Short answers, pulled from the story.
Sports Illustrated labeled the forthcoming American roster the "Dream Team" on the cover of its issue dated the 18th of February 1991, before the squad was finalized. The nickname referred to the unprecedented gathering of active NBA stars, including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Charles Barkley.
Thomas was passed over for the final professional roster spot in favor of Clyde Drexler. It was widely believed that Michael Jordan made his participation conditional on Thomas being excluded, owing to the physical tactics Thomas's Detroit Pistons used against Jordan in the NBA playoffs. In his 2012 book "Dream Team," author Jack McCallum quotes Jordan as telling selection committee member Rod Thorn, "Rod, I don't want to play if Isiah Thomas is on the team," though Jordan denied naming Thomas directly in 2020.
Laettner's Duke Blue Devils won consecutive national championships in 1991 and 1992, and he was named the Naismith College Player of the Year. He also scored the game-winning basket at the buzzer in the 1992 NCAA Eastern Regional final. O'Neal's LSU team was eliminated in the second round of the 1992 tournament, and Laettner received the additional backing of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who was joining the Olympic staff as an assistant.
During the Olympic tournament in Barcelona, the Dream Team defeated its opponents by an average of 43.8 points per game. Their closest contest was the gold-medal game against Croatia, which they won 117-85, a 32-point margin. The team was the first to score more than 100 points in every Olympic game.
Johnson had retired from the Los Angeles Lakers in November 1991 after testing positive for HIV. He was selected for the Olympic squad and later described the invitation as "almost like a life saver," saying it was evidence he could still overcome the illness and live productively. The Australian Olympic delegation threatened to boycott the Games over his presence, but the threats generated more public support for Johnson rather than excluding him.
The number of international players in the NBA grew substantially in the decade after 1992. On opening day of the 1991-92 NBA season, there were 23 international players from 18 countries on NBA rosters. By the start of the 2011-12 season, that figure had risen to 74 players from 35 countries. International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch called the basketball tournament the most important aspect of the 1992 Barcelona Games.