The Bulls improving their roster allowed MJ to become a two-way superstar.

The 1987-88 campaign is considered by many as the greatest individual season of Michael Jordan’s career. The young Chicago Bulls superstar won the NBA MVP award, All-Star MVP award, and NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. Among the three, however, MJ took pride in winning the latter.

“I’m very happy,” said Jordan. “All season, I’ve been bringing it to people’s attention that I wanted to be recognized for my defense, too. Leading the league in steals certainly helped.”

The Bulls gave MJ more help

Right from the get-go, Mike looked like a man on a mission. He opened the 1987-88 season with a six-steal performance in a win over the Philadelphia 76ers. In January 1988, MJ recorded a career-high and franchise-record 10 steals against the New Jersey Nets. However, he was just getting started.

That season, Jordan finished as the league’s steals leader, averaging 3.2 per game. If that wasn’t impressive enough, he also averaged 1.6 blocks en route to winning the DPOY award.

When asked about the uptick in his defensive numbers was caused, MJ mentioned the addition of Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, and Sam Vincent, which somewhat eased his scoring load.

“I had more energy for my defense this year because I had more help on offense,” Mike said. “It shows the value I have and the progress I’ve made.”

Jordan had a big motivation to win DPOY

But more than getting help, perhaps what drove MJ to chase the DPOY award that season was getting snubbed the previous year. During the 1986-87 campaign, Jordan became the first player in NBA history to record 200 steals and 100 blocks. Yet he only got one DPOY vote and did not make the All-Defensive Team.

“It wasn’t like I was hurt, but I was very disappointed,” the Bulls guard said about the snub. “People see me as just a scorer, somebody who shoots a lot and doesn’t do much else. I was determined to show my all-around game this season.”

Not only did Jordan show off his defensive brilliance in 1988, but he also proved his critics wrong. Early in his career, MJ was known only for his uncanny ability to score points. But after the 1987-88 campaign, everybody looked at him as a two-way superstar he continued to be throughout the rest of his NBA run.