It may be the most consequential Defensive Player of the Year award in NBA history.
In 1987-88, Michael Jordan became the first player ever to win the scoring title and the DPOY in the same season. To this day, the feat hasn’t been duplicated.
The DPOY award represented a certain validation for the 25-year-old phenom. Before Jordan was crowned, he was crushed. Drafted by the Chicago Bulls 40 years ago this week, Jordan had developed a certain level of notoriety for being too focused on scoring at the expense of winning. Fanning the flames was the fact that Jordan led the NBA in scoring the previous season but was swept in the first round against the Boston Celtics for a second straight year.