Exclusive bonus content: Michael Jordan's questionable stats
Bonus video, analytics and archive content from my Yahoo Sports feature on Michael Jordan.
If you haven’t read my reported feature for Yahoo Sports on Michael Jordan’s questionable statistics behind his extraordinary 1987-88 season, stop what you’re doing now.
There’s a lot there.
It might be the biggest story I’ve written. I’ve been working on that feature for months. To that end, I want to thank my Yahoo Sports editors/colleagues/bosses, especially the story’s primary editor Matt Wong, for helping bring it home. It took a lot of patience, energy and care.
And there’s still so much more that didn’t fit in that 6,000-word space.
In this post, I’m going to give you some bonus content and a look behind the scenes. Some video, some fancy analytics and some press clippings that you won’t find in that long-form piece.
The actual game film
In the Yahoo Sports piece, I mentioned the dubious accounting behind the February 15, 1988 game against the Atlanta Hawks. The box score said there were 10 steals by the Bulls on 10 Hawks turnovers, which should immediately make you signal for a timeout Zach Morris style.
The implication here is that every single one of the Hawks turnovers was a live-ball turnover, an event that can be credited to a player for a steal. But watching the film, it was clear there were multiple dead-ball turnovers. And then excess Jordan steals. Something was up.
Here was another game.
November 20, 1987.
The box score said the Hawks had 10 turnovers.
The Bulls had six steals: Michael Jordan 4, Sedalle Threatt 1, Rory Sparrow 1.
We watched the game and put together a reel of the 10 turnovers.
You tell me if you can find Jordan’s four steals: