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Were Michael Jordan's Stats Inflated To Help Him Win 1988 DPOY Award? Latest Data Puts GOAT Status Under Scrutiny
Were Michael Jordan's Stats Inflated for 1988 DPOY Award? GOAT Status Under Scrutiny
Michael Jordan is often hailed as the greatest basketball player of all time. During the 1987-88 NBA season, Jordan became the first and only player in NBA history to win the scoring title, MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) in the same season. This is why Jordan's 1987-88 season is often hailed as the pinnacle of basketball brilliance.
However, a sensational report by Yahoo Sports’ Tom Haberstroh questions the legitimacy of the defensive stats Jordan averaged. A closer look at Jordan’s 1987-88 season reveals a substantial discrepancy between his home and road statistics, raising questions about the authenticity of his off-the-charts steals and blocks numbers that season. This report sheds light on an era where a substantial home team bias existed.
An NBA stat keeper blows the whistle
Alex Rucker, a former NBA stat keeper and executive, revealed that during the '90s, inflating certain box-score statistics for home players was common practice. Rucker’s training emphasized that star players like John Stockton or Michael Jordan received favorable calls on subjective stats, highlighting an unspoken part of the NBA’s marketing strategy.
According to the Yahoo! article, the data from the 80s and 90s era supports Rucker’s claims, showing significant disparities between home and road statistics, particularly for blocks and steals.
For instance, in the 1980s, home teams annually recorded about 800 more blocks and 450 more steals than road teams. This discrepancy has significantly reduced in the modern era due to improved auditing, real-time technology, and the established play-by-play era from the 1996-97 NBA season.
Michael Jordan’s alarming home-road stats disparity
In the 1987-88 NBA season, Jordan’s stats at home were notably higher than on the road. He averaged 4 steals and 2.1 blocks per game at home compared to 2.1 steals and 1.2 blocks on the road. This home-road disparity was unprecedented, with Jordan’s "stocks" (combined steals and blocks) being 82% higher at home.
Such a disparity was not seen in any other DPOY winner in NBA history. For instance, Jordan had 165 steals at home versus 94 on the road, a gap that was much larger than that of his peers. Similarly, his blocks were significantly higher at home, with 84 blocks compared to 47 on the road.
Red flags emerge
Video analysis of Jordan’s games from that season reveals discrepancies between recorded steals and the actual plays. For instance, a highlight reel of Jordan’s record-setting game against the New Jersey Nets shows only six steals, despite the box score crediting him with ten.
Furthermore, there was a detailed review of Jordan’s random five games where it was found that the box scores often credited Jordan with more steals than were evident from the game footage. For example, in a game against Atlanta, the official box score credited Jordan with five steals, but the film review showed only two legitimate steals.
The review of five games showed that Jordan was credited with 23 steals in box score but only 8 steals were apparent from the game footage. This suggests a significant inflation of Jordan’s defensive statistics.
Not just Jordan: The entire 80s and 90s era benefited from inflated stats
When Rucker was hired by the Utah Jazz, he received direct instructions from scorekeepers that certain plays should be recorded in favor of hometown stars like John Stockton. This implied a bias in favor of giving these players statistical benefits.
According to Rucker, scorekeepers tended to give the benefit of the doubt to home stars on ambiguous plays. For instance, if a player attempted a block and the ball fell short, then it might still be counted as a block for the star player who contests it.
Similarly, when a pass was deflected by one defender, and then intercepted by another defender, it was only the star player who would be credited with the steal. Similarly, assists were subjective judgments left to those recording the game.
Rucker viewed these practices as an unspoken part of the NBA's marketing strategy, aiming to generate highlights for national broadcasts like "SportsCenter" and capture the attention of a wide audience for “star players”.
ALSO READ: Fans Call Out Stephen A Smith For His Hypocrisy In LeBron James-Michael Jordan GOAT debate
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