During the 1987-88 NBA season, the legendary Michael Jordan became the first player ever to win the scoring title and the Defensive Player of the Year award in the same season, validating himself not only as a scorer but as a dominant all-around basketball player, as well. But after a recent analysis of that season, it sounds like he may not have actually been deserving of that honor.
On Thursday, Yahoo Sports published a deep dive into that 1987-88 season in which they revealed the practice of home scorekeepers inflating stats on behalf of star players, and it sure seems like Michael Jordan benefitted greatly from this practice, leading to the massive numbers that helped him win the Defensive Player of the Year Award.
“Breaking out his numbers into game location, we find that Jordan averaged a mind-boggling 4 steals and 2.1 blocks at home. But on the road, those numbers shrunk to a more normal rate of 2.1 steals and 1.2 blocks,” Tom Haberstrah wrote for Yahoo Sports.
“Put simply, Jordan’s steals and blocks nearly doubled at home compared to the road. To account for possible uneven playing time effects, we can look at per-36-minute numbers for a truer portrayal of the phenomenon. Jordan’s combined block and steals numbers (‘stocks’) were a whopping 82 percent higher at home (5.5 stocks per 36 minutes) than on the road (3.0).”
The disparity in steals and blocks between home and away games is the largest in the history of the NBA with Jordan totaling 182% more at home than on the road. The article notes that a similar thing happened in terms of his blocks per game on the home and road, though on a smaller scale.
According to the article, Jordan’s numbers seemed to return to normal in previous seasons after he won the Defensive Player of the Year award, adding validity to the claim that his numbers were juiced purely just to get him the award.
Further analysis of some individual games seems to prove that Jordan’s stats were indeed inflated. In a six-game sample of the season, Jordan was awarded 28 steals, while he had only 12 based on the actual footage that was reviewed. And in one game, Jordan was awarded more steals on the stat sheet than the opposing team even had total turnovers, which is statistically impossible.
Needless to say, this is pretty horrible news for Jordan and his legacy as the greatest all-around player of all time, and it led to a lot of reactions on social media.
Yahoo sports reviewed Jordan’s DPOY games, in a 6 games sample:
– Jordan was awarded 28 steals, while he had only 12 based on the footage.
– In one game, Jordan was given more steals than the other team had turnovers!
NBA, NIKE & media went all in to create a fraudulent GOAT. https://t.co/MHvOnjbSGn
— Sports Central (@CarmeloJreal) June 20, 2024
Basically, Chicago scorekeepers were juicing tf out of Jordan’s numbers in 1988, leading to the biggest home vs away disparity in combined blocks and steals of any DPOY in NBA history. His stock numbers were 82% higher at home than on the road. I’m crying dawg
https://t.co/JrBVIK5cTJ pic.twitter.com/JchUKiww4J
—
(@MaskedInLA) June 20, 2024
Expansion? Fake Stats? MJ was great but we can stop putting him next to Bron. His career just isn’t as good. https://t.co/WJCk2HPWEg
— EerieDawgs (@216SuperBrowns) June 20, 2024
This is a literal scandal
Fraud stats? Fixed awards?
Now watch them try to sweep it under the rug https://t.co/mGHByMJXSt
—
(@twnkiehuntr) June 20, 2024
Michael Jordan had his stats inflated from his own scorekeepers to win him awards???? MJ was cheating the game????
They’ve got evidence. They watched the games. They have people admitting they inflated stats. Absolutely insane. https://t.co/w5oRKQfysA
— coop (@LocalLegendCoop) June 20, 2024
OH YA DON'T SAY!!! https://t.co/lyDcfNl0he
— nick wright (@getnickwright) June 20, 2024
YES lmao YESSSS. The gap between Jordan and Bron is full of mythology. https://t.co/CQHXTR4IMs
— Hub (@KenHeLive) June 20, 2024
Jordan was gifted awards he didn't deserve
LeBron has been robbed of awards he deserved
It's all about protecting the "Ghost in Chicago" https://t.co/M9q1CeJd86
— ClosetedBronsexual (@AllThingsBron) June 20, 2024
This is insane. Are you still wondering why the NBA hides the full game footage for most of Jordan's games? Here is your answer. https://t.co/1qFOUCxYEm
— Sports Central (@CarmeloJreal) June 20, 2024
The NBA told Yahoo Sports that it has no plans to validate Jordan’s stats from that season.
