Is Michael Jordan’s 1987-88 DPOY justified? New report claims Bulls legend’s stats were falsified

Is Michael Jordan’s 1987-88 DPOY justified? New report claims Bulls legend’s stats were falsified originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

From the 1987-88 season, Bulls legend Michael Jordan added an imperative bullet point to his loaded résumé, winning the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

Not only did he solidify himself as the league’s best offensive player and scorer, but he rounded out the arguments about his all-encompassing abilities by earning himself the title of the NBA’s best defensive player. No player has ever led the league in scoring and won the title as the league’s best defensive player in the same season.

But is Jordan’s defensive accolade justified? Yahoo Sports Tim Haberstroh recently pulled the curtain back on statistical issues from Jordan’s monstrous 1987 season. They claim some of his statistics were falsified from a homer bias.

In essence, the long-form story explains the stark contrast between Jordan’s defensive statistics at home versus on the road. They’re appalling. The disparity between blocks and steals between home and away games is a whopping 182% difference.

During that 1987-88 season, Jordan recorded 165 steals at home and 94 on the road. The 71-steal gap blew away that season’s competition, with the closest gap to Jordan’s being 47 steals from Alvin Robertson’s splits.

Jordan’s blocks at home that season ballooned to 87, too, which is much higher than the 47 blocks he recorded on the road. His home blocks finished 8th in the NBA, while his road blocks ranked 21st in the league.

Jordan averaged an Earth-shattering 4 steals and 2.1 blocks at home that season. But on the road, those numbers were nearly cut in half, to 2.1 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.

Jordan’s stocks (steals and blocks numbers combined) finished at a whopping 5.5 per 36 minutes at home compared to 3.0 on the road. To eliminate the variable of playing time on the road versus at home, using 36-minute statistics helps cover the playing time factor.

As aforementioned, Jordan’s 182% disparity between home and road stocks represents a massive change in numbers. No winner of the Defensive Player of the Year…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michael-jordans-1987-88-dpoy-214157901.html

Author : NBC Sports Chicago

Publish date : 2024-06-21 22:11:54

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