"They didn't want me on the team"- Isiah Thomas takes aim at Michael Jordan for alleged dream team snub
NBA legend Isiah Thomas recently made a guest appearance on the 'ALL THE SMOKE' podcast. Thomas talked about his Hall of Fame career and revisited his sour history with his nemesis, Michael Jordan. Matt Barnes brought up Team USA's "Dream Team" back in the 90s and wanted to clarify why the Detroit Pistons legend was left out of the picture.
Isiah Thomas went straight to the point and said that the "Dream Team" roster wanted nothing to do with him. He knew that it was likely that Michael Jordan had something to do with Thomas being cut from the team. Isiah was hurt and frustrated with the situation, but all he could do was move on. The NBA legend said:
"They didn't want me on the team... 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."
Thomas continued:
"That was the first time that I didn't make the team in my life. 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."
Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas' never-ending beef
Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas' beef with each other goes way back during their playing careers. What started as a rivalry in the Eastern Conference became one of the most bitter feuds in sports history. Back when Jordan was still trying to make his way to the NBA Finals without the help of Scottie Pippen, Thomas and the Detroit Pistons always got in the Chicago Bulls' way.
Mike's Bulls and Isiah's Pistons would always find themselves facing each other in the playoffs back in the 80s. Detroit constantly crushed Jordan in the postseason, both figuratively and literally. By the time MJ finally got his sweet revenge, it demonstrated a sore loser's behavior by not congratulating Chicago and walking back to the locker room.
Since then, the two legends have despised one another. There were reports that Jordan didn't want Thomas on the "Dream Team" roster. Isiah wanted an apology from Mike, however, the six-time champion didn't want to make amends since Thomas himself never made up for his wrongdoing back when the Bulls beat the Pistons in 1991.