Though perhaps he drove to the hoop a bit less than earlier in his career and lacked a drop of his previous explosiveness and reckless abandon, Jordan was a far more effective and controlled jump shooter and three-point scoring threat and remained an outstanding all-around contributor. Besides his league-leading 30.4 points per game, Jordan averaged 6.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.20 steals in 37.7 minutes per game, ranking third in the league in steals. Jordan scored 40 points or more nine times, pouring in a NBA season-high 53 points against Detroit on March 7. He also had season highs of 16 rebounds at New Jersey on March 16 and eight assists against New York on Dec. 6. In the All-Star Game, he played just 22 minutes but edged out Shaquille O'Neal for MVP honors by scoring 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting and grabbing four rebounds.