News from May 9. Shaquille O'Neal (LAL) was named as MVP. O'Neal received 120 of 121 possible 1st place media votes. Allen Iverson (Phi) received the only other 1st place vote. O'Neal won the award with the highest percentage of 1st place votes (99.2%) in league history. Michael Jordan (Chi) received 96.5% (109 of 113) of the 1st place votes in 95-96. The voting break down: (1st place vote = 10 points, 2nd place vote = 7 points, 3rd place vote = 5 points, 4th place vote = 3 points, 5th place votes = 1 vote) MVP Results Total position votes Player Points 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Shaquille O'Neal (LAL) ... 1207 120 1 0 0 0 Kevin Garnett (Min) ...... 408 0 30 25 20 13 Alonzo Mourning (Mia) .... 367 0 28 24 14 6 Karl Malone (Uta) ........ 312 0 22 15 23 14 Tim Duncan (SA) .......... 248 0 11 20 18 17 Gary Payton (Sea) ........ 180 0 11 9 14 16 Allen Iverson (Phi) ...... 132 1 4 9 12 13 Grant Hill (Det) ......... 113 0 7 6 7 13 Chris Webber (Sac) ....... 96 0 4 8 6 10 Vince Carter (Tor) ....... 51 0 3 3 3 6 Jason Kidd (Pho) ......... 25 0 0 1 3 6 Kobe Bryant (LAL) ........ 3 0 0 0 1 0 Darrell Armstrong (Orl) .. 1 0 0 0 0 1 Michael Finley (Dal) ..... 1 0 0 0 0 1 Reggie Miller (Ind) ...... 1 0 0 0 0 1 Jalen Rose (Ind) ......... 1 0 0 0 0 1 Dallas named Sidney Moncrief as an assistant coach. Eric Snow (Phi) will not play in the rest of the Phi-Ind series due to a chip fracture in his right ankle. Stu Jackson resigned as president and GM of Vancouver. Jackson then took a position of senior VP of basketball operations in the league office. Jamal Crawford (freshman, Michigan) declared himself eligible for the NBA draft. NY 82, Mia 76 - at Mia Larry Johnson (NY) had 12 points and 8 rebounds. Patrick Ewing (NY) had 13 points including 4-12 FG and 8 rebounds. Charlie Ward (NY) had 13 points and 6 rebounds. Jamal Mashburn (Mia) had 25 points. Alonzo Mourning (Mia) had 17 points on 5-18 FG and 7-13 FT, 17 rebounds, and 4 blocks. The series is tied 1-1. Por 103, Uta 85 - at Por Steve Smith (Por) had 19 points including 6-8 FG. Bonzi Wells (Por) had 17 points including 7-9 FG in 18 minutes. Rasheed Wallace (Por) had 14 points and 8 rebounds. Karl Malone (Uta) had 15 points and 5 turnovers. Bryon Russell (Uta) had 12 points. Por shot 56.3% (36-64) FG and Uta shot 45.2% (33-73) FG. Adam Keefe (Uta, strained right hamstring) did not play. Por leads the series 2-0. Playoff Standings 1st Round 2nd Round 3rd Round Finals (Best of 5) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) 1 LA Lakers (3) __ 8 Sacramento (2) |_ 1 LA Lakers (1) ___ _ 5 Phoenix (0) | 4 San Antonio (1) _| |_ _____________ _ 5 Phoenix (3) _ _____________ | | | 2 Utah (3) _____ | | 7 Seattle (2) |_ 2 Utah (0) ____| | _ 3 Portland (2) | 3 Portland (3) ___| | 6 Minnesota (1) |_ ___________ _ ___________ | 1 Indiana (3) ___ | 8 Milwaukee (2) |_ 1 Indiana (2) _ | _ 5 Philadelphia (0) | | 4 Charlotte (1) _| | | 5 Philadelphia (3) |_ _____________ _| _ _____________ 2 Miami (3) _____ | 7 Detroit (0) |_ 2 Miami (1) ____| _ 3 New York (1) 3 New York (3) ___| 6 Toronto (0)