AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Philadelphia coach Larry Brown said Thursday that Allen Iverson belongs on the 2004 Olympic team.

	Iverson

"Of course he does," Brown, who will also coach the Olympic team, said Thursday. "This is the best year he's ever had and he's getting better every game and he's done all the right things.

"I'm pretty confident things will work out for him. There's only been (five) names mentioned. I think he's in pretty good shape the way he's playing."

Sacramento's Mike Bibby was the latest player named to the team, an addition that drew critical and insulting comments from Shaquille O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers. Ray Allen of Seattle, Jason Kidd of New Jersey, Tracy McGrady of Orlando, San Antonio's Tim Duncan were the first four named to the team.

"How did Mike Bibby get on the team?" O'Neal said. "Any Cub Scout with Boy Scouts can do Boy Scoutish things. When (Bibby) was in the Cub Scouts, he was a Cub Scout. When he was with Vancouver, nobody heard about (him). Now that he's with Sacramento ... he's on the team. I ain't going.

"`And Allen Iverson isn't on the team? Why not? (U.S. coach) Larry Brown should have said, 'If he's not on the team, I'm not going.'"

Iverson said hearing that made him feel good.

"The most-dominant player in the league, for him to stay something like that, it was a great compliment," Iverson said after scoring just five points in a 113-85 loss at Detroit Thursday night. "I guess it says a lot about what I've done in my career."

When Iverson was asked whether he expects to be on the team, he said: "I don't care."

Brown said he wouldn't comment on O'Neal's thoughts about Bibby, but did enjoy his support of the Philadelphia shooting guard.

"I got a kick out of Shaq's comments about Allen," Brown said. "It was pretty neat. There are a lot of Allen fans in the league. We've got a lot of time before that's all said and done. The way he's playing, he's making a pretty good case for himself."

By choosing Bibby, the selection committee passed over several other guards -- notably Iverson and Houston's Steve Francis -- who have expressed a strong desire to play.