More than two decades after the event that helped basketball's popularity explode on the world stage, an NBA legend still has qualms with the make-up of the iconic squad that's often referred to as the greatest team ever assembled.
Five-time NBA champion Dennis Rodman recently expressed his dismay at the omission of former Detroit Pistons teammate Isiah Thomas from the Dream Team - the then-unprecedented group that took the world by storm at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
"But for me, I felt Isiah should've been on that team because of the fact that he deserved it," the 54-year-old former rebounding machine said on Sirius XM's NBA Today.
With only 12 roster spots featuring active NBA players for the first time in Olympic history, Rodman contends Thomas shouldn't have been snubbed in favor of another hardwood hero.
"I think that the fact that, even though a lot of people will try deny it or try to correct me when I'm wrong, he should've been there instead of (Boston Celtics legend) Larry Bird."
Regardless of Bird's superlative career, Rodman cites "Larry Legend's" declining health as the basis for his logic.
"Because Larry Bird was hurt, injured, he could barely play, and he was on that last leg of his career," Rodman added.
Despite his failing health, Rodman feels it was Bird's reputation that ensured his inclusion on the Dream Team.
"I understand, again, the presidential treatment, because he did so much for the game, but I just think for Isiah, I think they should've put him on that team without Larry Bird, and that's my opinion."
Bird, the No. 1 pick in 1978, never missed more than eight games in a season - save for an injury-riddled 1988-89 campaign that saw him play only six games - until being limited to 60 and 45 games in the last two years of his career.
Rodman briefly touched upon the alleged friction between Thomas and Michael Jordan, among others, as an element which possibly factored into Thomas' exclusion.
To add an extra layer of awkwardness, Thomas' coach on the Pistons, Chuck Daly, was tabbed as the Dream Team's bench boss.
Nevertheless, hoops historians may be scratching their heads in response to "The Worm's" suggested Thomas-for-Bird swap, especially when the team included Christian Laettner - a decorated collegiate star from Duke who had yet to step onto an NBA floor - who many now feel should've been replaced by then-budding LSU big man Shaquille O'Neal.
Prior to suiting up in red, white, and blue, Bird completed the thirteenth season of his illustrious NBA career. The 1992 Olympics became Bird's swan song, as he rode off into the sunset with a gold medal representing his final contribution to the sport.
Thomas wrapped his own impressive career two seasons after Bird's, later admitting that being left off the Dream Team was "a big hole in the resume."
