Guest Vern Gagne Report post Posted May 3, 2003 http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2003...tory?id=1548677 Friday, May 2 Updated: May 3, 12:10 AM ET Spurs center repeats as MVP of league -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Associated Press Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs has won the balloting for the NBA's Most Valuable Player award, The Associated Press learned Saturday. Duncan Duncan becomes the first player since Michael Jordan in 1991 and 1992 to win the league's most coveted individual award in consecutive seasons. The San Antonio Express-News was the first news organization to learn of Duncan's selection, reporting the news on its Web site early Saturday. A basketball source with knowledge of the final vote totals, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to the AP that Duncan had indeed won the award. An official announcement is to be made Sunday on ABC. Duncan led the Spurs to the league's best record, 60-22, while averaging 23.3 points and career highs in rebounds (12.9), assists (3.9) and blocks (2.92). He beat a number of worthy candidates, including Minnesota's Kevin Garnett, Orlando's Tracy McGrady, Allen Iverson of Philadelphia and Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal of the three-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. Writers and broadcasters from the 29 NBA cities voted on the MVP award, sending their ballots in at the conclusion of the regular season. Duncan is the seventh player to win the award in consecutive seasons, joining Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Moses Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. Duncan will receive his trophy one day before the Spurs open the second round of the playoffs against the Lakers. Los Angeles has knocked San Antonio out of the postseason in each of the past two seasons, needing only four games to do so in 2000-01 and five games to do it last season. Duncan, in his sixth NBA season, will be a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 2004. He was supposed to be on the 2000 Olympic team a year after winning the NBA championship with the Spurs, but an injury forced him to withdraw from the squad that won the gold medal in Sydney. Duncan, 27, is a five-time All-Star and was chosen Most Valuable Player of the 1999 NBA Finals. He was my pick. Best record in the league with mostly role players, and up and coming talent. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest kingkamala Report post Posted May 3, 2003 I'd have to disagree and say Tracy McGrady, he's led a group of one or two OK roleplayers, has beens and never weres to the playoffs. Sure I think there are better players than him, but we're talking most valuable. Without T-Mac the Magic would be about as good as the Cavs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest PencilJobber Report post Posted May 3, 2003 I would have to say Kevin Garnett with Tracy McGrady second they were the 2 Most Valuable Players to there teams this year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly Report post Posted May 3, 2003 Tim Duncan may have won two MVPs in a row, but he's going to be eliminated by the Lakers three years in a row. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest goodhelmet Report post Posted May 3, 2003 does T(riple)im D(ouble)uncan deserve the TiMVP? Absolutely! The Spurs were supposed to be in a rebuilding phase this year and he carried his team to the top spot... in a rebuilding year!!! KG? nope, he has done the same thing for his team he has done every other year... get the in the playoffs, albeit never higher than 4 and get dumped in the first round. mcgrady? maybe but even he can`t elevate his team the way timmy can. the magic are still stuck in the bottom rung of a mediocre conference. kobe? no way man. without shaq, kobe has proven he is another george gervin... a great scorer who can`t truly will a team to win ala jordan (the piss poor record w/o shaq doesn`t lie). now is the time for the spurs to put up or shut up. they can end this lakers travesty once and for all if they can show up in the 4th quarter. if the lakers get past the spurs then there is NO OTHER team that will stop a 4th title. as princess leia once said... help us obiwan ginobli, you are our only hope. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly Report post Posted May 3, 2003 It's unfair to say that Kobe can't win without Shaq because of what Shaq contributes. When you build a team around 2 players and take 1 away, it's unfair to talk about one of them winning without the other. The team wasn't designed to be that way. Combined, they both score greater than 50% of the team's points. I don't think anyone in the league right now would win alot of games if they were combining with another player for 50% of their team's points and had that player taken away. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest goodhelmet Report post Posted May 3, 2003 fair enough BUT if that player can't will his team to win in the face of tragedy (shaq's big toe) then he certainly doesn't deserve the mvp. time and time again, duncan has had to go it alone. robinson at the end of his rope, injured for the last three years? fuck it. tim carries the team to the top of his division. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Choken One Report post Posted May 3, 2003 I really don't have a problem with this...I mean I would've been fine with McGrady, Garnett, Kobe, AI... Dunno know why Shaq was on that list... I still contend Kidd should've won last year... I like how Basketball...You never really get constroversey over the MVP...The top candiates are often interchangable... Although, You know Stern just WISHES Duncan would have SOME shread of personality... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vern Gagne Report post Posted May 3, 2003 I agree with Choken. You could make a case for any of those players. The Kings took the Lakers too 7 games last year. I don't think they'll beat the Lakers, but it won't be a walk in the park. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest goodhelmet Report post Posted May 3, 2003 I still contend Kidd should've won last year... NO ONE in the east should deserves the MVP until the competition begins to compare to the West. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest razazteca Report post Posted May 3, 2003 Tim Duncan has a personality.....he is the nice guy in the league of thugs, crybabies, smokers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly Report post Posted May 3, 2003 The Lakers aren't designed for Kobe to will the Lakers to win with Shaq injured. They are designed for Shaq and Kobe to play together with a bunch of role players. The Spurs are set up for Duncan to do what he does. I'm not saying that it changes the validity of Duncan's award, I'm just saying that the players mentioned are in different situations. Duncan is prospering in his scenario, while Kobe and Shaq are prospering in theirs. The Spurs get their MVP Trophy while the Lakers get their championship trophy. It all works out in the end. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest NaturalBornThriller4:20 Report post Posted May 3, 2003 Great... Highway Robbery 2 years in a row. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vern Gagne Report post Posted May 4, 2003 Great... Highway Robbery 2 years in a row. Who should of won? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Flyboy Report post Posted May 4, 2003 Great... Highway Robbery 2 years in a row. Who should of won? Tracy McGrady. *runs* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest NaturalBornThriller4:20 Report post Posted May 4, 2003 Tracy McGrady or Kevin Garnett ::Puts on his Fire Suit, prepares for the flames:: Yet I stand by my decision. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vern Gagne Report post Posted May 4, 2003 No flaming. But Duncan winning isn't highway robbery. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Grand Pubah of 1620 Report post Posted May 4, 2003 So did he win the MVP? I missed the official announcement. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Choken One Report post Posted May 4, 2003 Yep...They don't award it to him until Game One OF THE second round... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest bps "The Truth" 21 Report post Posted May 5, 2003 Awesome! He must have been...at most 4th on my list! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Grand Pubah of 1620 Report post Posted May 5, 2003 Yep...They don't award it to him until Game One OF THE second round... I guess it's official since I just saw Duncan on ESPN giving a little speech. Congrats, I think it's BS but he is a good player. Kobe or McGrady should have gotten it. If Shaq had played the whole season I'd say he gets it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vitamin X Report post Posted May 5, 2003 Kobe was robbed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mole Report post Posted May 5, 2003 I didn't watch enough NBA to say who should win this, but from what I have and heard on the radio, Duncan or Garnett would of been good choices. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Choken One Report post Posted May 5, 2003 Kobe was robbed. No he wasn't unlike Garnett, Tmac, TD...KOB couldn't carry his team on his own. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Grand Pubah of 1620 Report post Posted May 5, 2003 Kobe was robbed. No he wasn't unlike Garnett, Tmac, TD...KOB couldn't carry his team on his own. Hey Choken. I got news for you buddy, McGrady or Garnett didn't carry anything but their bags as they took there asses home after losing. Kobe, on the other hand, is still playing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest AlwaysPissedOff Report post Posted May 5, 2003 Dude... they are talking about the regular season, not the playoffs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Ripper Report post Posted May 5, 2003 Kobe didn't carry shit but Shaqs bags after he got them those wins. Kobe shouldn't have been in the top 5 in MVP voting when Garnett, Duncan, Kidd, and Mcgrady, and BEN f'n WALLACE, all doing more impresisve things to get thier teams wins this year.(I'm sorry, but not passing the ball to anyone for 9 games isn't very impressive to me. Please point me out to a superstar in the league today that couldn't get 40 a game for 9 games if they went out and shot the ball 30-35 times a night). I understand the leagues love affair with Kobe but while he had his little run, T-Mac had about 13 straight games with 35 or more, and close to 20 in a row with 30 or more(it was 17 or 18 I think). And talk all the shit Kobe, LOOK AT THE LAKERS RECORD WITH OUT 25.0 and 13 A NIGHT FROM THE 7'3 UNSTOPPABLE BIG MAN. The fact people want to disregard Shaq and still call Kobe the best is rediculous. While Kobe benifets from haveing to hardly ever seeing a double team because you can't leave shaq, Duncan, Garnett, T-mac, Hell, SHAQ all see double and triple teams every play and still perform RIGHT at his level. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest CED Ordonez Report post Posted May 5, 2003 For those of you interested, here are the results of the MVP voting. 1. Tim Duncan, San Antonio - (972 points w/ 60 First Place Votes) 2. Kevin Garnett, Minnesota (871 w/ 43 First Place Votes) 3. Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers (496 w/ 8 First Place Votes) 4. Tracy McGrady, Orlando (427 w/ 4 First Place Votes) 5. Shaquille O'Neal, L.A. Lakers (126 w/ 3 First Place Votes) 6 Allen Iverson, Philadelphia (83) 7. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas (43) 8. Ben Wallace, Detroit (33) 9. Jason Kidd, New Jersey (31) 10. Chris Webber, Sacramento (19) 11(tie). Jamal Mashburn, New Orleans; Steve Nash, Dallas; Paul Pierce, Boston (1) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Grand Pubah of 1620 Report post Posted May 5, 2003 Regular season or not, McGrady and Garnett aren't the players that Kobe is. Oh, and I have never disregarded Shaq. But to say that Kobe isn't the most talented player to play the game since Jordan is beyond me. He's proved how great of a plyer he is over and over. But until Shaq retires, which won't be too much longer now, Kobe will always be in his shadow. That still doesn't mean he isn't the best there is right now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Choken One Report post Posted May 5, 2003 How can You consider Kobe the best player since Jordan when he can't carry his team to victories. Scoring 40 pts for 10 games means shit if your going 21-56 and losing. I understand that you are a mark for The Lakers and you are blind but you can't even seriously say that KOBE is better then Duncan, T-Mac, Garnett and Hell, Iverson. All you can throw up is 40 Pts for 13 straight games and 3 championships that were ALL because of Shaq. Kobe is Pippen to Shaq's Jordan if that makes sense... You put Kobe alone like T-Mac, Garnett and Iverson before you proclaim him as the best...Oh, Wait they went 9-17 or something without the Big Aristole. That shows KOBE can t win on his own and that he is a selfish player that went for every shot he could. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
