Shaquille O'Neal Takes On NBA Writer Who Questioned Michael Jordan's 1988 DPOY Award

Shaquille O'Neal defended his friend Michael Jordan Saturday afternoon when he said Yahoo! Sports Tom Haberstroh should stop diminishing the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award Jordan won in 1988. Earlier this month, Haberstroh revealed Jordan received preferential treatment for home games and the statisticians padded his defensive statistics to make it appear he accomplished more than. Jordan's former teammate, Scottie Pippen, also made the claim in a passage of his book in 2021. Shaq took exception to Haberstroh's report during a segment of The Big Podcast with Shaq. O'Neal did acknowledge, however, players get the benefit of the doubt more at home on close calls. "Unconfirmed, did you see them watch the game? I don't believe that. It's unconfirmed and it doesn't matter. Do they give extra love at home? They do. But, it doesn't matter. It's there, it's documented. Let it go, its unconfirmed, whoop de freaking doo," O'Neal said. "You want to impress me, go back and change it. Let it go, it's unconfirmed.