Wallace Chosen Best Defender

Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons won the NBA’s defensive player of the year award for the second season in a row on Wednesday.

He became the sixth player to win the award in consecutive years, receiving 100 out of a possible 117 first-place votes from a panel of sports writers and broadcasters.

“It means a lot to me,” Wallace said. “One thing that I pride myself on is playing defense. I guess this shows I’m doing a good job.”

Ron Artest of Indiana, Kevin Garnett of Minnesota, Tim Duncan of San Antonio and Doug Christie of Sacramento rounded out the top five.

The 6-foot-9, 240-pound Wallace averaged a league-best 15.4 rebounds, the highest regular-season average since Dennis Rodman’s 16.1 in 1996-97. He averaged 3.15 blocked shots, second to Atlanta’s Theo Ratliff, who averaged 3.23 blocks.

Wallace, who averaged a team-high 39.4 minutes, helped Detroit limit opposing teams to a league-low average of 87.7 points during the regular season.

Rodman, Sidney Moncrief, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo and Alonzo Mourning also won the award in consecutive seasons. No one has won the award three times in a row.

Artest, who received two first-place votes, complained that the honor should have been his.

“There’s a lot of good defenders out there, but I still feel I should have won the award,” he said.

Pacer Coach Isiah Thomas, one of Artest’s biggest supporters throughout a season of distractions, said the result was a letdown.

“Considering the people he has to guard every single night and what he’s done to these people when he’s guarded them, it’s disappointing he’s not looked at as the best defender in the league,” Thomas said. “I believe he is.”

Artest averaged 5.2 rebounds, 0.72 blocks and was second in the NBA in steals with 2.3 a game. He missed 12 games because of suspensions for bad behavior and flagrant fouls.

*

Chris Webber didn’t participate in the Sacramento Kings’ practice on Wednesday, instead receiving treatment on the sore lower back muscles that kept him out of most of Monday night’s 108-95 victory in Game 2 over the Utah Jazz in Sacramento.

The Kings will evaluate Webber several more times before they face the Jazz in Game 3 of their first-round series on Saturday at Salt Lake City.

*

Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan reinstated guard DeShawn Stevenson after meeting with him before practice. Stevenson was suspended indefinitely Sunday after arguing with Sloan during practice.

“DeShawn and I resolved our differences. I think I got a better understanding of him. Hopefully he’s got a better understanding of me,” Sloan said.

Stevenson was upset after playing only one minute in Utah’s 96-90 loss to Sacramento in the first game of the playoffs.