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Reactions: Hickman's vote Users sound off in favor of ShaqPosted: Friday May 12, 2000 03:38 PM CNNSI.com's Fred Hickman made his case for his decision as the only sportswriter not to vote for Shaquille O'Neal as the NBA Most Valuable Player. Now CNNSI.com users are sharing their thoughts on Hickman's decision. Many users thought Hickman made the wrong vote and questioned his motives for making it. Others applauded his choice to go against the crowd and vote for Allen Iverson. A collection of some of the most interesting responses follows: Fred has definitely defined himself as the only one of the 121 journalists who didn't comprehend the term MVP. MVP of the league does not mean the player most important to his team. Rather it stands for the athlete who has shown himself over 82 games to be the best player (granted for the season) in the NBA. That person, without a doubt, for the 1999-2000 NBA season, was Shaq. The fact that he wasn't in the picture when he put up similar numbers in 93-94 or that the Lakers are a great team without Shaq doesn't mean that Allen becomes the sympathetic choice. One has to realize that where 120 guys think the same way, the one guy who doesn't, either doesn't really realize what the award is about or just wanted the attention he knew would come as a result.
Fred Hickman deserves applause for his decision. He made a gutsy call as he saw it. Why should he have to pick O'Neal? Just so he can be unanimous? Picking who you think deserves it is the whole point of having a vote. Michael Jordan was never a unanimous choice & I never heard people complaining about votes for other athletes. A big thumbs up for Fred Hickman.
No case to be made. The man made a decision and he stands by it. No morals or ethics were broken unlike some of the things we have had in the past. I say BRAVO ZULU to Mr. Hickman.
I totally disagree with Hickman. When Shaq was out with an ankle injury, the Lakers proved they would have a difficult time beating the better teams, like when the got killed at home vs. San Antonio. You take Shaq away from the Lakers and you can kiss the Lakers title hopes good-bye! You take Iverson away from the Sixers and you would have about the same record as the Shaq-less Lakers!
What is Fred thinking? Apparently, he hasn't seen how bad the Lakers play without Shaq. I think it was a spiteful thing he did by not voting for Shaq! He just didn't want him to be the first player in NBA history to be voted MVP unanimously. Why vote for Iverson, anyway? Is Fred from Philadelphia or a friend of Iverson's? Anyway, I think that was pretty low to do what he did.
How can one claim that Iverson deserves to be MVP more than Shaq? Does Fred Hickman claim to say that if a pure offensive player were to join a lowly organization that he deserves to be MVP? According to Hickman, there is no way that Shaq could ever be MVP because even without him, the Lakers are still a quality team. How many of the past MVPs have come from teams who were atop the standings, the elites of the league, and the pinnacles of excellence? Hickman's justification is full of air and has no merit whatsoever.
Last time I checked, the award is for MVP of the league, not a particular team. I'm sure Iverson is the MVP of his team, but stat wise as well as imposing his will and destroying the opposition, the nod has to go to Shaq. Shaq routinely changes the opposing team's game plan. You can stop Iverson, but you can't stop Shaq. He even hits his free throws! Well, more than he used to. Hickman says he spoke to a lot of people and they supported Iverson for MVP. Hey, Fred, next time talk to people around the league, not just your barbershop!
I think that your argument for Allen Iverson has been nullified by the fact that all of your voting peers chose Shaq. Are you going to tell me that 120 writers were wrong?
I think the vote was cast that way just to draw attention to the voter. While Mr. Hickman may very well have his opinion of LA and of Mr. Iverson, a blind man can see Shaq is the MVP.
Fred can't be right if all the other 120 votes are cast for Shaq. But he is certainly entitled to his opinion.
Hickman's vote is absolutely wrong. The Lakers, even with the almighty Jackson, would have been nothing without the big man. I'd love to see Kobe carry a team! And the Lakers aren't a stacked team. They have two old veterans playing key positions. And Rice playing half-heartily. This is basically a two-man team.
If Hickman's logic were correct, Michael Jordan never would have been MVP of the league given his teammates Pippen, Kukoc, Cartwright, Longley, etc. Now does anyone believe Jordan shouldn't have been MVP? The argument doesn't fit, Fred! You should lose your ballot!
Fred has some good points in his article about Allen Iverson, but I have to wonder if this is more about putting Fred Hickman and CNNSI on the sports map, rather than Shaq on the pages of NBA history.
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