the roster would have destroyed the team’s chemistry.

Jordan and Thomas’ disdain for each other stemmed from their fierce battles in the playoffs, where both sets of players crossed the line of professionalism, and their relationship has never recovered.

Thomas should have been included

Despite what past and present players have said about the situation, objectively, there is no reason why Thomas shouldn’t have been on the squad in 92.

He was without question one of the premier players in the Association, and on merit alone, all personal vendettas should have been put to the side with the sole intention of bringing together the best talent the United States had to offer.

Although Robinson felt that Thomas shouldn’t have been surprised by his negative reputation amongst his peers, to his credit, he still gave Isiah the ultimate props as a player.

“Isiah is amazing. What can you tell about that guy’s career. He did it on the biggest stage over many many years. He took a team that wasn’t in the picture and to the championship. He’s done all those things you ask the superstar to do. When you talk about putting together a team, chemistry matters, you can’t act like it doesn’t matter, and for that team, it was clear that was the consideration for all the people involved,” he said.

A reconciliation between Thomas, Jordan, and the other players involved in the 1992 Dream Team doesn’t seem forthcoming anytime soon, but perhaps one day, for the greater good of the game, they can all find common ground and move past their differences.