Joe Dumars came closer than Isiah Thomas to making original Dream Team
Granik: The last player, as I recall, was between Clyde Drexler and Isiah Thomas, and you had two pretty great résumés there. I don’t know what the final vote was—I never asked—but when they counted, it came out for Clyde.
David DuPree (reporter for USA Today): If they were selecting solely on ability and accomplishments, Isiah Thomas may have deserved it. But who are you going to leave off? Nobody was tougher than John Stockton; nobody was a better passer. John Stockton was a tough son of a bitch.
Jan Hubbard (NBA columnist for Newsday): Stockton broke a bone in his leg, and it healed very quickly. But initially they were going to replace him, and it was going to be Joe Dumars. So Isiah wasn’t even going to be the first substitute.
Dupree’s slight of Thomas’ toughness aside, this is pretty reasonable. In 1991, Jack McCallum of Sports Illustrated laid out how he would pick the Dream Team, and he also chose Dumars over Thomas:
Dumars can replace Magic at the point or Jordan at two-guard, but his trump card is defense. He does an excellent job of containing Jordan, after all, so he should be even more effective against any other guard. That gives Dumars the advantage over Piston teammate Thomas and the other talented backcourtmen left off our team.
Leave a Reply
Jun 11, 2012 • 2:59 pm
by Fennis
If you think any of this is reasonable, you’re smoking some very strong stuff. These musings are offered through the lens of the anti-Thomas bias that has descended on the entire basketball community. At the time, Isaiah and Stockton were not seen as equal players — by anyone. Stockton was remarkable and “tough” but no one in their right mind would’ve made the claim that he was better than Thomas. You may like or even love Thomas as a player, but the anti-Thomas ethos in the basketball community has done a number on you. Joe D selected above Thomas?! It’s absurd. And the discussion you posted doesn’t even hint and how big a scandal the Thomas omission was at the time. The quotes makes it seem like everyone nodded their head as though logic prevailed. This is one of the most absurd editions of revisionist history that I’ve ever encountered.
Jun 12, 2012 • 5:35 am
by tarsier
Joe D selected above Thomas would be like when Prince was on the olympic team over tons of better players. He was just considered the right fit, so they wanted him more than vastly more talented players who contributed different things.
Jun 11, 2012 • 7:29 pm
by ryan
If they were going by talent and resume alone it wouldn’t have a been a question of Isiah or Joe it would have been Isiah and Joe with no John Stockton or Clyde Drexler.
I agree that the bias is there and that it’s huge. It’s almost as bad as the way people overrate Michael Jordan.
Jun 11, 2012 • 8:27 pm
by C-Foe
@Fennis, @ryan….I couldn’t agree with your statements more.
What kills me is that these Dream Team members (like Magic) are now trying to act like it was some sort of comradery issue that kept Isiah off of the team. They act like Isiah was a bully that would steal their lunch money every day so they didn’t want to be around him. Oh wait, I know…the Olympic committee and team was afraid that Isiah was going to “freeze” Jordan out again and cost the U.S.A a gold medal. LOL!!
So I’m going to throw out my own theory … I believe Isiah was left off because he was going to challenge Magic’s or Jordan’s “leadership” and wasn’t going to worship them like the other players. At that time Isiah had more championships and more tenure in the league than Jordan, he deserved to be a captain/leader of that team and someone didn’t like it. Because of that, then it would make sense that they would “consider” Joe over Isiah because Joe wasn’t going to challenge them. Especially since Joe and Jordan had become friends during that time.
Jun 11, 2012 • 8:37 pm
by C-Foe
Oops, have to make a correction, Zeke and Jordan both had 2 championships at that time. I forgot about the Bulls 90-91 championship.
Jun 12, 2012 • 5:39 am
by tarsier
Jordan was undeniably the best player on the team. yeah, the fact that Zeke would have considered himself the best player, not Jordan, probably could have caused chemistry issues and led to some less than ideal teamwork. How is trying to avoid that a bad thing? IT’s not like the team really needed more talent. They had that. What they couldn’t count on having in abundance was cohesiveness.
Jun 12, 2012 • 11:13 pm
by C-Foe
Hey tarsier, I don’t believe that there would have been chemistry issues, at least on the floor. This is about representing our country and I believe Isiah would have been able to function in that group. Especially since he missed out in 1980 and this was a chance to be a part of something special, I don’t think he was going to mess that up. Somehow I have a hard time believing that all 12 of them were hanging out after games and practices so I don’t think that would have been too much of an issue either. I just hate that the committee took away his opportunity because they had to kiss up to a few players.
Jun 11, 2012 • 9:25 pm
by Rodman4Life
Isiah was the guy from the ghetto that no one wanted to be seen on the international stage. You can’t be racist in basketball, just wouldn’t work, too much diversity. But class and judgement permeate all through the sport, and especially in 1992. What people dislike Isiah for, he actually isn’t any different than most successful athletes. It’s all a matter of perception. What they cannot argue, no matter how much it irks them, is that he is and forever will be a champion.
Jun 12, 2012 • 4:23 am
by wutsupninjas
Zeke got left off the team because when they asked jordan to join he said he would as long as zeke wasn’t on the team….jordan even admitted it recently after denying it for years
Jun 12, 2012 • 4:25 am
by wutsupninjas
and at that time MJ was considered the best player in the world at that time so of course they picked him over Zeke
Jun 12, 2012 • 7:33 am
by Derek
For me it is a no brainer, Isiah deserved to be on the team. He had the skills, the resume, and the fire to represent the country competitively. As a spokesman (kid from the ghetto crap aside) he was one of the most articulate and well spoken professional athletes of his time. The media loved him when it was envogue to love him, he was genuine and straight forward. The media hated him when it was envogue to hate him, ironically enough for the same reason (he was genuine and straight forward).
We can’t play the arrogance card because none of those guys on that Olympic were humble.
We can’t play the his attitude would have caused an international incident card because the ever volatile Barkley represented the red, white, and blue.
We can’t play the he was in his decline card because he was 30 years old and still competing capably.
All it boils down to is a club oriented popularity contest. The most popular…most marketable…most petty athlete on the team did not care for him. It probably wouldn’t be a stretch to say he hated him. So, if Michael Jordan does approve the NBA will not approve, that left Zeke on the outs.
He was one of the greatest competitors in the history of the NBA. His will to win was incredible. He played through broken thumbs, back pain, severely swollen ankles, etc. He cawled and fought and ultimately beat Bird, MJ, and Magic more than they beat him.
So what they didn’t let him play in their reindeer games. It’s their loss. Every time they attempt to politically answer why Zeke was left off the team, they will in their hearts confirm they were petty and small men in the long run who hated being bested by one of the best to ever play the game.
Jun 12, 2012 • 8:56 am
by Rodman4Life
well said, Derek.
Jun 12, 2012 • 11:15 pm
by C-Foe
I agree also, well said, Derek.
Jun 12, 2012 • 7:34 am
by Derek
My Dream Team is the Bad Boys
My Dream Team is the 2004 Pistons
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