‘Jealous’ Shaquille O’Neal was desperate to be on Michael Jordan’s ’92 Dream Team but missed out as forgotten college star hated by fans took his spot

Many think Isiah Thomas was the biggest snub of the Dream Team.

Shaq might disagree.

The Dream Team - the nickname given to the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team - is widely regarded as the greatest sports team assembled.

The star-studded squad was littered with NBA icons and future Hall of Famers including Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley.

Chuck Daly's all-conquering roster, which won gold in Barcelona, Spain that year, also featured some lesser-known names - chiefly, Christian Laettner, who was selected over 'The Big Aristotle' himself, Shaquille O'Neal.

Looking back now, Laettner's inclusion over O'Neal appears egregious.

Shaq, a four-time NBA champion and three-time Finals MVP, is widely considered the most dominant big man ever and one of the greatest centers in NBA history.

Laettner, meanwhile, played for six different NBA teams across a 13-year career with the highlight being a solitary All-Star nod in '97.

But in 1992, Laettner was the proverbial big man on campus who led Duke to three straight NCAA championship games and back-to-back national titles in '91 and '92.

The 6ft 11in former Blue Devil was a college basketball superstar who broke the hearts of UConn and Kentucky fans with a pair of epic buzzer-beating shots and held NCAA Tournament records for points scored, games won, and career games played.

Laettner, NCAA player of the year in his senior year, was the poster boy for Mike Krzyzewski's program with his good looks, competitive fire and dynamic play.

At times though, he struggled to toe the line between confidence and arrogance, riling up opposing players and fans with his bullish mentality and knack for getting favorable foul calls.

The power forward/center was despised for many reasons - his temperament, college success, middle class upbringing, Duke privilege - and was subsequently featured in an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary titled, I Hate Christian Laettner.

Laettner was undeniably a polarizing figure but on the court he was a certified stud.

He proved it in '91 when his Duke team squared off against LSU and Associated Press national player of the year Shaquille O'Neal.

Laettner dominated a foul-plagued Shaq and finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds.

Years later, O'Neal reflected on that matchup.

"And then first time I played him, he killed me," he said. "He destroyed me. I’m not racist or anything, but that white boy ate me up."

In 1992, O'Neal outscored Laettner in a rematch 25-22 but the latter's team cruised to a 77-67 win.

Shaq was still a force in college, being named a two-time All-American and two-time SEC Player of the Year while averaging 24.1 points, 14.0 rebounds and 5.0 blocks in his final year.

However, his Tigers failed to make splash at The Big Dance and his college career ended with a 2-3 record in NCAA Tournament play.

Laettner, meanwhile, was winning national championships for one of the most prestigious schools in the country.

When the 1992 NBA Draft rolled around in June that year, the Orlando Magic clearly felt Shaq had the higher ceiling.

They drafted him No. 1 overall while Laettner went to the Minnesota Timberwolves at No. 3.

Both players were under consideration for the '92 Team USA Olympics roster, with one spot purposely left open for a college player to fill.

In the end, head coach Daly went for the more proven player in Laettner - a fair choice given he was a year older than Shaq and more established on the collegiate circuit.

Laettner didn't expect to play that much that summer and that's exactly how it panned out.

He averaged 4.8 points per game in his eight appearances as the Dream Team cruised to the gold medal.

Laettner was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for his role on the Dream Team, but after that summer his and O'Neal's career went in completely different trajectories.

Years later, O'Neal said that while he was frustrated to be left out of the Dream Team, he understood the decision.

“I was p***** off. I was jealous," O'Neal said in a radio interview during the 2012 NBA Finals.

"But then I had to come to the realization that I was a more explosive, more powerful player, but Christian Laettner was a little bit more fundamentally sound than I was. Plus he stayed all four years and graduated. … I just think it helped me grow as a player.”

Shaq's near inclusion on the Dream Team remains one of the great basketball 'what ifs'.

While the idea of Shaq linking up with MJ and Barkley is the stuff of hoop dreams, the reality is they didn't really need him to succeed.

Team USA won their games by an average of 43.8 points and scored more than 100 points every game en route to the gold medal.

They also averaged 117.3 points per game, an Olympic record, and would have destroyed any opposition they faced, with or without Shaq.

Now, the 2024 version of Team USA is looking to emulate what the Dream Team achieved 32 years ago.

LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant are currently in Paris, France for the Summer Games and looking to bring gold back to the US.

Steve Kerr's Team USA are bidding for their fifth straight Olympic gold medal and are the overwhelming favorites to do so.

They tipped off their campaign with a game against Nikola Jokic and Serbia, in what should have been a testing game.

However, the US, behind Durant's 23 points, cruised to a 110-84 victory to get their tourney off to the best possible start.

They will finish their group stage with games against South Sudan on July 31 and Puerto Rico on August 3.