Unveiling the Controversy: Michael Jordan’s 1987-88 Season scrutinized for Best Defender Award

The 1987-88 season was absolutely unique for Michael Jordan. Heavenly. Probably one of the greatest individual displays ever by a basketball player. That course, His Airness, still without rings in his private account, won practically all the possible awards: MVP, Best Defender, All Star MVP, Top Scorer, Slam Dunk Contest champion, leader in steals, Best NBA Team and Best Defensive Quintet. It was the first time that someone combined the Most Valuable Player trophy with the Best Defender trophy simultaneously in the same season, a milestone that was later equaled by Hakeem Olajuwon (1993-94) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (2019-20). And also the first time someone won the title of Top Scorer and Best Defender, or who averaged over 30 points and 3 steals. It was an absolute madness that the shooting guard himself set himself as a goal, since he wanted to combine both trophies in the same campaign, something motivated by the anger caused by the fact that Michael Cooper won the award the previous year. Something considered by Jordan as an affront to himself.

In 1987-88, Jordan had the following statistics: 35 points (the previous season he went to 37.1), 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 3.2 steals and 1.6 blocks. He surpassed 30 points on 41 occasions, 40 on 14 and 50 on four, with a maximum of 59 against the Pistons… who then eliminated them in the playoffs, in the Conference semifinals, in the first of the three consecutive defeats that the Bad Boys infringed on those Bulls. He also had 13 double-doubles and 2 triple-doubles, in addition to shooting over 53% from the field. His best rebounds were 13, assists were 13, steals were 10 (!!) and blocks were 5, something he achieved on two occasions. A wonderful season that certified that we were facing the best player in the world despite the fact that the Chicago entity, then coached by Doug Collins, did not manage to qualify for the ring. Some frying was missing for that and it would arrive shortly after.

However, the season was not without controversy. In the NBA, where the narratives are constant and there is no one who escapes the scrutiny of public opinion, much less the great legends, everything has its share of fans and detractors, of fans and followers who are not so fans. The journalist and analyst Tim Haberstroh (Yahoo Sports) has been in charge of preparing a detailed report to question Jordan’s Best Defender award. Something that Scottie Pippen has already done, although without providing such detailed data, who has tired of criticizing the man who was then his partner in appearances or his autobiography, making evident the enormous distance between the two. A topic that is not the first time that he has been highlighted, but that now insists on a possible rigging so that Jordan could win the trophy, making history along the way.

According to Haberstroh’s report, Jordan’s numbers in steals and blocks were different at home than on the road, and it was the table that manipulated and inflated these types of statistics. What’s more, the calculation is that the difference was 187% between steals and blocks. Jordan recorded 165 steals at home and 94 on the road, a gap of 71 steals, with the second closest being 47 by Alvin Robertson. He’s not even close to that number. In terms of blocks, he went 87 at the United Center and 47 away from there. At home he would have been eighth in the competition. As a visitor, the 21st. Jordan averaged 4 steals and 2.1 blocks at home that season. But away from home, those numbers were almost halved: 2.1 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.

More. Jordan’s cumulative numbers (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 away from home or at home, using 36-minute statistics helps cover the playing time factor, as Haberstroh points out. The 182% disparity between playing at home and away represents a massive change in numbers. No winner of the Best Defender award came close to that spectacular one. We found the closest, in fact, in the following season, 1988-89: 159%. An impressive fact.

Who was responsible?

Reports indicate that Bob Rosenberg was in charge of the scoring table at the United Center and that he also had a close relationship with Jordan, who constantly came over to look at his data and ensure that the newspapers talked about him before anyone else. This man was also for several years in charge of maintaining the statistics of the White Sox, the Bears and the Blackhawks, natural teams from the city of Chicago. What’s more, that same season Jordan reproached Rosenberg for not telling him that he was 2 points behind Wilt Chamberlain in the All Star Game, which was being held in Chicago that year. The record was 42 points and the guard stayed at 40. Something similar, by the way, was said about Jaren Jackson recently, when he won the Best Defender award. They called it home cooking. Cook at home. Fixing at home.

Rosenberg acknowledged in the Chicago Tribune that Jordan gave him signals during games and admitted to having helped him improve certain statistics, although without clarifying how. He was also accused of, for example, inflating Dennis Rodman’s rebounding statistics. In a game against the Hawks that same season, it was said that there were three dead balls by the Atlanta team that were attributed to Jordan as steals. The final statistics showed 10 losses by the visitors and 10 thefts by the locals, something almost impossible due to loose balls, fouls in attack… which count on one side but not on the other. A slight suspicion surrounding an archetype of greatness like the Bulls star, who retired as a true legend and is still considered today by many as the best player in NBA history. But of course, for the best there are even more of these types of debates. And everything is called into question. Always. For some, it’s part of the fun of the sport. Others think differently, of course. It’s what it has.

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2024-06-22 10:04:26
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