Robinson says Thomas shouldn't be surprised about 'Dream Team' snub

In the early 1990s, mercurial point guard Isiah Thomas led the "Bad Boy" Detroit Pistons. David Robinson, on the other hand, was a stoic All-Star center for the San Antonio Spurs who served two years in the U.S. Navy.

Robinson was chosen for Team USA's vaunted 1992 Olympic "Dream Team." Thomas famously wasn't, and Robinson says it boiled down to reputation.

"If you have a reputation and you take pride in your reputation as a 'Bad Boy,' it kind of means people aren't going to like you," he told "Bulls Talk Podcast," according to NBC Sports Chicago's Kevin Anderson. "Can you be that surprised when people say, 'I don't really want to play with the 'Bad Boys?'"

One issue with Robinson's theory is that the "Dream Team" was coached by Chuck Daly, the then-head coach of the "Bad Boy" Pistons.

However, Robinson added that chemistry was important in assembling the "Dream Team."

"When you talk about putting together a team, chemistry matters. It does," he said. "You can't act like it doesn't matter, and for that team, it was clear that was a consideration for all the people involved."

Several rumors have circulated over the years regarding Thomas' exclusion from the squad, most of them centering on his poor relationship with Michael Jordan.