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Michael Jordan's case as the greatest player in NBA history is strong. But instead of falling into the endless GOAT debate, this article will touch on one of Jordan's best abilities that isn't always highlighted, even by his biggest defenders: defense.
When the Defensive Player of the Year award was introduced in 1982-83, then-Milwaukee Bucks guard Sidney Moncrief won the award in its first two years.
Alvin Robertson and Michael Cooper won the award in 1985-86 and 1986-87, respectively, after Mark Eaton won it in the 1984-85 season. Guards won the DPOY award four times during the award's first five years, and Michael Jordan made it five out of six at the end of the 1987-88 season.
Michael Jordan's Top 3 finishes in NBA DPOY award voting
That year, Jordan won the MVP and the DPOY awards, becoming the first to win both trophies during his career and also the first of three to win both in the same year (Hakeem Olajuwon and Giannis Antetokounmpo did it afterward).
Since 1988, the only guard to win the DPOY was Gary Payton in 1995-96.
Going back to Jordan and the DPOY, when he took the trophy in 1988, he finished ahead of Eaton and Hakeem Olajuwon. Jordan was obviously a great defender, and he made the All-Defensive first team a record nine times.
But how close was a prime Jordan to becoming a multiple Defensive Player of the Year award winner? This article looks at the DPOY voting during his career and checks his three highest finishes in the voting, including the year he won.
No. 3: 1991-92 – 3rd
The 1991-92 season saw the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan working toward repeating their success from the previous year. Chicago beat the LA Lakers in the 1991 NBA Finals and started their incredible 1990s dynasty.
Jordan, the reigning MVP and Finals MVP, was a beast. He averaged a league-high 30.1 points per game (winning his sixth scoring title in a row) and also added 6.4 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 2.3 steals and 0.9 blocks per game.
He also led the league in Player Efficiency Rating and Win Shares, while also finishing fifth in Defensive Win Shares and sixth in Defensive Box Plus/Minus.
Jordan won the third MVP of his career in 1991-92 and finished third in the Defensive Player of the Year award voting. In that vote, he tied teammate Scottie Pippen behind winner David Robinson and second-placed Dennis Rodman.
No. 2: 1992-93 – 2nd
After winning back-to-back titles and launching their dynasty, Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls were looking to win their third consecutive championship and become the first team since Bill Russell's Boston Celtics to win at least three titles in a row.
Jordan understood the task and had another great regular season before displaying his greatest performance in a single Finals series against Charles Barkley's Phoenix Suns.
In the regular season, Jordan averaged 32.6 points (winning his seventh scoring title in a row), 6.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game in 78 appearances. Moreover, he made 49.5% of his field goals, led the league in steals per game (2.8) and made 83.7% of his free throws.
While he won his third straight championship with Chicago and his third Finals MVP trophy, regular-season awards evaded Jordan in 1992-93.
He finished third in the MVP voting behind Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon, who narrowly edged Jordan. For the Defensive Player of the Year award, Jordan finished tied with David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs) for second place, but the pair of Hall of Fame members were far off Olajuwon's tally of first-place votes (73 to nine).
No. 1: 1987-88 – 1st
Michael Jordan won his first scoring title in 1986-87, and he also proved to be an opportunistic defender, with an average of 2.9 steals per game (then a career high).
Jordan averaged a career-best 37.1 ppg in 1986-87. He followed it up by averaging 35 ppg, along with 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and a league-and career-high 3.2 steals per game in 1987-88.
Jordan's numbers in 1987-88 and the Bulls' 50-32 record helped him win the MVP award for the first time, and he also won the DPOY award.
Jordan's defense was huge that year, with advanced stats on his side, as well as the eye test. He finished sixth in Defensive Rating, third in Defensive Win Shares, first in Defensive Box Plus/Minus, first in steals and steals per game and even ranked 14th in blocks per game.
He won the DPOY award with 37 first-place votes, well ahead of Mark Eaton's nine votes and Hakeem Olajuwon's seven.
Guess the Lakers players!
