Mitch Lawrence

Keyword
NBA
Scores
Schedule
Standings
Statistics
Transactions
Injuries
Players
Message Board
NBA en espanol
CLUBHOUSE


SHOP@ESPN.COM
TeamStore
ESPN Auctions
SPORT SECTIONS
Thursday, February 14
 
Jordan, not Iverson, could take trophy

By Mitch Lawrence
Special to ESPN.com

Allen Iverson will be out to make history at this weekend's All-Star Game in Philadelphia.
Michael Jordan
Jordan will be a fan favorite in Philly along with Iverson.

With the game on his home floor and everything set up for the local star to outshine all others, Iverson will be out to become the first NBA player to win back-to-back MVP awards.

So how come I don't like his chances?

Because when Michael Jordan walks onto the First Union Center court, you can expect something magical to happen.

Ever since his All-Star debut in the infamous freeze-out game in 1985, the All-Star Game has always been Jordan's own little playground. Two of the last three times he's played in the game, he's taken home the MVP. Sometimes, when other players were more deserving. But he holds that kind of spell over the fans and media members who cast votes for the award.

So when the NBA's best comes to Philly, all eyes will be on No. 23. And he could be out to make some history, too. No player has ever won the MVP award four times, outright. The great Bob Pettit has three individual awards and once shared the honor with Elgin Baylor.

Jordan has three MVP's -- from 1988, 1996 and 1998, the final one in New York, in his last All-Star appearance -- and counting.

"The game is going to be in Allen's backyard," said Philly's Dikembe Mutombo, who will start in the middle for the East.

In previous All-Star Games, the MVP voting has sometimes been skewed toward the hometown hero. Seattle's Tom Chambers won it in Seattle in 1987, even when Dallas' Ro Blackman deserved the honor. Six years later, Karl Malone and John Stockton split the award playing in Salt Lake City.

But when Jordan is in the house -- no doubt showing off the new line of $200 per pair Air Jordans that debuted this month -- it automatically becomes his backyard.

Just ask Shaquille O'Neal. Six years ago, playing in San Antonio, the city in which he attended high school, Shaq threw down one of the all-time monster slam dunks, on arch enemy David Robinson's head. It was so powerful and impressive, even Jordan leaped to his feet and waved a towel in appreciation. In that game, O'Neal was clearly the best player on the floor.

But guess who won the MVP?

Jordan.

So Iverson can wear No. 6, in tribute to Julius Erving, as he is planning. He could wear No. 13, in honor of Wilt Chamberlain. But those two numbers don't add up to 23.

The NBA has a lot to show off this weekend, beginning with the two Lakers who keep adding championship rings to their jewelry collection. Right now, Shaq and Kobe are the top two players in the sport. Iverson is the reigning MVP. Then there's the foreign legion of talented players born outside the U.S., led by Tim Duncan and boasting such new stars as the Kings' Predrag Stojakovic and Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki.

But they all pale next to Mr. Jordan, the No. 1 player in All-Star Game annals for scoring average (21.3 ppg). This won't be like Magic Johnson winning the MVP when he came back for an All-Star cameo appearance in 1992 in Orlando. He had retired at the beginning of the season because of the HIV virus.

Jordan has been anything but retired this season after a three-year hiatus. By all rights, he shouldn't even be in Philly on Sunday. He should be getting his back examined.

He's only carried the Wiz to 23 wins in their last 35 games, even as Washington has had to play most of the season with nothing more than a bunch of backups. After a 2-9 start, he's lifted them into playoff contention.

"No way anybody would have thought we'd be anywhere near this point," said Doug Collins recently.

Especially the way Jordan struggled out of the gate. And then with injuries to Richard Hamilton and Christian Laettner.

You don't think Jordan would rather be golfing and gambling in the Bahamas?

"I could use the rest, obviously, but when the fans vote you in, it's a responsibility of upholding and living up to what they expect," he said when he and the East's starters were announced.

What the fans have come to expect is an Air Show. Usually, they get it. If Jordan scores 18 points -- not impossible, considering his average in 11 previous games -- he will become the All-Star game's all-time leading scorer, breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record of 251.

"I think if they wouldn't have voted me," Jordan added, "I would have probably preferred to take the weekend off and just rest the body and get ready for the second half of the season."

The big question of the second half is whether the Wizards can continue their march to the playoffs. In the East, it can happen. But they've got two West Coast trips, starting Tuesday when Jordan meets up with Phil Jackson for the first time in L.A. The April schedule also features a home date with the defending champs, plus two games vs. the defending Eastern Conference champion Sixers.

It all depends on Jordan and whether he can hold up. He's coming off as strenuous a first half as he's had. In the last 10 games, he's logged 41, 39, 42, 40, 40, 42, 40, 38, 41 and 40 minutes -- for an average of 40.3. In his last three seasons in Chicago, he played 37.7, 37.9 and 38.8 minutes, respectively.

Just a reminder, too: A week from Sunday, he turns 39.

But he seems to be getting stronger with every game, which bodes well for another classic All-Star appearance. His first big weekend came in 1988, with the game in Chicago Stadium. Not only did he take the dunk competition -- in a classic duel against Dominique Wilkins -- he won MVP honors.

And he could do it again. As one NBA head coach put it, when assessing Jordan's chances of winning the regular-season MVP award: "He's playing with the worst collection of teammates he's ever had, in terms of talent. I'm shocked how easily he's scoring. He's lost a lot athletically. But it just shows you how smart he is. And his leadership has been something special, again. When he said, 'we stink' and went out and did something about it, that was leadership."

But that's Michael Jordan.

Your odds-on favorite to be the star of stars in Philadelphia.

Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, writes a regular NBA column for ESPN.com.





 More from ESPN...
Hughes: Dunk contest loses luster, but doesn't have to
Seattle's Desmond Mason ...

May: All-Star weekend is fun, but rather meaningless
The result of the game is ...

Dr. Jack: Memories from past All-Star weekends
Dr. Jack Ramsay has fond ...

 ESPN Tools
Email story
 
Most sent
 
Print story