"Do they give extra love at home? They do" - Shaq says he knew Michael Jordan's numbers were inflated

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Journalist Tom Haberstroh published an article for Yahoo Sports last week questioning Michael Jordan's 1988 Defensive Player of the Year award by claiming that MJ's home stats were falsified. Naturally, he drew the ire of the millions who continue to worship the Chicago Bulls legend.

The Big Podcast co-host Adam Lefkoe brought up the topic to Shaquille O'Neal. Surprisingly, the legendary big man agreed that NBA players get a small statistical boost when they play in front of their home fans.

"I knew they were," Shaq said. "I sit there and watched John Stockton's last game where he threw it to a guy, guy took 10 dribbles and two steps, and he was able to break the assists record. Do they give extra love at home? They do. But it doesn't matter. It's there. It's documented."

Stockton's unbreakable record

John Stockton's all-time assists tally is considered one of the most unbreakable records in the NBA. However, his achievement was once challenged when former NBA scorekeeper Alex Rucker claimed that the league allowed stars like the Utah Jazz point guard to get special treatment when it came to counting stats.

"There's a discussion, 'That wasn't an assist, that was a pass.'…And the majority opinion by a mile was, 'Oh no, that's definitely an assist. It's John Stockton.'... It's up to us, in very small part, as statisticians, to support or reinforce stars and excitement," Rucker revealed.

Last week, Haberstroh made a similar accusation by pointing to a massive discrepancy in Jordan's steals and blocks in 1988 when he played at home and on the road. According to his study, Mike's stocks (steals plus blocks) when playing in Chicago were 182% higher than when the Bulls played on the road.

Let it go

Shaq added that even if Haberstroh's research is correct, the stats are already written in the history books. Unless somebody is willing to officially challenge MJ's numbers and change the record books, the article is useless.

"You want to impress me? Go back and change it," O'Neal said. "If you go back and change the Jordan stats, let's go back and all the guys, Havlicek and Pete Maravich all the guys that shot behind the three. Let's give them an extra point for all the deep brain shots they got if you want to do that. Let it go. It's unconfirmed."

Even if Haberstroh somehow alters the stats on record, it's not going to change who won DPOY that year. It's also not going to change everyone's perception of Mike. To his fans, he will always be the greatest basketball player ever. A single article won't change their perception.