 In 1988 , Jordan was honored with the NBA 's Defensive Player of the Year Award and became the first NBA player to win both the Defensive Player of the Year and MVP awards in a career ( since <unk> by <unk> Olajuwon , David Robinson , and Kevin <unk> ; Olajuwon is the only player other than Jordan to win both during the same season ) . In addition he set both seasonal and career records for blocked shots by a guard , and combined this with his ball @-@ <unk> ability to become a standout defensive player . He ranks third in NBA history in total steals with 2 @,@ <unk> , trailing John Stockton and Jason <unk> . Jerry West often stated that he was more impressed with Jordan 's defensive contributions than his offensive ones . He was also known to have strong eyesight ; broadcaster Al Michaels said that he was able to read baseball box scores on a 27 @-@ inch television clearly from about 50 feet away . 
