NBA PLAYOFFS : Jordan Is MVP in Landslide Vote

Michael Jordan, winning the NBA’s top individual award in the midst of the Chicago Bulls’ run toward the No. 1 team prize, was named the league’s most valuable player for the second time in four years Monday, easily outdistancing runner-up Magic Johnson of the Lakers.

Jordan, who led the Bulls to a franchise-record 61 regular-season victories and into the Eastern Conference finals, received 891 points and 77 first-place votes. Johnson, the MVP the two previous seasons and three times overall, got 497 points and 10 first-place votes. David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs was third with 476 points.

The Bulls will play the two-time defending champion Detroit Pistons in Game 2 of their series tonight at Chicago Stadium. Chicago leads, 1-0.

“Most of the credit for this must go to my teammates and the organization,” Jordan said at a post-practice news conference. “Every year I come out and try to have my best year and consistent years. The last five or six years have been consistent. This one is special because we’ve also put ourselves in a predicament to win the NBA title.

“My teammates are enjoying some success as well. It’s hard to stand and shine in front of a team that has no success. It’s easy to shine when there are a lot of other guys deserving of credit, too.”

Jordan, named last week to the all-defensive team for the fourth season in a row, averaged 31.5 points, six rebounds and 5.5 assists a game and led the league in scoring for the fifth consecutive season. All of these marks are below his career averages, but he set a personal standard by shooting 53.9%.

Fourth-place finisher Charles Barkley of the Philadelphia 76ers and sixth-place finisher Clyde Drexler of the Portland Trail Blazers also received votes for the top spot. Only Jordan was named on all 96 ballots cast by the media. Johnson was left off 10 ballots, which ranked players as Nos. 1 through 5 in a weighted voting system.