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Getting defensive Mourning wins award for second consecutive year
Posted: Wednesday May 17, 2000 07:24 AM
MIAMI (AP) -- When Alonzo Mourning was honored Tuesday as the NBA's defensive player of the year, he wasn't even the best defensive player in the room. The award was presented to the Miami Heat center by Hall of Famer Bill Russell, widely regarded as the greatest defender in league history. "From my perspective, it's the most important award you can get," Russell said. "Mourning, who won the honor for the second year in a row, received 62 of a possible 121 votes from a panel of sports writers and broadcasters. Shaquille O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers finished second with 21 votes, and three-time winner Dikembe Mutombo of the Atlanta Hawks tied Eddie Jones of the Charlotte Hornets for third with 11 votes each. "Entering the league, never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd win this award back to back," Mourning said. He's the fifth player to do so, joining Mutombo, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dennis Rodman and Sidney Moncrief. Russell never won the award, but only because it originated in 1983, 14 years after he retired. Mourning led the league this season with 3.72 blocked shots per game. His 294 blocks were a career high and team record. "I thank my teammates for letting their men blow by them," Mourning joked. Mourning and the Heat won their fourth consecutive Atlantic Division title, but they've never reached the NBA Finals. During the awards presentation, Mourning glanced at Russell's left hand. "I took a peek at that championship ring," said Mourning, 30. "That's definitely one of the things I want." "It's on its way," Russell responded. "I'm patient," Mourning said. The Heat face the New York Knicks in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Wednesday. Mourning has blossomed into a better offensive player than Russell, who helped the Boston Celtics win 11 NBA titles. Both agreed that a head-to-head matchup would have been a challenge.
"Alonzo would have gotten his shot off," Russell said. After a
pause, he smiled and said, "But we would have won the game."
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