Rod Thorn Says Michael Jordan Never Pushed to Keep Isiah Thomas off Dream Team

Rod Thorn, former chairman of the USA Basketball Men's National Team Selection Committee, cleared up one of the mysteries that came out of Sunday's episodes of The Last Dance.

Appearing on ESPN Radio's Golic & Wingo, Thorn denied that Michael Jordan fought to keep Isiah Thomas off the Dream Team for the 1992 Olympics:

"There was never anything in my conversation with [Jordan] that had to do with Isiah Thomas, period. He said, 'I'll do it.' ... Isiah's name never came up during that conversation. And he never backtracked and said he didn't want to do it from that time on, to those of us in the NBA office.

"Now, if that in fact happened, then it happened with somebody else; because when I talked to him, he ended up saying he would definitely do it."

The episodes focused on the rivalry between the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons in the late '80s and early '90s. 

One incident that garnered attention was the Pistons, including Thomas, walking off the court without shaking the hands of Bulls players after losing the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals. 

Thomas said "that's just how it was" at the time, but Jordan had a different response in his interview. 

"I know it's all BS," he said. "Whatever he said, I know it wasn't his true actions, that he's had time enough to think about it. The reaction of the public has changed his reaction to it."

Despite the hard feelings Jordan apparently still holds against Thomas and the Pistons, Thorn told Golic & Wingo his discussion with Jordan was "strictly" about trying to get him to play in the 1992 Olympics. 

"But he didn't say anything to me about [Thomas], and I certainly had no reason to bring it up, either," Thorn recalled. 

The Dream Team is regarded as one of the greatest teams ever assembled in any sport. Team USA won gold at the Barcelona Games by winning all six of its games by at least 38 points, including a 115-87 victory over Croatia in the gold medal game.