Being a member of the greatest basketball team ever assembled, also known as The Dream Team, was such a great honor. This was why almost every college player at the time vied for the only spot on the roster. The lucky college basketball standout who made it was Duke’s Christian Laettner, a selection Georgetown’s Alonzo Mourning wasn’t happy about.

In all fairness, Mourning could’ve ticked the boxes as he was a tenacious defender and fierce competitor. Well aware that his traits embodied what The Dream was all about, Zo strongly believed he deserved to be there instead of Laettner.

“I thought I should have been the college player on the ’92 team, truthfully,” Mourning once said via Bleacher Report. “I mean, Christian Laettner was a good player, but I felt like I actually could have made an impact on that Olympic team.”

Zo knew he’d make The Dream Team II

Despite the disappointment, Mourning went on and took it out on the NBA. Drafted by the Charlotte Hornets as their 2nd overall pick, Zo broke into the scene with his gritty and highly physical style of play.

In his first 78 games in the league, Mourning logged a remarkable 21 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game. How’s that for a rookie?

He finished the 1992-93 season as a Rookie of the Year candidate and, more importantly, as an NBA rising star. In the summer of 1994, Team USA mustered what would later be known as The Dream Team II. This time, Zo was confident he would be included in the team. And that’s exactly what happened.

“But when it came to Dream Team II, I was just coming off a dream rookie season where I hit that series-winner against the Celtics, and I knew this team was going to have some younger guys. So, yeah, I was expecting to get invited,” Mourning reflected.

Pippen didn’t think Laettner was the best pick

As it turned out, Mourning wasn’t the only one who thought Laettner shouldn’t have been in The Dream Team. Scottie Pippen also believed that Laettner’s skill set wasn’t at par with the level of basketball The Dream Team was on.

Pip and Zo had a similar take on Laettner’s Dream Team selection. However, Pippen didn’t see Mourning as the best fit for the job. Instead, Scottie was rooting for his fellow NBA veteran Dominique Wilkins.

“I agreed with each pick except Laettner,” Pippen wrote in his book, “Unguarded.” “I didn’t think he would fit in, and I was right… My preference was Dominique Wilkins.”

Looking back, Mourning may not have been a part of the historic Dream Team that dominated the international stage, but he wound up becoming one of the best players of that era. On top of that, Zo also undeniably had a better NBA career than Laettner.