Why wasn't Shaq included in the '92 Dream Team?

This is a great question. A TV special about Duke's '91 and '92 championship seasons spent a good bit of time talking about Leattner going head-to-head with Shaq when Duke played at LSU, with both Laettner and Shaq interviewed [1]. Basically Shaq was the only player that showed Laettner up that season. read more

Second, Laettner was considered more likely to fit in on a team with a lot of big egos. The Dream Team already had Magic, Michael and Bird. They had Ewing and David Robinson at center and Barkley and Malone at power forward. So the college player was really just a token pick. read more

92 Dream Team, Shaq wasn't drafted till 92, not sure why Laettner was on the team. Either way with Ewing and Robinson in their primes and healthy no need for Shaq the team won by like 50 every game. read more

On opening day of the 1991–92 season, NBA rosters included 23 international players from 18 countries. At the start of the 2011–12 season, there were 74 players from 35 countries. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James said they believed their 2012 Olympic team would win against the Dream Team. read more