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Re: 'The Dream Team' - Premieres June 13th on NBATV @ 9PM EST
Isiah was too much of a douche to be included. Nobody liked him and he would've completely killed the team's chemistry. I'm sure results-wise that probably wouldn't have mattered too much because that team was just too ridiculous, but there was good enough reason to warrant Isiah not being on the team.Originally posted by bradtxmale
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Re: 'The Dream Team' - Premieres June 13th on NBATV @ 9PM EST
I wish the internet/OS was around when the Bad Boys were in power.
Just thinking about all of the views about their tactics and when they just walked off the floor against Chicago... that would have been goldComment
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Re: 'The Dream Team' - Premieres June 13th on NBATV @ 9PM EST
I do not particularly agree with the entirety of your statements. I think Isiah Thomas' attitude is becoming greatly overblown here. There was clearly a divide between Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Isiah Thomas but that does not mean everyone else hated Isiah. There's no doubt he was competitive (and likely to a fault). But for how many elite athletes could we say the same thing? To be certain, it's not as if Michael Jordan himself was a bursting ray of sunshine toward his teammates and opponents.
From the comments made by Pippen and Jordan, it does appear clear that Thomas' inclusion on the '92 squad would have been an issue to them. The selection process came on the heels of a contentious conclusion to the Bulls-Pistons rivalry of the late 80's and early 90's. So sure, considering the Bulls' issue with Thomas, chemistry could have been weird. However, I think such an issue would fall just as much on the shoulders of Jordan and Pippen as it would with Thomas. A lot of the Dream Teamers had vicious battles with one another in the past. They acknowledged the competition and they moved forward. Practices were heated and players were richer for the experience. So my question becomes, what would have Isiah Thomas done as a member of that '92 Dream Team squad that would have been so horrible?
And yes, I acknowledge there being reasons for Thomas' absence in '92, but I disagree on the notions of, "Isiah was too much of a douche to be included. Nobody liked him and he would've completely killed the team's chemistry." I believe that is incorrect. Had Thomas played with Dream Team II in '94 (he was named to the team but tore his achilles) I feel he would have been the least of that team's personnel issues.
I can't see the picture right now but I'm hoping it's of USA Basketball for Sega or SNES. If so, I was not fortunate enough to have that game as a youngster, though I did buy it from Goodwill in 2002. I think the biggest thing I took away from it at that point was my discovery of then-Piston Zeljko Rebraca's appearance on the Yugoslavian National Team. Here I was thinking Rebraca was an up-and-coming rookie for the revived early 2000 Pistons, only to find out he was ballin' in the Olympics as a 20 year old in '92.
That's one of my biggest memories from that time as well. I think we were helping my dad move into his apartment with the TV on in the background. I remember getting a glimpse of the Dream Team then having it cut away five minutes later. It was the same way for me in '96, which was worse - because I was older and more keyed in at that point than I was in '92.Last edited by VDusen04; 06-19-2012, 01:18 PM.Comment
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Re: 'The Dream Team' - Premieres June 13th on NBATV @ 9PM EST
Wasn't there just something posted not too long ago where Karl Malone also said he didn't like Isaiah Thomas or didn't want him on the team?Comment
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Re: 'The Dream Team' - Premieres June 13th on NBATV @ 9PM EST
Yep. A viewpoint from Terry Foster:
Terry Foster adds:
I know why Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen hated former Piston Isiah Thomas. He stood his ground and he prevented both men from winning more.
I was there when Karl Malone blasted Thomas in Salt Lake City because Thomas showed up teammate John Stockton during a game. Thomas wanted to show that he belonged on the Dream Team and not Stockton.
Thomas was more deserving. Yes, Stockton put up some impressive numbers but he didn’t win any championships. Thomas went to three NBA Finals and won two of them. Zeke was the better player and was resentful that players wanted to keep him off the Dream Team. He paid them back even before he got left off the team.
Thomas beat Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls before the Pistons got too old to compete. He told teammates to pick on Pippen because he knew he was mentally soft. Thomas was an agitator because he felt it was the only way the Pistons could win. They were not as athletic as some of the other teams were but he made sure they were mentally and physically tougher.
It was not always pretty. Thomas grew up on the south side of Chicago and carried that ghetto mentality into the league. He challenged guys bigger than him and feared no one.
Thomas didn’t just play basketball and go home. If he did he would have been on Dream Team. He did more than play the game. He played the political game also to keep the Pistons on top.
Some folks didn’t like it. That is why Pippen and Malone hate him.
But again, I'm not doubting there's reasons for Isiah's absence. I just balk at the idea of it being dismissed as him being, "Too much of a douchebag." If not being competitive to a fault was a pre-requisite to making the Dream Team, at least half of those guys wouldn't have been there in the first place.Last edited by VDusen04; 06-19-2012, 02:16 PM.Comment
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Man he instigated too much crap
His coach his best friend and at least half the team didn't vouch for him nor cared for him being there
Later on he would kill the knicks and the continental basketball assoc. As well as get fired from a college team.... I have no reason to care or believe he would've made much of a difference with that team either way
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Re: 'The Dream Team' - Premieres June 13th on NBATV @ 9PM EST
I personally don't have an issue with Isiah Thomas being left off the team. I more or less had an issue with the suggestion it was because he was just a douchebag that nobody liked. Thomas had friends, Thomas had ties, and Thomas was likeable to many. I think this was a poignant comment, from a Mark Heisler article I'd read recently:
Some men, like Johnson, are born to be icons. Some, like Thomas, who's no more a saint or a sinner than Johnson or Jordan, are born to be lightning rods.
To throw out a laundry list of Thomas' non-playing failures as a reasoning for not caring about his presence on the 1992 Dream Team is no doubt a person's right, but I'm not sure it makes much sense. We might as well discuss Magic Johnson's foray into late night television and his inability to master the craft of basketball analysis, alongside Michael Jordan's ability to run the Charlotte Bobcats into the ground while delivering an uncomfortable Hall of Fame speech.
Essentially, everyone's had their issues and failures. And that's pretty much my point. Isiah Thomas was just disliked by some of the wrong people. When 1991 Michael Jordan doesn't want you somewhere, no one's really in position to vie for you otherwise. But the idea that Thomas was somehow on another plain in terms of his status as a human being might be a little much.Comment
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Re: 'The Dream Team' - Premieres June 13th on NBATV @ 9PM EST
I personally don't have an issue with Isiah Thomas being left off the team. I more or less had an issue with the suggestion it was because he was just a douchebag that nobody liked. Thomas had friends, Thomas had ties, and Thomas was likeable to many. I think this was a poignant comment, from a Mark Heisler article I'd read recently:
To throw out a laundry list of Thomas' non-playing failures as a reasoning for not caring about his presence on the 1992 Dream Team is no doubt a person's right, but I'm not sure it makes much sense. We might as well discuss Magic Johnson's foray into late night television and his inability to master the craft of basketball analysis, alongside Michael Jordan's ability to run the Charlotte Bobcats into the ground while delivering an uncomfortable Hall of Fame speech.
Essentially, everyone's had their issues and failures. And that's pretty much my point. Isiah Thomas was just disliked by some of the wrong people. When 1991 Michael Jordan doesn't want you somewhere, no one's really in position to vie for you otherwise. But the idea that Thomas was somehow on another plain in terms of his status as a human being might be a little much.
After seeing the verbal fued over Isiah Thomas I decided to check out his wiki link and boy...its hard not to dislike this guy. I can certainly see why he has been resented by fans and colleagues alike.http://neverfollow.biz (Independent Music Group)Comment
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