Audio evidence proves Michael Jordan wanted nothing to do with Dream Team if Isiah Thomas was on squad
- ESPN’s ‘The Last Dance’ has reignited a decades-long feud between Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas
- In new audio from an interview in 2011, Jordan says he would not play in the Olympics if Thomas was on the team
There is audio evidence that Michael Jordan refused to play with Isiah Thomas in the Olympics.
In the documentary The Last Dance, Jordan denied involvement in Thomas being left of the Dream Team. However, long-time Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum, who penned a book on the collection of NBA superstars who wowed the world at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics, unearthed the following audio from his interview with Jordan in 2011:
“When they called me to ask me to play, Rod Thorn called me,” Jordan said. “I said, ‘Rod, I won’t play if Isiah Thomas is on the team.’ He assured me. He said, ‘You know what? Chuck doesn’t want Isiah. So, Isiah is not going to be part of the team’.”
McCallum said that Jordan revealed this unsolicited.
“No matter what you heard, there was never much of a chance for Isiah Thomas to make the Dream Team,” McCallum said in his podcast, “The Dream Team Tapes.”
“For this reason mainly, Michael Jordan did not want him. I wrote that back in 1992 because a source close to the situation, not Jordan himself, told me that was the case. But Jordan’s reaction to the question – Did you keep Isiah off the team? – was either angry – ‘No’ – or dismissive – ‘No Isiah questions please’ – or coy – ‘Hey, I didn’t pick the team’.
“So when I went to interview Jordan for the Dream Team book in 2011, I wondered how I would nudge the conversation to Isiah Thomas. But against all odds, Jordan went there himself, suddenly and without warning.”
Jordan and Thomas were rivals in the late ’80s and early ’90s. It turned more personal when the Pistons refused to shake hands after being eliminated by the Bulls in 1991. Even 40 years later, Jordan didn’t want to hear Thomas’ explanation for walking off the court.
“I know it’s all bulls***. Whatever he says now, you know it wasn’t his true actions then,” Jordan said in his documentary.
“He’s had time enough to think about it. Or the reaction of the public, that’s kind of changed his perspective of it.
“You can show me anything you want. There’s no way you can convince me he wasn’t an a******.”
Help us understand what you are interested in so that we can improve SCMP and provide a better experience for you. We would like to invite you to take this five-minute survey on how you engage with SCMP and the news.
