Audio surfaces of Michael Jordan saying he 'won't play' if Isiah Thomas is on Dream Team

One of the most compelling parts of "The Last Dance" documentary was the bitter rivalry between Michael Jordan's Bulls and the Bad Boys of Detroit. And for years, there has been speculation about whether this feud caused Pistons star Isiah Thomas to be left off the Dream Team for the 1992 Olympics. 

In the documentary, Jordan denies he played a role in Thomas not making the team but resurfaced audio shows Jordan saying he said if Thomas was on the Dream Team, he wouldn't be.

On Jack McCallum's "The Dream Team Tapes," Jordan recalls a conversation with 1992 Olympics selection committee member Rod Thorn where he told Thorn he didn't want Thomas on the team.

"Rod Thorn called me. I said, ‘Rod, I won’t play if Isiah Thomas is on the team.' He assured me. He said, 'You know what? Chuck (Charles Barkley) doesn’t want Isiah. So, Isiah is not going to be part of the team.'"

This statement seems to contradict what Jordan has said recently, as well as Barkley claiming he had no role in Thomas' exclusion. Did they just forget or were neither willing to take the blame for excluding a player who was arguably worthy of being a member of the Dream Team?

Many believe Thomas deserved a spot on the team over John Stockton and while his best days were behind him by 1992, the two-time champion wanted the chance to play alongside Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and the rest of the Hall of Fame roster.

"If I'm not a part of the Dream Team because of a lapse in emotion in terms of not shaking someone's hand, if that's the reason why I didn't make the Dream Team, then I am more disappointed today than I was back then when I wasn't selected," Thomas said.