Jordan MVP in His League; Who’s MVP in Other?

As another regular season draws to an end there are, as usual, only two things to say:

Thank heaven that’s over. And, the envelopes, please.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls.

As long as Jordan’s active, not to mention leading the league in scoring and the Bulls to the best record, they shouldn’t even vote, they should just hand him the award, or better yet, rename it the Jordan Trophy.

However, many voters believe awards should be spread around, so Karl Malone probably will win. (A Salt Lake City Tribune poll found 21 first-place votes for Malone, nine for Jordan.) I love the Mailman, the living embodiment of

professionalism, but I don’t think there’s a comparison between Jordan and any other player.

Several years ago, Jerry West said, despite all Jordan’s fame, he actually was underrated as a player. It’s still true.

Runner-up: Malone, Utah Jazz.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers.

What was done to him in the name of pack journalism was awful. All he did was shoot a lot and mouth off to Jordan and suddenly he was supposed to be the punk of all time.

The idiocy peaked All-Star weekend, when the 50 greatest players gathered, ostensibly to be honored, really to grumble about the Youth of Today, obliging Iverson, their poster boy for insolence, to put up with more advice from people who had never met him, including a career low-life like Elvin Hayes.

If anyone wondered what was on the old fellows’ minds, Walt Frazier spelled it out, ripping Jordan and Charles Barkley for blowing off the media session.

Said Frazier: “All of the guys should be in this room, paying homage to us.”

Iverson is actually an engaging youngster who bore his slings and arrows manfully. He once declared a media boycott, but it lasted five minutes.

On the floor, despite Amateur Hour coaching, he was a force from the get-go. Since Jordan’s arrival in 1984, only two rookies have topped Iverson’s 23.2 points a game--Shaquille O’Neal and David Robinson--and they both turned out all right.

Runner-up: Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Vancouver Grizzlies. Should be another big-timer. At age 20, he has averaged 20.9 points, shooting 47%, since Jan. 1.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Dikembe Mutombo, Atlanta Hawks.

An Atlanta staffer recently confided that Mookie Blaylock is the Hawks’ most deserving defender. Blaylock may, indeed, be the game’s best defensive point guard, but that doesn’t compare to being the best defensive center.

Mutombo is a close second to Shawn Bradley in blocks and second to Dennis Rodman in rebounding. Through the ‘90s, only the phenomenal Rodman has outrebounded Mutombo.

The Hawks dumped several players to get Mutombo and already have won nine more games than last season. Their defensive average has fallen from 97.1 to 88.7.

Runner-up: Blaylock.

SIXTH MAN

John Starks, New York Knicks.

Knick fans wondered how their firebrand would handle Allan Houston’s arrival. Starks averaged 13.5 points in 26 minutes to Houston’s 14.6 in 33. New York-baiters like Barkley and Scottie Pippen delighted in noting the Knicks spent $56 million for a player who wasn’t as good as their incumbent.

Runner-up: Toni Kukoc, Bulls, averaging 13.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 28 minutes. Edges out Dell Curry, Charlotte Hornets, and Sam Perkins, Seattle SuperSonics.

MOST IMPROVED

Isaac Austin, Miami Heat.

Formerly of Arizona State, the Jazz, 76ers and teams in France and Turkey, he was a 295-pound tub of goo before Pat Riley saw him in a free-agent camp and told him he could stay, if he dropped five pounds a week.

It was like the old movies when the plain woman took off her glasses. Why, Mr. Austin! You’re beautiful!

Now a svelte 6 feet 10 and 265 pounds, he averaged 15 points and eight rebounds while Alonzo Mourning was out.

Runner-up: Darrick Martin, Clippers. They’re 29-31 with him in the starting lineup.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Riley, Heat.

I was going to vote for the Detroit Pistons’ excitable-but-gifted Doug Collins, since Riley’s team was twice as good as his, but the Heat wouldn’t quit, not even when Mourning got hurt and they went 10-4. They had 31 road victories--more than the Bulls.

To see the Heat up close is to marvel at its players’ passion. You don’t have to guess where that comes from.

Runner-up: Collins. Honorable mention: Phil Jackson, Bulls; Dave Cowens, Hornets.

EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

West, Lakers.

It was between him and his ex-roommate, Riley, who turned around a nothing team in two seasons. West saw his dynasty fall into the lottery and erected a new one in three years.

West’s is built around O’Neal, Riley’s around Mourning. As O’Neal himself noted, one’s a Beamer, one’s a Benz. No one had to ask which was which, either.

Not that West stopped there. Having stripped down to five holdovers to land O’Neal, he now has a big, young, breathtakingly talented roster (six players 6-10 or over, six 25 or younger). They’re so deep, George McCloud might not make the playoff roster.

Runner-up: Riley. Traded for Mourning and Tim Hardaway. Signed P.J. Brown and Dan Majerle. Found Austin and Voshon Lenard. Beat everyone to Jamal Mashburn, for Sasha Danilovic, Kurt Thomas and Martin Muursepp. (Martin Muursepp?) Not bad for a new exec.

NAMES AND NUMBERS

How you gonna keep ‘em down on the farm: The Celtics aren’t courting Kentucky Coach Rick Pitino, but he hasn’t headed back to Lexington. His “book tour” included stops in Philadelphia and Orlando, where he negotiated with the 76ers and Magic. Unlike 1993, when the Lakers approached him and he ran like a jack rabbit, denying everything, Pitino now acknowledges an interest. Of 76er owner Pat Croce, he said: “He epitomizes what you would want in an athletic director or a corporate leader.” . . . Heat players blew up after the chatty Knicks beat them in Miami. “They’re the worst,” P.J. Brown said. “I dislike them more than any team in the league. Everyone in this locker room feels that way. It’s all that arrogance, like they’re gods or something. They haven’t won anything in 20 years.” . . . Replied Chris Childs: “If he was on another team, I’d be surprised by what he said. But he’s on that team. That’s what Riley instills in his players.” . . . Oops: Maverick General Manager Don Nelson appeared to distance himself from Coach Jim Cleamons--until last week when owner Ross Perot Jr. announced Cleamons will stay. “The Jim Cleamons situation was always clear,” Nelson said. “He’s done the best job he can with what’s he’s had to work with. Absolutely, he’s coming back. That’s why I have not really discussed it. There is nothing to discuss.” Not until about January of next season, anyway. . . . Oops II: An unnamed 76er told the Philadelphia Inquirer Derrick Coleman wasn’t malingering but was told by 76er brass, alarmed by a three-game winning streak that was about to sink the team several picks in the draft, to take the rest of the season off.

Get lives: Teams now treat awards, especially rookie of the year, like crusades, mailing out press kits with videos, clippings and all manner of bric-a-brac. . . . During a Bullets’ rout, 76er Coach Johnny Davis called three timeouts in the last two minutes so Iverson could make the three-point basket that broke Wilt Chamberlain’s rookie record of three 40-point games in a row. “If they wanted it that bad,” said Bullet Coach Bernie Bickerstaff, who told his players not to contest the shot, “I was going to let them have it.” . . . That time of year: Among the coaches expected to lose, or surrender, their jobs soon are Larry Brown, Pacers; M.L. Carr, Celtics; Davis, 76ers; Rick Adelman, Warriors; Dick Motta, Nuggets; Stu Jackson, Grizzlies. . . . Situation still fluid, Phil Jackson, Bulls; Gregg Popovich, Spurs; Eddie Jordan, Kings; P.J. Carlesimo, Blazers; Jeff Van Gundy, Knicks; Richie Adubato, Magic; and Mike Fratello, Cavaliers. . . . Seven coaches already have been fired. If nine of these 13 go, it’ll beat the record for changes, 15, in 1991-92. . . . Mr. Sentimental: Jackson’s one-year contract allows the Bulls’ coach to negotiate with other teams during the playoffs, not that owner Jerry Reinsdorf seems worried. “There is no question Phil Jackson is the best coach in the NBA and has been for several years,” Reinsdorf says. “The run of this team will come to an end at some point. The challenge that we have in management is not to become the Boston Celtics.”