News from May 18. The NBA named Karl Malone (Uta) as MVP. The award is voted on by 115 media members who give a 1st place vote worth 10 points, a 2nd place vote worth 7 points, a 3rd place vote worth 5 points, a 4th place vote worth 3 points and a 5th place vote worth 1 point. MVP Results Total position votes Player Points 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Karl Malone (Uta) 986 63 48 4 0 0 Michael Jordan (Chi) 957 52 61 2 0 0 Grant Hill (Det) 376 0 3 54 23 16 Tim Hardaway (Mia) 238 0 1 17 43 17 Glen Rice (Cha) 134 0 1 13 13 23 Gary Payton (Sea) 105 0 0 10 15 10 Hakeem Olajuwon (Hou) 95 0 1 7 11 20 Patrick Ewing (NY) 57 0 0 5 5 17 Anthony Mason (Cha) 7 0 0 1 0 2 Shaquille O'Neal (LAL) 7 0 0 0 2 1 Scottie Pippen (Chi) 6 0 0 1 0 1 Alonzo Mourning (Mia) 5 0 0 1 0 0 Dikembe Mutombo (Atl) 4 0 0 0 1 1 Mitch Richmond (Sac) 4 0 0 0 1 1 John Stockton (Uta) 3 0 0 0 1 0 Charles Barkley (Hou) 2 0 0 0 0 2 Allen Iverson (Phi) 1 0 0 0 0 1 Tom Gugliotta (Min) 1 0 0 0 0 1 Kevin Johnson (Pho) 1 0 0 0 0 1 Steve Smith (Atl) 1 0 0 0 0 1 The NBA held the draft lottery Sunday. The lottery determines the #1, #2, and #3 picks amongst the non-playoff teams. San Antonio won the lottery and will select #1 (they had the 3rd worse record). Philadelphia also had good luck and will select #2 (they had the 5th worse record). Boston (2nd worse record) and Vancouver (worst record) lucked out and will draft #3 and #4. The draft order for the first round: 1. San Antonio 2. Philadelphia 3. Boston 4. Vancouver 5. Denver 6. Boston (from Dallas via the Eric Montross trade) 7. New Jersey 8. Golden State 9. Toronto 10. Milwaukee [Mil has the option to convey this pick to Pho] 11. Sacramento 12. Indiana 13. Cleveland 14. LA Clippers 15. Dallas (from Minnesota via the Sean Rooks trade) 16. Phoenix [Cle has the option to received this pick via the John Williams trade] 17. Orlando [Orl has the option to convey this pick to Uta] 18. Portland [Por has the option to convey this or #20 to Min] 19. Detroit 20. Portland (from Charlotte) 21. New Jersey (from LA Lakers via the George McCloud trade) 22. Atlanta 23. Seattle 24. Houston 25. New York 26. Miami 27. Utah 28. Chicago [Washington, who would have had the 17th pick, forfeited their pick last summer as part of the Juwan Howard fiasco (by giving up the pick, they got to keep free agent signees Lorenzo Williams and Tracy Murray).] The NBA draft takes place June 25. The NBA named Bob Bass (Cha) as Executive of the Year. (thanks to Justin Ridge) Mia 101, NY 90 - at Mia Tim Hardaway (Mia) had 38 points including 6-10 3-pointers and 8-10 FT, 7 assists, 5 steals, and 6 turnovers. Alonzo Mourning (Mia) had 22 points including 7-11 FT, 12 rebounds, 3 steals, and 4 blocks. Jamal Mashburn (Mia) had 11 points and 7 rebounds. Patrick Ewing (NY) had 37 points and 17 rebounds. Allan Houston (NY) had 25 points including 5-11 3-pointers, 6 assists, and 6 turnovers. Mia shot 30-42 FT and NY shot 10-13 FT. P.J. Brown (Mia, suspended), Larry Johnson (NY, suspended), and John Starks (NY, suspended) did not play. Miami takes the series 3-2. Playoff Standings 1st Round 2nd Round 3rd Round Finals (Best of 5) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) 1 Utah (3) _ 8 LA Clippers (0) |_ 1 Utah (4) ___ _ 4 LA Lakers (1) | 4 LA Lakers (3) ___| |_ 1 Utah (0) _ 5 Portland (1) _ 3 Houston (0) | | | 2 Seattle (3) _____ | | 7 Phoenix (2) |_ 2 Seattle (3) _____| | _ 3 Houston (4) | 3 Houston (3) ___| | 6 Minnesota (0) |_ ___________ _ ___________ | 1 Chicago (3) __ | 8 Washington (0) |_ 1 Chicago (4) ____ | _ 4 Atlanta (1) | | 4 Atlanta (3) _____| | | 5 Detroit (2) |_ 1 Chicago (0) _| _ 2 Miami (0) 2 Miami (3) _____ | 7 Orlando (2) |_ 2 Miami (4) ___| _ 3 New York (3) 3 New York (3) ___| 6 Charlotte (0)