Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports
Michael Jordan is widely considered as the best player to ever play the game of basketball. A 6’6″ shooting guard, MJ was a class above all and it was pretty much visible from the get-go as well. In a game which was dominated by centers and power forward, it was Jordan who showed the teams that guards can get it done as well.
With an insane shot-making ability, physicality, feel for the game, MJ was probably the most skilled player in the game. His achievements also speak for themselves. 6 NBA titles, 5 MVP trophies, 6 Finals MVP and 10 scoring titles. While there is no doubting that Jordan was an incredible scorer, sometimes people forget that MJ was a fantastic defender making it to 9 time All-Defensive teams.
While seeing a top scoring Jordan in All-Defensive teams was common, in the 1987-88 Jordan went absolutely nuclear. Almost averaging 35 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds along with 1.6 blocks and 3.2 steals per game, MJ showed the best of both worlds in the 1987-88 season. Although he did win another scoring title, it was his DPOY win, which really stood out.
His incredible numbers offensively and defensively led to Chicago finishing the season with a respectable record of 50 wins and 32 losses. Although the team did have the likes of Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen on their side, at the time both the players were on the bench, meaning Jordan had to do the majority of the heavy lifting.
Given his incredible performances in the season where he was NBA’s scoring champion and was the DPOY as well, MJ was rightly awarded with the MVP trophy that season.
Till date, no one else has been able to recreate this incredible achievement and as legendary as his career was, this remains as yet another feather among many in Jordan’s cap.