Michael Jordan has, popularly and for years, been believed to have deservedly won almost all the accolades a player could desire. But a recent article by Tom Haberstroh for Yahoo Sports stands to challenge it. Addressing “the authenticity of his off-the-charts steals and blocks numbers that season,” Haberstroh provides an analysis of 1987-88 Jordan — the year he was named Defensive Player of the Year. While that grows a hot topic, Shaquille O’Neal is here to offer his take.
In a recent episode of ‘The Big Podcast with Shaq‘, Adam Lefkoe asked the former LA Lakers star his opinion on the whole controversy. Shaq replied to this with his question along the lines of, who saw Haberstroh and the statistician watch the game. When the host decided to take the ‘nerd findings’ for the proof, the 4x NBA champ’s more conclusive answer to the controversy was, “it doesn’t matter,” stating that the allegations were just that — unconfirmed and haven’t earned his belief.
As per the report, MJ’s home court stats were 182% higher than those on the road. To break it down, Jordan recorded 4 steals and 2.1 blocks at home as opposed to 2.1 steals and 1.2 blocks on the road. The report thus alleges that the home statistician fabricated the numbers in MJ’s favor. Haberstroh further goes on to include extensive research to question the integrity. But Shaq is not in for it.
After dismissing the claims, the 4x champion posed an impossible challenge to the ones making these allegations. “It’s (stats) there. It’s documented. You want to impress me? Go back and change it…” he stated. The 15x All-Star star argued that if this were the case, then players like Pete Marovich, who shot behind the three, should now be given extra points for all the deep brain shots they got.
Shaq further stated the guy who brought Michael Jordan’s stat issue is now viral, but what is he going to do about his claims now? “Mr. Statistician face man? What you gonna do? Stop it… Let it go…” he added.
Interestingly, the claims wouldn’t be the first time seeing the light of day.
Scottie Pippen alleged fabrication of stats in Michael Jordan’s favor
In his book, ‘Unguarded’ released in 2021, Pip claimed the Chicago Bulls’ scorekeepers would inflate Mike’s stats. Pippen stated in his book of instances when his steals would be credited to Mike. He further emphasized that he could do nothing about this.
“No wonder in the nine full seasons we played together, he averaged more steals than me in every year except two,” Pip claimed. He also recalled an incident in his book, where a scorekeeper told Jordan, “See MJ, we take care of you”. Pippen believed this to be an attempt to further an already established legendary image of Michael Jordan. For once, one could consider that the 7x All Star has had some issues with his status in the Bulls. Pippen’s reaction after the release of ‘The Last Dance’ docuseries is one such example.