1988 NBA Award Winners: Michael Jordan Won The MVP And Defensive Player Of The Year Awards In The Same Season

The 1987-88 NBA season was the beginning of budding superstars and the continuous nature of dynasty ball clubs fighting for championships. Names such as Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing were starting to make a name for themselves in the highest fashion. As for the teams, the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, and Detroit Pistons continued their dogfight toward being the best in the league. The 42nd season of the NBA did not disappoint when it came to the awards and championship finish.

That is why the 1987-88 NBA award winners were a special time, especially for the beginning legacy of Michael Jordan. By the end of the season, Jordan was the best two-way player in the league and had the hardware to back it up. When looking back at his accomplishments, one could say that this was the beginning of it all. As for others, Magic Johnson put a stamp on his resume for being the greatest point guard ever, while James Worthy lived up to being a former No. 1 overall draft pick.

These are the 1987-88 NBA award winners.

Most Valuable Player – Michael Jordan

2nd Place: Larry Bird, 3rd Place: Magic Johnson

After a few years into the league, Jordan was already becoming a familiar name around the NBA. There was talk about Jordan being one of the best players in the league. It wasn’t until this season that Jordan became the best player in the league. Jordan secured 47 first-place votes and defeated both Larry Bird’s and Magic Johnson’s 16 votes, respectively, to earn 665 MVP votes. Bird came in second place with 527 points, while Johnson had 508. Charles Barkley was the only other player to receive a first-place vote.

Jordan led the league in scoring with 35.0 points per game. He also added 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 3.2 steals, and 1.6 blocks. Jordan also shot 53.5% from the field and led the league with 21.2 win shares, which was nearly five more win shares than the second-best player in the standings. For Bird, he averaged 29.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists, while Johnson was second in the league in assists with 11.9 to go with 19.6 points and 6.2 rebounds.

Defensive Player Of The Year – Michael Jordan

2nd Place: Mark Eaton, 3rd Place: Hakeem Olajuwon

As mentioned, Jordan was the best defender in the league, as measured by his 3.2 steals per game. With that said, Jordan also gave the Bulls 1.6 blocks per game. There were only two players on the MVP voting that averaged at least 1.0 blocks per game, and the other was Barkley at 1.3. A guard averaging at least one block a game was not something that normally happened, yet along with leading all MVP voters.

That was a theme when the media voted for the Defensive Player of the Year because this featured some strong shot blockers. That included Mark Eaton finishing second despite averaging 3.7 blocks and Hakeem Olajuwon averaging 12.1 rebounds, 2.1 steals, and 2.7 blocks per game. Jordan received 37 first-place votes, while Eaton had nine and Olajjwon had seven. In the end, his steals and blocks were so special for his position that they helped propel him to the top.

Rookie Of The Year – Mark Jackson

2nd Place: Greg Anderson, Winston Garland, Kenny Smith

The 22-year-old for the New York Knicks easily won the Rookie of the Year voting. Out of 80 votes, Jackson claimed 77 votes, while Anderson, Garland, and Smith tied for second place with one vote each. Jackson averaged a double-double as a rookie by supplying 13.6 points and 10.6 assists. Jackson played 39.6 minutes per game as a starter, while he also played solid defense with 2.5 steals per game. Out of all rookies, he led the category in winning shares.

The rest of the rookie class had solid rookie seasons based on average NBA standards. Anderson gave the Spurs 11.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks. Garland gave the Warriors 12.4 points, 6.4 assists, and 1.7 steals. Meanwhile, Smith gave the Kings 13.8 points, 7.5 assists, and 1.5 steals. Jackson was better than the rest for this season.

Sixth Man Of The Year – Roy Tarpley

2nd Place: Thurl Bailey

The way the media saw it back then, there were only two supreme bench players in the NBA. Roy Tarpley was a 23-year-old bench product for the Mavericks that averaged a double-double. That helped him push past Thurl Bailey to claim 67 of the 80 votes to claim the Sixth Man of the Year Award. Tarpley averaged 13.5 points and 11.8 rebounds, but he also gave the team 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks. Bailey shot 50.0% from the field in 28.5 minutes of action.

As for Bailey, he averaged more points and played six more minutes. In 34.2 minutes, Bailey averaged 19.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks. That included averaging 49.2% from the field. His free-throw shooting (82.6% was better than Tarpley’s (74.0%). In the end, the double-double was a major piece, as was the number of win shares, as Tarpley (7.8) bested Bailey (6.8) there as well.

Most Improved Player – Kevin Duckworth

2nd Place: John Stockton, 3rd Place: Mark Price

When you look at the jump by the numbers, Duckworth was a great choice. After playing 14 games for the Spurs during the 1986-87 season, Duckworth was acquired by the Trail Blazers. In 78 games, Duckworth went from averaging 8.7 minutes to 28.5 minutes to see a massive production increase. Duckworth went from 3.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, and shooting 40.0% to averaging 15.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, and shooting 49.6% from the field. That helped Duckworth secure 33 of the 80 first-place votes.

Both Stockton and Price made it a closer race. Stockton received 15 first-place votes after averaging 14.7 points, 13.8 assists, and 3.0 steals. Stockton led the league in assists this season. This came after he averaged 7.9 points, 8.2 assists, and 2.2 steals the previous season. As for Price, he received 11 first-place votes after averaging 16.0 points, 6.0 assists, and 1.2 steals. The year before saw Price average 6.9 points, 3.0 assists, and 0.6 steals in his rookie season.

Coach Of The Year – Doug Moe

Moe was not a newbie when it came to coaching. Moe came into the league as an assistant with the Nuggets in 1974 and spent time there until 1976. He spent time as the Spurs’ head coach from 1976 to 1980 before he was hired as the Nuggets coach in 1980, which is why this was extra special as everything came full circle. Moe spent 10 seasons with the team where his high-octane offense led the league in scoring six of his 10 seasons.

For this season, Moe led the Nuggets to a franchise record 54 wins. The Nuggets won the Midwest Division and were the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. With Alex English and Fat Lever, the team was able to hold off the Dallas Mavericks (53-29) in a magical season. However, the Mavericks defeated the Nuggets in the second round of the playoffs 4-2 to end their season.

NBA Champions – Los Angeles Lakers

Before the season, head coach Pat Riley promised the fanbase that the Lakers would repeat as NBA champions. With a hard-fought seven-game series over the Pistons, the team delivered on that promise. The Lakers won 62 games to claim the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. After sweeping the San Antonio Spurs in the first round, the Lakers had to win three straight seven-game series to keep on winning.

The Lakers defeated the Jazz in seven games to set up a matchup with the Mavericks where neither team won a game on the road. The Lakers won all four games at home and moved on to the NBA Finals thanks to 28 points from James Worthy in Game 7. In the Finals, the Lakers trailed the Pistons 3-2 before winning the final two games. “Big Game James’ ‘ lived up to his name with two special nights in front of 17,505 fans in Game 6 and 7.

Finals MVP – James Worthy

Worth had a Finals to remember where he led the team in scoring in all four games that resulted in wins. Worth scored 26 points in the team’s 108-96 win in Game 2. Worthy then led the team in scoring (24 points) and rebounding (9 rebounds) in the team’s 99-86 Game 3 win. The Lakers then trailed 3-2 before heading back to Los Angeles, and the Lakers relied on Worthy to show up once again.

Worthy scored 28 points in Game 6 in a close 103-102 victory. That helped the Lakers overcome a monstrous 43-point, 8-assist night from Isiah Thomas. Worthy then had the game of his life in Game 7 with 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists to push the Lakers past the Pistons 108-105. For the series, Worthy averaged 22.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists to win his first Finals MVP despite winning his third championship with the Lakers.

1987-88 Season – All-Star Game MVP, All-NBA Teams, All-Rookie Teams, All-Defensive Teams

All-Star Game MVP – Michael Jordan

All-NBA First Team – Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley

All-NBA Second Team – Karl Malone, Dominique Wilkins, Clyde Drexler, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing

All-NBA Third Team – None

All-Rookie First Team – Greg Anderson, Armen Gilliam, Mark Jackson, Derrick McKey, Kenny Smith

All-Rookie Second Team – None

All-Defensive First Team – Michael Cooper, Michael Jordan, Rodney McCray, Kevin McHale, Hakeem Olajuwon

All-Defensive Second Team – Fat Lever, Karl Malone, Buck Williams, Mark Eaton, Patrick Ewing, Alvin Robertson

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