Back In The Day NBA

Nick Wright Says Michael Jordan's 1988 Award Was Based On A Lie After Report Revealed Stat Discrepancies

Former NBA statistician says that home hometown stat keepers are taught to give hometown stars preferential treatment.

Scott Salomon

Jun 24, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Team 23XI owner Michael Jordan looks on from pit road during qualifying before the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 24, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Team 23XI owner Michael Jordan looks on from pit road during qualifying before the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports / Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

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

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Scott Salomon

SCOTT SALOMON

Scott Salomon joined FanNation on Sports Illustrated in April 2024 covering breaking news and analysis for the Miami Dolphins channel. In June he joined Inside the Heat and Back in the Day NBA. Scott is based in South Florida and has been covering the local and national sports scene for 35 years. Scott has covered and has been credentialed for the Super Bowl, the NFL Combine, various Orange Bowls and college football championship games. Scott was also credentialed for the NBA All-Star game and covered the Miami Heat during their first six seasons for USA TODAY. Scott is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Communication and the St. Thomas University School of Law. Scott has two sons and his hobbies include watching sports on television and binge watching shows on various streaming services. Twitter: @ScottSalomonNFL