Mutombo Named Top Defender
Despite winning the defensive player of the year award for the second time in three years, Atlanta center Dikembe Mutombo conceded Thursday that overconfidence may have cost him a shot at his fourth consecutive shot-blocking title.
The 7-foot-2 Mutombo, who also won the defensive player award in 1994-95, received 60 of a possible 115 votes from a panel of writers and broadcasters across the United States and Canada.
Gary Payton of the Seattle SuperSonics, last year’s winner, finished second with 25 votes. Mutombo’s teammate, guard Mookie Blaylock, who led the league in steals with 2.7 a game, was third with 18 votes.
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When asked if he’d play again for the U.S. Olympic team, Magic Johnson surprised reporters in Rio de Janeiro by saying he would play in the 2000 Games in Sydney under one condition.
“If Michael [Jordan] plays, yes,” Johnson said. “I want to play only with the greatest and the best, and that means Michael Jordan.”
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