May 20- Michael Jordan wins the 1991 and 1996 NBA MVP award
Updated: Jun 6, 2020
1991&1996- On this day in sports history, Michael Jordan was named the 1991 and 1996 NBA MVP. The 1991 award was his second MVP award with his first one coming in 1988. The 1989 and 1990 MVP award went to Magic Johnson. In addition to his MVP award, he was also named the Defensive player of the year. Over the course of the seasons, Jordan averaged 31.5 points, 6 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.7 steals, and 1 block per game. He also had his career high field goal percentage at 53.9%. Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won 61 games in the regular season which was then a franchise record. They defeated the Knicks, 76er’s, and the Pistons to reach the 1991 NBA Finals for the first time in their franchise history. The Pistons had defeated them in the playoffs the previous three seasons.They went on to defeat Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers to win the NBA Finals.
Michael Jordan won the 1996 NBA MVP award after receiving 96.5% of first place votes (109 of 113). This was his fourth NBA MVP award. Jordan averaged 30.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.2 steals, and 0.5 blocks a game over the season. The Bulls started out the season 41-3 before ending it with a 72-10 regular season record. The Bulls went on to only lose three games in the postseason. Jordan won his fourth NBA title after defeating the Supersonics in the Finals. He would go on to win one more NBA MVP award for a total of five in his career. This is second most in NBA history behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who won six.
Read yesterday’s blog post about what happened on May 19th in Sports History in 1912 when the American League President says that if the Detroit Tiger's players continue to protest Ty Cobb's suspension, they will be banned from baseball. https://www.sportsaday.com/post/may-19-tigers-told-if-they-continue-protest-of-cobb-s-suspension-they-will-be-banned-from-baseball
Sources:
NBA.com. “This Date In The NBA: May.” NBA.com, NBA, 24 Aug. 2017, www.nba.com/history/this-date-may/.
“Michael Jordan.” NBA Stats, stats.nba.com/player/893/career/.