State Warriors, David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs, and Charles Barkley of the Philadelphia 76ers. On May 12, 1992, Clyde Drexler of the Portland Trail Blazers was chosen over Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons for the final professional roster spot. As an acknowledgment to the previous amateur system, the U.S. basketball committee decided to include one collegiate player on the team: Christian Laettner of Duke University was added on May 12, 1992, chosen over Louisiana State University's Shaquille O'Neal. Most of the players on the team were at or near the peaks of their NBA careers. Bird had back trouble but was selected due to the team's historic nature. Robinson had played with the 1988 Olympic team and was eager to earn a gold medal at Barcelona. Johnson had retired from the Lakers in November 1991 after testing positive for HIV. His teammates expected Johnson to die from the disease, and he later described his selection for the Olympics as "almost like a life saver", evidence that he could still overcome the illness and live a productive life. The Australian Olympic delegation prominently threatened to boycott the games in protest of Johnson's presence, fearing that he might infect other athletes. Their threats backfired, however, as Johnson received even more public support. Ewing, Jordan, and Mullin had won gold at the 1984 games; Malone had not made the team and saw his non-selection in 1984 as a challenge. Jordan declined head coach Chuck Daly's suggestion that Jordan serve as the public face of the team, and Bird and Johnson were selected as co-captains. Over the previous 13 NBA seasons leading up to the 1992 Olympics, these three superstars combined had won 10 NBA championships and received seven NBA Finals MVP awards and nine regular-season MVP awards. Isiah Thomas left off team There was speculation that Isiah Thomas was not part of the team because Jordan would participate only if Thomas was not on the roster. At the time, it was widely believed that Jordan did not like Thomas because he was seen as the "ring leader" of the Detroit Pistons of the late 1980s and early 1990s; nicknamed the "Bad Boys", the team employed overtly physical tactics against Jordan in the NBA Playoffs. In his 2012 book Dream Team, author Jack McCallum quotes Jordan as saying to Team USA selection committee member Rod Thorn, "Rod, I don’t want to