Pistons: Charles Barkley gets brutally honest on Dream Team, Isaiah Thomas vs. John Stockton debate

While it may be hard to remember now, the Detroit Pistons were once one of the NBA’s beacons of prosperity, a perennial deep playoff contender in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s and winners of the championship multiple times under the leadership of legendary Hall of Fame point guard Isiah Thomas. Of course, the Pistons are now the league’s symbol of ineptitude and have been going back the last decade-plus, but every once in a while, it’s fun for fans to relieve their stress by remembering the glory days that Thomas, Dennis Rodman, Joe Dumars, and others brought back in their heyday.

One of the most controversial moments of that era of the NBA occurred when Thomas was not selected to participate in the 1992 Dream Team for Team USA at the Olympics. That team of course was filled with multiple future Hall of Famers, including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Charles Barkley. It was widely speculated that Jordan’s disdain for Thomas was the reason that the point guard did not end up getting a roster spot.

Recently, Barkley himself stopped by NFL legendary Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay” podcast and dropped a truth bomb on his thoughts about the snub.

“I think he was a better player than John Stockton,” said Barkley point blank, referring to Utah Jazz point guard John Stockton, who was awarded a spot on the team over Thomas. Stockton of course was a legend in his own right as the NBA’s all-time assist leader but probably didn’t match the individual impact that Thomas could have on a game (via Club Shay Shay on YouTube).

Barkley then essentially confirmed that it was indeed Michael Jordan’s ego that stopped Isiah Thomas from securing a spot that he probably deserved.

“Number one they never asked me about Isaiah Thomas, and it just came out and I can’t speak for the other guys, they they never asked me personally about Isaiah Thomas and Isaiah Thomas probably should have been on the team. They asked Michael Jordan, did he have anything to do with it, and then it actually just came out in the last year where he said “I’ll play as long as Isaiah don’t play,” said Barkley.

An underrated NBA legend

When discussing the NBA’s all-time greatest players, Isiah Thomas’s name doesn’t come up as much as it probably should. Neither does that Pistons team when discussing some of the league’s greatest dynasties. While they might not officially qualify as a dynasty by today’s standards, that Pistons team was one of the most consistent and reliable in the league, and it’s generally believed that it was only them collectively getting old and injured that allowed Michael Jordan to finally step into his role as one of the game’s greatest players of all time.

In any case, it’s always interesting to hear NBA legends give their perspectives on what really went on behind the scenes during some of the league’s most fascinating and highly debated moments.