Despite the fact he was still arguably the best point guard in the NBA at the time, Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas was left of the 1992 Olympic team (later known as the "Dream Team") despite the fact Pistons head coach Chuck Daly helmed that legendary bunch.
The main reason for this omission was Michael Jordan's feud with Thomas, going back to the early part of his career with the Chicago Bulls. While Jordan tried to absolve himself of responsibility for Thomas' exclusion in "The Last Dance", an old audio clip surfaced this week that featured Jordan saying he would rather not play for Team USA than play with Thomas.
During the documentary, Jordan and several others cited Thomas' friction with several other members of the Dream Team, including Scottie Pippen, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson, as the main reason he was left off the team.
Unfortunately, this clip makes it sound like Jordan and Thomas were locked in a battle of wills. Naturally, if you're given an ultimatum and can only take one player, Jordan would be the one everyone would want to have on their team, which led to Thomas watching the Olympics at home.
Jordan never forgot Thomas' Pistons beating him up routinely on the way to two championships, and he did everything in his power to ruin Thomas' chances of making the 1992 Olympic squad because of it, even if he tried to pin it in the documentary on management's foresight.