Nick Wright Says Michael Jordan's 1988 Award Was Based On A Lie After Report Revealed Stat Discrepancies
Michael Jordan has few blemishes on his NBA career.
After winning six titles, he is widely considered the greatest player in league history. He may, however, face his first black eye.
A report by Yahoo! Sports' Tom Haberstroh revealed Jordan received favorable stat treatment at home versus the road in 1988 when he won Defensive Player of the Year. Nick Wright of Fox Sports 1 called the award into question based upon the disparities.
"I'm not saying that everything Michael Jordan won was based on a lie, but this one was," Wright said during a segment on "First Things First."
Jordan is the only player to win the scoring title and DPOY in the same season. The article shows his defensive statistics at home were almost double than the road. Dating to the 1982-83 season, when the award was established, Jordan's home vs away disparity in combined blocks and steals represents the largest of any DPOY award in NBA history.
Haberstroh says that this "reveals a substantial discrepancy which raises questions about the authenticity of of the off-the-charts steals and blocks numbers that season - and shining a light on an era that seemed particularly vulnerable to the hidden hand of homer bias."
Former Vancouver Grizzlies statistician Alex Rucker told Haberstroh he believed inflating certain statistics for the home team was a common practice in the NBA. In the article, Rucker said that hometown players were given the star treatment and benefit of the doubt when it came to stats.
Scott Salomon is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He can be reached at scottsalomon67@gmail.com