Garnett Roles to MVP Award

A foregone conclusion for months, it was made official Monday: Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves was the NBA’s most valuable player this season.

The voting was nearly unanimous for the landslide winner, Garnett receiving 120 of 123 first-place votes cast by the Pro Basketball Writers’ Assn. for a total of 1,219 points, 503 more than runner-up Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs.

Not even the Spurs could take issue with it, even though Duncan, who won the award the previous two years, had another stellar season.

“I think Kevin Garnett’s had the best season, considering everything that goes into an MVP,” Spur Coach Gregg Popovich said during the regular season’s final week. “Kevin’s done a great job and deserves that recognition this year. I think Timmy’s been one of the top players in the league, but when you look at Kevin’s numbers and what his team has done, and the fact that he hasn’t missed any games -- all those sorts of things make him a pretty darn good choice.”

In leading the Timberwolves to a 58-24 record, best in the Western Conference, Garnett averaged 24.2 points and a league-leading 13.9 rebounds. The 6-foot-11 forward also averaged five assists, joining Larry Bird as the only players to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for five consecutive seasons.

A season-ending nine-game winning streak gave the Timberwolves their first Midwest Division championship, ending the Spurs’ three-year reign.

But Garnett, runner-up in last year’s MVP balloting, is far from satisfied after leading the Timberwolves past the Denver Nuggets in the opening round of the playoffs. The Timberwolves, who play the Sacramento Kings in the conference semifinals starting tonight at Minneapolis, had never before won a playoff series, bowing out in the first round in seven consecutive seasons.

“A lot of people have asked me if I have a place for this award,” Garnett said Monday at a news conference in Minneapolis. “Not to disrespect the award, but my goals are a lot bigger than individual awards. When I get that big gold trophy [that goes to the NBA champion], that’s going to solidify my whole journey.”

His coach, Flip Saunders, said that Garnett had wanted to win the MVP award since the Timberwolves drafted him out of Chicago’s Farragut Academy in 1995. Garnett, who will turn 28 on May 19, is the second MVP to enter the NBA directly from high school, joining three-time winner Moses Malone.

“When he came in the league nine years ago,” Saunders said, recalling a conversation also involving the club’s general manager, “the No. 1 thing he said to myself and Kevin McHale is, he wanted to be the best player in the league.”

Said McHale, a former Boston Celtic All-Star, “He reminds me of how basketball should be played -- with passion, hard work and discipline.”

Not only a premier scorer and rebounder, Garnett also is one of the league’s top defenders. A seven-time All-Star, he averaged a career-high 2.17 blocked shots this season and was named to the all-defensive team for the fifth consecutive season. Trailing Garnett and Duncan in the voting was Jermaine O’Neal, who received two first-place votes after leading the Indiana Pacers to the NBA’s best regular-season record, followed by Peja Stojakovic of the Kings and Laker teammates Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. Stojakovic got the other first-place vote.

Players are awarded 10 points for a first-place vote, seven for second, five for third, three for fourth and one for fifth.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Elite’s Numbers

Comparing most valuable player Kevin Garnett’s statistics and NBA rank in that category (if in the top 20) with the other top vote-getters:

*--* PLAYER PTS. REB. AST. Kevin Garnett 24.2 (t2) 13.9 (1) 5.0 Tim Duncan 22.3 (8) 12.4 (2) 3.1 Jermaine O’Neal 20.1 (16) 10.0 (11) 2.1 Peja Stojakovic 24.2 (t2) 6.3 2.1 Kobe Bryant 24.0 (4) 5.5 5.1 Shaquille O’Neal 21.5 (11) 11.5* 2.9 Ben Wallace 9.5 12.4 (2) 1.7 Jason Kidd 15.5 6.4 9.2 (1) LeBron James 20.9 (13) 5.5 5.9 (13) Baron Davis 22.9 (6) 4.3 7.5 (4)

*--*

* -- O’Neal did not qualify to be among NBA’s league-leading rebounders.

*

Leading Men

Results of the voting for the 2004 NBA most valuable player award, as selected by a panel of the media in the U.S. and Canada:

*--* PLAYER TEAM 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH 5TH PTS Kevin Garnett Minnesota 120 2 1 0 0 1,219 Tim Duncan San Antonio 0 72 34 13 3 716 Jermaine O’Neal Indiana 2 29 46 17 19 523 Peja Stojakovic Sacramento 1 8 16 34 33 281 Kobe Bryant Lakers 0 7 14 22 27 212 Shaquille O’Neal Lakers 0 5 11 23 19 178 Ben Wallace Detroit 0 0 0 5 9 24 Jason Kidd New Jersey 0 0 0 5 2 17 LeBron James Cleveland 0 0 1 1 3 11 Baron Davis New Orleans 0 0 0 1 1 4 Sam Cassell Minnesota 0 0 0 1 1 4 Dirk Nowitzki Dallas 0 0 0 1 1 4 Andrei Kirilenko Utah 0 0 0 0 2 2 Yao Ming Houston 0 0 0 0 1 1 Michael Redd Milwaukee 0 0 0 0 1 1 Carmelo Anthony Denver 0 0 0 0 1 1

*--*