Wilt Chamberlain once mentioned that rules were changed to stop him, while rules were changed to help Michael Jordan. It's one of those things that Chamberlain, and some other just accept as fact. I decided to look at NBA rules changes through history to see just how accurate Chamberlain's take was.
The only major rule change that was done to slow Chamberlain down was the widening of the lane before the 1964-65. There were a number of other rules changes, but they probably didn't have much affect on Wilt. So Wilt should've said that one rule was changed to slow him down, but Wilt wasn't known for his honesty. One rule brought up by Jordan detractors is the flagrant foul rule. Before the 1990-91 the penalty was increased for flagrant fouls, but what was the prior punishment, and how did it make things easier for Jordan. The flagrant foul was established in the NBA for the 1980-81 season, but all the rules history states is that the coach of the offended team could choose the free throw shooter. Punishment was increased in 1990, allowing the offended team to get two free throws, and possession of the ball, which equates to another offensive possession. Overall that rule change didn't have much affect on the league, as flagrant fouls weren't called that often, and played remained physical in the 90's. In fact it probably got more physical as players got bigger and stronger than they were in the 1980's. One rule that I've read being attributed to protecting Jordan from the Bad Boy Pistons was the rule against hand checking, but that rule wasn't added until the 1994 offseason, when Jordan was playing baseball, and after he won NBA 3 championships. The 3 point line was shortened at the top of the key starting with the 1994-95 season, and that helped Jordan's 3 point percentage, but Jordan wasn't playing when the change was made. That change lasted 3 seasons before it was changed back to it's original distance for the 1997-98 season. While there were some rules added in the mid to late 90s, they weren't estabhlised to help Michael Jordan. Those changes were made to help make the games higher scoring. The league scoring average was going down every season at that point, and league really wanted to increase the pace, and scoring of the game. One major proof of his is how rules were changed even when Jordan was retired. I mentioned a couple of them from the 1994 offseason. Jordan had the best seasons of his career before any of these rule changes were established.
Most rules were changed to help offense, and a few went against the offense, but the rules history doesn't back up this idea that the NBA changed the rules to help their golden boy win championships. It also doesn't show a pattern of rules being changed against Wilt Chamberlain.
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