News from June 12. Steve Smith (SA) won the Sportsmanship Award. Smith received 65 of the 126 media votes. The voters voted on the division winners, who had been selected earlier by 5 former NBA players. Player Votes Steve Smith (SA) ....... 65 P.J. Brown (Cha) ....... 28 LaPhonso Ellis (Mia) ... 22 Shawn Marion (Pho) ..... 11 USA Basketball named Elton Brand (LAC) and Ben Wallace (Det) to the 2002 Men's USA Championship Team, completing the roster. Nick Collison (Kansas) was named as an alternate. The team will compete in the World Championships August 29 - September 8 in Indianapolis. 2002 USA Basketball Men's World Championship Team Player Pos Ht Wt B-day College Exp Ray Allen (Mil) ....... G 6-5 205 7/20/75 Connecticut'97 6 Elton Brand (LAC) ..... F 6-8 265 3/11/79 Duke'01 3 Antonio Davis (Tor) ... F-C 6-9 230 10/31/68 UTEP'90 9 Michael Finley (Dal) .. G-F 6-7 215 3/6/73 Wisconsin'95 7 Jason Kidd (NJ) ....... G 6-4 212 3/23/73 California'96 8 Raef LaFrentz (Dal) ... C 6-11 240 5/29/76 Kansas'98 4 Shawn Marion (Pho) .... F 6-7 215 5/7/78 UNLV'00 3 Andre Miller (Cle) .... G 6-2 200 3/19/76 Utah'99 3 Reggie Miller (Ind) ... G 6-7 195 8/24/65 UCLA'87 15 Jermaine O'Neal (Ind) . F 6-11 230 10/13/78 Eau Claire HS 6 Paul Pierce (Bos) ..... F 6-6 230 10/13/77 Kansas'99 4 Ben Wallace (Det) ..... F 6-9 240 9/10/74 Virginia Union'96 6 Alternatives: Jason Williams (Duke) Nick Collison (Kansas) Head Coach: George Karl (Mil) Assistants: Gregg Popovich (SA) Mike Montgomery (Stanford) Kelvin Sampson (Oklahoma) LAL 113, NJ 107 - at NJ Robert Horry (LAL) had 12 points and 6 assists. Shaquille O'Neal (LAL) had 34 points on 12-20 FG and 10-16 FT and 10 rebounds. Kobe Bryant (LAL) had 25 points including 9-11 FT, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists. Derek Fisher (LAL) had 13 points and 5 rebounds. Devean George (LAL) had 11 points including 3-4 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. Kenyon Martin (NJ) had 35 points and 11 rebounds. Jason Kidd (NJ) had 13 points including 5-14 FG, 5 rebounds, and 12 assists. Lucious Harris (NJ) had 22 points including 9-13 FG. LAL shot 11-19 3-pointers and NJ shot 4-9 3-pointers. LAL shot 28-37 FT and NJ shot 13-16 FT. The Los Angeles Lakers sweep the series 4-0 and are the 2002 NBA Champions! Shaquille O'Neal (LAL) was named as MVP of the Finals. Playoff Standings 1st Round 2nd Round 3rd Round Finals (Best of 5) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) 1 Sac. (3) _____ 8 Utah (1) |_ 1 Sacramento (4) __ _ 4 Dallas (1) | 4 Dallas (3) ___| |_ 1 Sacramento (3) _ 5 Minn. (0) _ 3 LA Lakers (4) | | | 2 San Ant. (3) _ | | 7 Seattle (2) |_ 2 San Antonio (1) _| | _ 3 LA Lakers (4) | 3 LA Lakers (3)_| | 6 Portland (0) |_ 3 LA Lakers (4) _ 1 New Jersey (0) | 1 New Jer. (3) _ | 8 Indiana (2) |_ 1 New Jersey (4) __ | _ 4 Charlotte (1) | | 4 Charl. (3) ___| | | 5 Orlando (1) |_ 1 New Jersey (4) _| _ 3 Boston (2) 2 Detroit (3) __ | 7 Toronto (2) |_ 2 Detroit (1) _____| _ 3 Boston (4) 3 Boston (3) ___| 6 Phila. (2) Thus ends the 2002 Playoffs. As such, these NBA dailys will become not so daily and I'll be sending out posts only when NBA news occurs (unless I'm on vacation, then I'll catch up when I return). 2002-03 training camps will open in early October (don't know the exact date yet). Have a great summer! patricia Key summer dates: June 19 Early entry withdrawal deadline June 26 NBA draft in New York July 1 Free agency date - 01-02 contract season ends, teams can negotiate with free agents but can not sign them July 16 Teams may begin signing free agents Aug. 29-Sept. 8 World Championship games in Indianapolis