| | Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- Glen Rice believed Lakers teammate Shaquille
O'Neal was a shoo-in to become the first unanimous winner of
balloting for the MVP award.
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| O'Neal |
One of the 121 voters, Fred Hickman of CNN/SI, didn't agree,
instead picking Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson.
Rice was offended.
"Yeah, it matters to us," he said of the lone vote not cast
for O'Neal. "To us, it was no contest. I don't know where that one
vote slipped away. We felt all along Shaq would be the MVP. It was
just a matter of making it official. All along, it was a runaway."
Lakers owner Jerry Buss tried to be diplomatic, but it was
obvious he wasn't pleased that O'Neal didn't get all the votes.
"It's a free country and everybody should vote their
conscience," Buss said. He then repeated and emphasized the
phrase, "Vote their conscience."
Lakers vice president Jerry West noted that the vote was the
most one-sided ever, smiled and added, "God, I feel sorry for the
guy who didn't vote for him."
Most of the Lakers, including O'Neal, seemed more amused than
angry over the one missed vote. O'Neal thanked all the voters, even
the one who cast his ballot for Iverson.
"Thank you, too. I appreciate it," O'Neal said with what
appeared to be a genuine smile.
Lakers forward Robert Horry joked: "I heard some guy at CNN didn't vote for him. Did he ever play? If he played he probably was a guard. Anyway, that's the great thing about this country, people
can have different opinions."
Guard Ron Harper didn't think it mattered that O'Neal wasn't an
unanimous choice.
"Who cares? MVP is MVP," Harper said. "Shaq won huge. I think
some guy is always going to vote for his guy. It's OK just so long
as Shaq gets what he deserves.
"And he deserves the MVP. I think I know; I played with one
(Michael Jordan at Chicago) for a few years."
Phil Jackson, the Bulls' coach while Jordan was winning the MVP
award four times in the 1990s, said O'Neal's selection was "no
surprise to anyone."
"Those things (the one missed vote) happen. There's always
going to be a dissenter out there even in a landslide, and we
consider this a landslide," the Lakers' coach said.
One avid Lakers fan wasn't a bit offended by the vote for
Iverson.
John Lazerus, wearing a gold Los Angeles jersey with O'Neal's
No. 34, spent more than two hours hanging over the wall next to the
players' parking lot at their El Segundo practice facility, waiting
to wave to O'Neal and shout congratulations.
"He deserves it," said Lazerus, a 20-year-old college student.
"But I think Iverson should get some votes, because he led the
76ers to the second round now, and I really don't think they would
be where they are without him. I believe the Lakers would still be
in the second round even if they didn't have Shaq."
Hickman explained his decision in much the same way, saying:
"You take Shaq away from the Lakers and you've still got a great
team. You take Iverson away from the 76ers and they are the
Clippers, the Hawks. They are no longer contenders."
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