And I thought last year was tough.

My head was swimming in '02. Duncan or Kidd? Kidd or Duncan? I changed my mind a dozen times before I finally settled on The Big Fundamental; Joumana Kidd still looks at me kind of cross-eyed. But this season is even harder. There are, by my count, eight stars that you could reasonably argue deserve the Most Valuable Player award, and that doesn't include guys like Detroit's Ben Wallace. As Jordan leaves the stage, the game is truly in good hands. Two of which will hold up the MVP trophy.

My choices for that and other awards follow, along with my annual reminder: This is how I filled out my ballot, for my reasons. How you would fill out yours is up to you.

Most Valuable Player

	Garnett

My choice: Kevin Garnett, Minnesota. Whatever is after "elite," that's where Garnett is right now. He heard the critics that dogged him for not impacting the game more down the stretch and in the playoffs and he went out and did something about it, starting his offseason workouts six weeks earlier than normal. He has posted career highs in points, rebounds and assists. He has become a better shooter. He is a better passer; incredibly, he was 13th in the league in assists through Monday, which means he was diming better than half of the point guards in the game. He is a better leader than he's ever been; teammates notice that he's not foaming at the mouth as he used to in clutch situations. He leads the L in double-doubles (the most in the league in 10 years) and triple-doubles and may get the Wolves homecourt advantage for the first time in franchise history. And Garnett passes what I call the Team Stress Test: If you remove the MVP candidate from his team, and the remaining players had to play other teams without their MVP candidates, which team is least likely to win? I'd take the Duncan-less Spurs, the Webber-less Kings and the Kobe-less or Shaq-less Lakers (understand, if Kobe wasn't on the Lakers, Shaq still would be, and vice versa; I'm not taking both off the roster) over the KG-deprived Wolves. (OK, the McGrady-less Magic might be in trouble.) I don't know what the playoffs will bring, but this award is for the regular season. And this season, no one has been better than Garnett.

The Others: Tim Duncan, San Antonio; Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles; Tracy McGrady, Orlando; Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles; Allen Iverson, Philadelphia; Chris Webber, Sacramento; Jason Kidd, New Jersey.

Rookie of the Year

	Yao

My choice: Yao Ming, Houston. I know that Amare Stoudemire's Suns are going to be in the playoffs, and Yao's Rockets are not. But Stoudamire, nor any other rookie, has had the burden on him that Yao had this season. Economic, social, global, you name it, Yao had to deal with it this year -- as well as master a new language and continue a basketball-centric schedule that hasn't given him a week off in more than two years. That he survived is worth noting; that he lived up to the hype gets him the hardware. A solid 13-point-plus scoring average, more than eight boards, a healthy 1.7 swats and 80 percent from the line are more than good enough.

The Others: Stoudemire; Caron Butler, Miami.

Sixth Man of the Year

	Redd

My choice: Michael Redd, Milwaukee. The Bucks matched Dallas' $12 million offer sheet for Redd knowing that he'd be a key part of their attack off the bench, then felt fine sending Ray Allen packing in part because they believed so much in the Ohio State man. Redd has earned both their trust and their money. He's shown superlative scoring in the clutch and and amazing range (44 percent on more than 400 threes this season through Tuesday, and a ridiculous .495 on threes in the fourth quarter).

The Others: Nick Van Exel, Dallas; Corliss Williamson, Detroit; Manu Ginobili, San Antonio. Special mention for Bobby Jackson in Sacramento, who may well have won the award if he hadn't had to start the first six weeks of the season for Mike Bibby, and then miss a month with a broken hand.

Defensive Player of the Year

	Wallace

My choice: Ben Wallace, Detroit. The easiest selection by far. It's Big Ben's trophy until further notice. He's not only a great shotblocker (leading the league with 3.15 per night before his knee injury) and rebounder (ditto, at 15.4), he's a solid low-post defender in his own right. What a tempo he sets. Precious few guys are left in the L who truly intimidate; Wallace calls the paint his "No Fly Zone" and backs it up.

The Others: Iverson, Sixers; Ron Artest, Indiana; Doug Christie, Kings.

Most Improved Player

	Murphy

My choice: Troy Murphy, Golden State. Once again, I scream: this award should not be given to someone whose numbers are up just because he's playing more minutes. If you play 12 minutes a night one year and average six points, then play 24 minutes a night the next year and average 12, that doesn't necessarily mean your game has improved. But Murphy is better than he was last season. He got in the weight room and packed on muscle that he's put to good use in the paint, where he's been top 10 in boards all season. For the first time in a long time, the Warriors can enter an offseason not having to worry about the four spot.

The Others: Gilbert Arenas, Golden State; Jason Williams, Memphis; Matt Harpring, Utah; Eddy Curry, Chicago; Rasho Nesterovic, Minnesota; Stephen Jackson, San Antonio.

Coach of the Year

	Sloan

My choice: Jerry Sloan, Utah. There are so many coaches in this league who bail out when things get tough, who blame their players with a smile to hide their own shortcomings. Jerry Sloan just keeps coaching what he's got, which now includes a 41-year-old point guard, a 39-year-old power forward and a collection of guys other teams found not wanting. Sloan just finds ways for them to win games, and when he loses, there's no excuses, just an acknowledgement that the other team may have been better. He doesn't win with brilliant Xs and Os; is there anyone on the planet who doesn't know there will probably be a backscreen from Stockton involved on this next play? He does it by challenging his players to respect the game by showing up ready to play. They do. Every year. And they will be the usual hard out in the playoffs. That they made it this season in the murderous West and never tire of their coach is a testament to Sloan, who gets the hardware by a nose over the Warriors' Eric Musselman ("Golden State" no longer being synonymous with "my career is over") and Sacramento's Rick Adelman.

The Others: Larry Brown, Philadelphia; Rick Carlisle, Detroit; Gregg Popovich, San Antonio; Flip Saunders, Minnesota; Maurice Cheeks, Portland; Hubie Brown, Memphis.

Executive of the Year

	Buford

My choice: R.C. Buford, San Antonio. Along with Popovich, Buford has molded a real team around Duncan. He hasn't needed lottery picks to get big-time talent (Tony Parker was taken 28th in the first round in 2001; Ginobili in the second round in 1999) and he hasn't done it with splashy free agent signings, just solid players and better people like Malik Rose and Bruce Bowen. Most importantly, by spending fairly but wisely to re-sign the Spurs' free agents over the last two years, he's maneuvered the Spurs into position to be the player in free agency this summer, with $12 to $15 million available for anyone who'd like to play alongside Duncan for the next decade. The line starts to the left.

The Others: Joe Dumars, Detroit; Geoff Petrie, Sacramento; Billy King, Philadelphia.

All-NBA first team
My choices: