Michael Jordan says the celebrated cohesion of the 1992 United States men’s Olympic basketball roster might have felt different if longtime rival Isiah Thomas had been on board.
In ESPN’s documentary The Last Dance, Jordan reflected on the team’s internal atmosphere, calling it “the best harmony” he ever experienced. When asked whether Thomas’s presence would have changed that environment, he answered bluntly: “Yes.”
Thomas, then regarded as one of the NBA’s premier point guards, was not selected for the Barcelona Games. The final roster—headlined by Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, and Karl Malone—dominated the Olympic tournament and defeated Croatia for the gold medal without losing a game.
Despite their well-documented feud, Jordan acknowledged the former Detroit Pistons star’s ability.
“I respect Isiah Thomas’s talent,” Jordan said, adding that he ranks Magic Johnson as the greatest point guard ever, “and right behind him is Isiah Thomas. No matter how much I hate him, I respect his game.”
Both players are enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and were named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. During the league’s 75th anniversary celebration in Cleveland in 2022, observers noted that Jordan and Thomas kept their distance—another sign that the Bulls-Pistons rivalry of the late 1980s and early 1990s still casts a shadow.
Source: Hoops Wire
