The real reason why Isiah Thomas was left off the dream team

[egokiller]

In his book, Magic, long time friend of Zeke states "nobody on that team wanted to play with him"

And there was nothing Chuck Daly, coach of the dream team and coach of the Pistons could do about it.

With 7 seconds left in the ECF, Zeke led his team off the court and told them we aren't shaking hands with the Bulls to the dismay of coach Daly.

That rubbed the players on the dream team the wrong way.

No one wanted someone that exhibited such poor sportsmanship to be on an Olympic team that represented the USA.

Isiah Thomas says he regrets walking off the court without shaking hands with the Bulls after the Pistons were swept in the 1991 ECF.

"We all should have taken the high road," Thomas said during a taping for NBA TV's Open Court.

https://media.giphy.com/media/3og0IMJcSI8p6hYQXS/giphy.gif

[ClipperRevival]

Like 90% of the reason, at least to me, was his "walk off" in the 1991 ECF against MJ. Isiah simply fu*ked with the wrong dude, who by the time of the Dream Team selection process 1992, MJ pretty much ruled the world. He didn't want Isiah on the team and that was it.

And the sad part about all this was that Isiah DESERVED to be on that team over Stockton. Everyone in the world knew it. And Isiah, being the competitor that he is, is still salty about it. No gold medal for Isiah for messing with the GOAT.

[Dray n Klay]

Like 90% of the reason, at least to me, was his "walk off" in the 1991 ECF against MJ. Isiah simply fu*ked with the wrong dude, who by the time of the Dream Team selection process 1992, MJ pretty much ruled the world. He didn't want Isiah on the team and that was it.

And the sad part about all this was that Isiah DESERVED to be on that team over Stockton. Everyone in the world knew it. And Isiah, being the competitor that he is, is still salty about it. No gold medal for Isiah for messing with the GOAT.

The mafia messed with Jordan, how did the "GOAT" pay them back? :confusedshrug:

[ClipperRevival]

The mafia messed with Jordan, how did the "GOAT" pay them back? :confusedshrug:

Got you on a leash babyboi.

[TheCorporation]

Like 90% of the reason, at least to me, was his "walk off" in the 1991 ECF against MJ. Isiah simply fu*ked with the wrong dude, who by the time of the Dream Team selection process 1992, MJ pretty much ruled the world. He didn't want Isiah on the team and that was it.

And the sad part about all this was that Isiah DESERVED to be on that team over Stockton. Everyone in the world knew it. And Isiah, being the competitor that he is, is still salty about it. No gold medal for Isiah for messing with the GOAT.

And those Olympic games were GIMME gold medal games, too. Back then international scouting and development was super low. Fast forward to 2019 and we could very well have the MVP and ROY winners both being international players (Giannis and Luka). I mean, just look at the opponent the Dream Team faced in 1992 for the gold medal game.

https://i.postimg.cc/T2DrxjBn/dreamteam-comp-lol.png

https://i.postimg.cc/X7KdGjjJ/nick-young.jpg

[ClipperRevival]

And those Olympic games were GIMME gold medal games, too. Back then international scouting and development was super low. Fast forward to 2019 and we could very well have the MVP and ROY winners both being international players (Giannis and Luka). I mean, just look at the opponent the Dream Team faced in 1992 for the gold medal game.

https://i.postimg.cc/T2DrxjBn/dreamteam-comp-lol.png

https://i.postimg.cc/X7KdGjjJ/nick-young.jpg

What does that have to do with the topic at hand you blithering ****?

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Pretty sure Thomas froze Jordan out in the '85 all-star game too.

Led the "charge" anyway.

I was never a fan of his. Guy seemed jealous that his hometown loved Mike more than him :oldlol:

[TheCorporation]

What does that have to do with the topic at hand you blithering ****?

Wow are you alright baby boy? Got you on a leash :pimp:

[bigkingsfan]

Why is shaking hands such a big deal? You can nitpick these athletes if you want, like Jordan with Kerr/Cartwright, those are bigger dick moves.

[ClipperRevival]

Wow are you alright baby boy? Got you on a leash :pimp:

:oldlol: Keep melting down babyboi.

[TheCorporation]

:oldlol: Keep melting down babyboi.
https://i.postimg.cc/X7KdGjjJ/nick_young.jpg

[ClipperRevival]

This is what class is all about. See how MJ handled himself when he lost to Detroit in 1989 and 1990 and how Detroit acted in 1991 when they lost.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWOmPj3oYaQ

[kennethgriffen]

zeke is the true 1988 finals mvp and champion


but the guy was a total asshole 2 faced disingenuous clown and still is till this very day. he still gives zero credit to MJ and says he's better and lebrons better and kareems better and so on... he probably still thinks magics a big ph@ggot and taught his son everything he knows

[Kblaze8855]

And those Olympic games were GIMME gold medal games, too. Back then international scouting and development was super low. Fast forward to 2019 and we could very well have the MVP and ROY winners both being international players (Giannis and Luka). I mean, just look at the opponent the Dream Team faced in 1992 for the gold medal game.

https://i.postimg.cc/T2DrxjBn/dreamteam-comp-lol.png

https://i.postimg.cc/X7KdGjjJ/nick-young.jpg

As opposed to:

[QUOTE]PG 4 Teodosić, Miloš (C) 29 – March 19, 1987 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) CSKA Moscow Russia
SF 5 Simonović, Marko 30 – May 30, 1986 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Crvena Zvezda Serbia
SG 7 Bogdanović, Bogdan 23 – August 18, 1992 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Fenerbahce Turkey
PG 9 Marković, Stefan 28 – April 25, 1988 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Baloncesto M

[PickernRoller]

The same reason he claims Bran is greater than Jordan.

We all know...

[ImKobe]

MJ shook his hand when his team lost like 3 times in a row... Zeke couldn't handle losing to a better team once? He also burned his bridge with Magic when Johnson got HIV, many sources actually indicate that it was Magic, who had Thomas blackballed from the team.

[Indian guy]

Isiah didn't deserve to be on the Dream Team based on his play alone.

The Dream Team was selected right before the beginning of the 1992 season (September 1991). So everything is based on what happened in 1991. 9 of the 15 players who made an All NBA Team in 1991 were on the Dream Team. The remaining 3 non-All NBAers to finish out the roster were Larry Bird (legend), Pippen (breakout star of '91 playoffs) and Laettner (college). The 6 All NBAers from 1991 who didn't make the team were Kevin Johnson, Dominique, Dumars, Bernard King, Olajuwon and Worthy. 'Nique and Olajuwon weren't American. Of the other 4, Dumars/King/Worthy weren't big enough names or simply weren't good enough. KJ was All NBA 2nd team for the 3rd straight season in 1991 (Stockton made the 3rd team). I would've said he got snubbed, except Stockton brutally outplayed him in their H2H playoff meeting that year.

Nowhere do you see Isiah's name here. He simply wasn't good enough to make the team. His last All NBA selection was 1987. The only NBA player to make the team not on their performance was Bird, who was an absolute legend and it was his last hurrah before retirement. Isiah simply wasn't on that level.

[Phoenix]

As opposed to:




From 2016.

One nba all star on each and a couple good nba players. Jokic vs Drazen is not an argument I think those in Europe would find as absurd as you probably do. And Kukoc vs Bogdan? Teodosić vs Radja? Im sure you dont know who Dino is but hes actually in the hall of fame and was a 20/10 player in the NBA in the 90s.

That team was pretty real.

That dude has absolutely no clue who Dino Radja is lol. Dropped a list of names he's never heard of and jumped to conclusions about things he has no clue about. Next he'll be dropping his wisdom about the 88 Soviet Union team with some scrub named 'Sabonis' or something.

[Xiao Yao You]

Like 90% of the reason, at least to me, was his "walk off" in the 1991 ECF against MJ. Isiah simply fu*ked with the wrong dude, who by the time of the Dream Team selection process 1992, MJ pretty much ruled the world. He didn't want Isiah on the team and that was it.

And the sad part about all this was that Isiah DESERVED to be on that team over Stockton. Everyone in the world knew it. And Isiah, being the competitor that he is, is still salty about it. No gold medal for Isiah for messing with the GOAT.

He deserved it over Pippen and Ewing not Stockton

[paksat]

The mafia messed with Jordan, how did the "GOAT" pay them back? :confusedshrug:

kblaze would you please go back to banning these lebron james alts that derail every thread towards lbj...

this forum COULD be good you know..

[sportjames23]

The mafia messed with Jordan, how did the "GOAT" pay them back? :confusedshrug:

Someone obviously messed with your family since you have no home training. Where's your daddy, kid?

[TheCorporation]

kblaze would you please go back to banning these lebron james alts that derail every thread towards lbj...

this forum COULD be good you know..

3ball would be the 1st person gone :lol

[paksat]

3ball would be the 1st person gone :lol

3ball is like the only person actively going out of his way to defend jordan

i'll laugh at you scrubs, post some highlights or some games but besides me and him that's pretty much it when it comes to jordan


sooooo you were sayin?

[TheCorporation]

3ball is like the only person actively going out of his way to defend jordan

i'll laugh at you scrubs, post some highlights or some games but besides me and him that's pretty much it when it comes to jordan


sooooo you were sayin?

Defend MJ? :lol

There will be a thread about Kyrie Irving or Russell Westbrook and 3ball's reply will say "LeBron" within the first sentence. Sometimes literally within the second word.

Pay attention

[ClipperRevival]

Isiah didn't deserve to be on the Dream Team based on his play alone.

The Dream Team was selected right before the beginning of the 1992 season (September 1991). So everything is based on what happened in 1991. 9 of the 15 players who made an All NBA Team in 1991 were on the Dream Team. The remaining 3 non-All NBAers to finish out the roster were Larry Bird (legend), Pippen (breakout star of '91 playoffs) and Laettner (college). The 6 All NBAers from 1991 who didn't make the team were Kevin Johnson, Dominique, Dumars, Bernard King, Olajuwon and Worthy. 'Nique and Olajuwon weren't American. Of the other 4, Dumars/King/Worthy weren't big enough names or simply weren't good enough. KJ was All NBA 2nd team for the 3rd straight season in 1991 (Stockton made the 3rd team). I would've said he got snubbed, except Stockton brutally outplayed him in their H2H playoff meeting that year.

Nowhere do you see Isiah's name here. He simply wasn't good enough to make the team. His last All NBA selection was 1987. The only NBA player to make the team not on their performance was Bird, who was an absolute legend and it was his last hurrah before retirement. Isiah simply wasn't on that level.

Sounds to me like a guy who is looking at bball reference to judge the situation. Don't know if you were alive during this time but anyone who was knows that while Stockton was the better player at the time, Isiah DESERVED to be on that team based on past accomplishments and status. Everyone knew that. Everyone knew that USA team would get gold so it wasn't just about putting together the best possible team but a combo of who deserved it and team.

[ronniec]

Sounds to me like a guy who is looking at bball reference to judge the situation. Don't know if you were alive during this time but anyone who was knows that while Stockton was the better player at the time, Isiah DESERVED to be on that team based on past accomplishments and status. Everyone knew that. Everyone knew that USA team would get gold so it wasn't just about putting together the best possible team but a combo of who deserved it and team.

Unfortunately Isiah screwed up with Jordan, and that was it.
Deserved or not, did not matter.
A lot of players "deserved" to be on that team also, but still not get selected.

As you said, THE DREAM TEAM was destined to win it all, so not that they had to pick the best, but also picking the players that could co-exist.
Excluding Laettner, there were 11 huge egos and how to put them into one team and perform was an art.

Having Isiah/an unlikable character on that team was impossible.

[Showtime80']

To me Isiah started to put the nails in his public persona and off the court appeal in 1987 after loosing to Boston in the ECF and backing Rodman in the dumb as! comments he made about Larry Bird. The walkout against the Bulls in 1991 was the final nail in that coffin and the perfect excuse for the Olympic selection committee to leave him off the team!

From 1983 to 1987 Isiah was First Team All NBA 3 times and Second Team 2 times while averaging 21ppg, 11ast, 4rbs and Detroit getting far in the playoffs only in 1987.

From 1988 to 1991 Isiah averaged 18ppg 9ast 4rbs while being the UNDISPUTED LEADER of a Detroit team that went to the EFC four times, the Finals three times while winning two titles!

He was the MVP of the 1990 Finals averaging an INSANE 27ppg on 54%/69 % 3PT!!!, 7ast, 5rbs, 2 stl!!! One of the most UNHERALDED greatest Finals performances of all time.

No All-NBA selections after 87! What changed?!?!?! LOL!

You're telling me guys like Kevin Johnson, Mark Price, Joe Dumars and Tim friggin Hardaway deserved All-NBA honors over Isiah from 88 to 91 specially when they expanded to 3 All-NBA teams in 1989?!?! HELL NO!!!! The fans knew what was up voting him to the all-star game 6 more times after 1987.

Isiah was a beloved player right up there with Magic, Bird and Michael up to the summer of 1987 when he decided to double down on the comments made about Bird. The All-NBA teams snubs that followed were evidence of the vendetta that the media brought onto Isiah as punishment for those comments combined with the style of play the Bad Boys exhibited which irritated a ton of people.

Zeke was the superstar that sacrificed the most for his team out of those 80's guys. He was a great iso player that excelled in a fast paced system for the first half of his career but was wise enough to know that the make up of the Pistons with their excellent 3-guard rotation as well as their physical depth could only succeed if they shared the wealth more and shifted to a slow down, half court defensive style of play.

The media ruined Isiah's chances at being remembered as a top 20 player all time and also being selected to the Dream Team which he should've been because NOBODY with an unbiased point of view would've picked either John Stockton, Kevin Johnson, Mark Price, Tim Hardaway or Dale Ellis as the UNDISPUTED PG LEADER of a team in September 1991 or after!

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Sounds to me like a guy who is looking at bball reference to judge the situation. Don't know if you were alive during this time but anyone who was knows that while Stockton was the better player at the time, Isiah DESERVED to be on that team based on past accomplishments and status. Everyone knew that. Everyone knew that USA team would get gold so it wasn't just about putting together the best possible team but a combo of who deserved it and team.

Not only that but Larry Bird was also on the team.

Physically Bird was a shell of his former self.

[sdot_thadon]

Umm, didn't the Celtics do the same thing to the Pistons in 88 when they lost? Larry Bird still somehow made his way onto the team.......

[tontoz]

Isiah was a weak shooter from everywhere outside 5 feet. You would be hard pressed to find any better than average pg from that era that didn't shoot better than Isiah.

For his career

29% from 3
75.9% from the foul line
46.8% on 2s

:sleeping

Look at Kevin Johnson

30% from 3
84% from the line
50.4% on 2s

If I remember right Bird didn't want to be on the team at all but Magic talked him into it. His back was really bad.

[paksat]

Defend MJ? :lol

There will be a thread about Kyrie Irving or Russell Westbrook and 3ball's reply will say "LeBron" within the first sentence. Sometimes literally within the second word.

Pay attention

because he has to, to keep you idiots from taking over the minds of young people

[TheMan]

That dude has absolutely no clue who Dino Radja is lol. Dropped a list of names he's never heard of and jumped to conclusions about things he has no clue about. Next he'll be dropping his wisdom about the 88 Soviet Union team with some scrub named 'Sabonis' or something.
Yup, that Croatian team was really good. Petrovic would've gone down as one of the GOAT shooters if he didn't tragically pass away. RIP Kukoc was also a legit baller... Kids today have no clue.

[jayfan]

In his book, Magic, long time friend of Zeke states "nobody on that team wanted to play with him"

And there was nothing Chuck Daly, coach of the dream team and coach of the Pistons could do about it.

With 7 seconds left in the ECF, Zeke led his team off the court and told them we aren't shaking hands with the Bulls to the dismay of coach Daly.

That rubbed the players on the dream team the wrong way.

No one wanted someone that exhibited such poor sportsmanship to be on an Olympic team that represented the USA.

Isiah Thomas says he regrets walking off the court without shaking hands with the Bulls after the Pistons were swept in the 1991 ECF.

"We all should have taken the high road," Thomas said during a taping for NBA TV's Open Court.

https://media.giphy.com/media/3og0IMJcSI8p6hYQXS/giphy.gif

1. Is this breaking news?

2. Had nothing to do with 'poor sportsmanship representing USA' bs. They just didn't like him. Period. "They" being MJ (no one else really mattered), and the walk-off was a major reason why.


.

[Nowoco]

Wow the OP has his finger on the pulse, this news only came out in 2012.

Jordan, Bird and Magic hated Isiah and the Pistons and no-one wanted him on the team. As those three were the faces of the league, they got their way and who can blame them? You reap what you sow.

[bizil]

This was a life lesson in general quite frankly! Watch what you say and how you treat people! Because THOSE SAME PEOPLE can be in a position to cost you something significant! Very ironic that Isiah froze out MJ in the '85 All Star Game. And then showed bad sportsmanship when the Bulls beat their ass! And from there, agreed with Rodman about the hater shit on Bird. And to top it off, was questioning other people and stirring the pot about how Magic got HIV! INSTEAD of asking one of his best friends in Magic how.

Those are four significant things where Zeke was discrediting or disrespecting somebody! And on top of it THE THREE KINGS of the sport! Huge Zeke fan on the court though. And in general OF COURSE he belonged on that team! In my mind ANY REAL US DREAM TEAM must have Nique and Zeke on that squad! But of course various factors happened where neither was chosen.

[FKAri]

Like 90% of the reason, at least to me, was his "walk off" in the 1991 ECF against MJ. Isiah simply fu*ked with the wrong dude, who by the time of the Dream Team selection process 1992, MJ pretty much ruled the world. He didn't want Isiah on the team and that was it.

And the sad part about all this was that Isiah DESERVED to be on that team over Stockton. Everyone in the world knew it. And Isiah, being the competitor that he is, is still salty about it. No gold medal for Isiah for messing with the GOAT.
Don't you think it's pathetic of MJ to leave him off the team for that?
It wasn't MJ alone anyways. Nobody liked Isiah or the Pistons.

[Smoke117]

because he has to, to keep you idiots from taking over the minds of young people

You're a moron if you think 3ball is here just to "defend" Jordan.

[ronniec]

Isiah was a weak shooter from everywhere outside 5 feet. You would be hard pressed to find any better than average pg from that era that didn't shoot better than Isiah.

For his career

29% from 3
75.9% from the foul line
46.8% on 2s

:sleeping

Look at Kevin Johnson

30% from 3
84% from the line
50.4% on 2s

If I remember right Bird didn't want to be on the team at all but Magic talked him into it. His back was really bad.

You are correct, Bird did not want to be on the Dream Team.
It was Magic to persuade him and change his mind.
Bird got selected by his merit and contribution (with Magic) to the league. Everybody knew he deserved that honor.

Also Magic and Bird wanted Jordan to be the captain, but Jordan said he had too much respect to them and refused the offer.
So Magic and Bird were the co-captain.

[andgar923]

And those Olympic games were GIMME gold medal games, too. Back then international scouting and development was super low. Fast forward to 2019 and we could very well have the MVP and ROY winners both being international players (Giannis and Luka). I mean, just look at the opponent the Dream Team faced in 1992 for the gold medal game.

https://i.postimg.cc/T2DrxjBn/dreamteam-comp-lol.png

https://i.postimg.cc/X7KdGjjJ/nick-young.jpg

You're an idiot.

About half of those players played in the NBA and the others were highly recruited by scouts but decided to be stars and win chips abroad. Imagine if Giannis, Luka or Dirk never left Europe?

It was a different time politically/socially and professionally back then. The flood gates for Euro players wasn't open. On top of that the style of play was different in the NBA. The NBA was more physical and style of play didn't match the Euro player's style.