Can’t MVPlease Everyone

They were small things, but of course, from Shaquille O’Neal’s vantage point--way up above everybody--everything looks tiny and every complaint seems hardly worth analysis.

He has long been bigger and stronger and richer and scarier and funnier than just about anybody else in the history of the NBA.

He has long been the one to watch, the player to fear. Any time now, the earth was going to shake, the league was going to tremble, and the Shaq Age was going to be upon us.

Except, it didn’t happen.

In the seven seasons before this one, lots of little things pulled him level with, or below, the other outstanding players of his time--Michael Jordan, David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Karl Malone, Alonzo Mourning.

O’Neal was just not healthy enough, or just not consistent enough, or not happy enough, or not coached enough or simply just not quite dominant enough.

On Tuesday, O’Neal was officially recognized with his unprecedented, near-unanimous selection--he polled 120 of 121 first-place votes--as the 1999-2000 most valuable player. The MVP trophy was the first of his career. He finished second to Robinson in 1995.

But unofficially, O’Neal’s progress and production this season have been noted and cataloged nightly by friend and foe alike, because when the giant awoke this season, there was hell to pay.

“From this day on,” O’Neal said Tuesday at his award ceremony, “I would like to be known as ‘the Big Aristotle,’ because it was Aristotle who said, ‘Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do.’

“And this year, I just wanted to come out and be very consistent, dominate and play hard. I met with Phil [Jackson] this summer at his home in Montana, I rented a boat, went to his house and he kept it real simple.

“He said, ‘I want you to dominate, I want you to rebound, I want you to score, I want you to play defense, I want you to block shots.’ And I tried to do that.”

With that bracing opening statement, and a mammoth grin, O’Neal touched on almost all of the aspects of his recent rise, but his teammates and coaches were happy to point out the specific reasons as they saw it:

* Jackson, hired last June, demanded a new level of commitment and responsibility from a player who at times was content to remain low-key and in the background, emotionally.

“I think his leadership has been the most important thing for us,” Jackson said Tuesday, pointing specifically to the 15 games at the start of the season that Kobe Bryant sat out because of a broken hand.

“You know, from Day 1, he was the guy who rallied the guys about defense and rebounding and doing the right things and being responsible for how we approached our season.”

From the day of his arrival, Jackson said that O’Neal was the reason he came, and that no expectations would be met unless O’Neal was the one who led them there.

“You know, you see players come along in our lifetime that perhaps haven’t fulfilled all the things they’d love to fulfill,” Jackson said. “That’s one of the things that I felt with Shaquille.

“You’d like to see this player who’s so talented, so dominant in our game, have the success that this game can give a person like that. . . . I think probably the most important thing for Shaquille is, ‘Can I win a championship and when’s it going to come my way?’

“That’s the kind of thing that I saw as a player, that he really wants to get to that level, and that this was an opportunity in the making.”

Said O’Neal’s friend, forward Glen Rice, “He’s definitely a captain of this team--[both] vocally and going out there and just doing it physically. I think he has that type of air about himself.

“Sometimes, it takes different things to bring it out of people, and this year I think it was Phil Jackson who brought it out of Shaq.”

* After sitting out 52 games because of stomach-muscle and knee injuries in his first three Laker seasons, and being limited by those injuries even when he played, O’Neal showed up for this season completely injury-free.

It was the stomach-muscle problem that limited O’Neal’s mobility most, he said, and that caused his shot blocking to dip to his career-low 1.7 average last season.

But this season, O’Neal sat out only two games--late in the season as a precautionary measure to rest his ankle--and never had problems with his stomach, which he credits to off-season work in Vancouver with physical therapist Alex McKechnie.

“A lot of acupuncture treatments and a lot of working out with Alex in Canada,” O’Neal said. “I just woke up one day and it was gone.”

And he had to be injury-free. There was no established backup center behind him, and Jackson was determined to play O’Neal lots. O’Neal averaged a career-high 40 minutes this season.

Guard Ron Harper said the key to O’Neal’s season was “when Phil said, ‘You’re going to play the whole game and every game.’ He knew he had nobody behind him, so he had to go out and just do his thing.”

* O’Neal made a determined effort to cover his teammates on defense and find them with passes on offense, accepting the idea that he needed to help make them better for the team to win consistently.

“I definitely think the defensive presence is there a lot more than it has been in the past,” Rice said. “I mean, he’s always been one of the top scorers in the league and this year he’s really come into his own defensively.

“I think defensively, Shaq has really stepped up and taken the team on his back.”

Said Jackson, “I think that he’s dedicated himself to playing defense, and at some level, he’s got himself believing that defense is really what wins in this league.”

In the triangle offense, which creates mismatches and floor space with patterned cuts and quick passing, O’Neal found a perfect vehicle for himself--either he got the ball in a spot to score, or he could find a teammate in a better spot.

O’Neal had a career-high 3.8 assists average, best among centers.

“He wants to exhibit to people that he’s more than just a dunker,” assistant coach Jim Cleamons said.

“I think he’s taken the offense and embraced it. I think it’s easier for him to do it now, because of the maturity, seeing now he can score a lot of points, but he needs his teammates also to be threats.

“And that it’s bigger than just him.”

* O’Neal, who turned 28 on March 6, the night he scored a career-high 61 points against the Clippers, found a calm state of maturity, which moved Executive Vice President Jerry West to predict in training camp that O’Neal would be MVP, and included a warmer relationship, after a few chilly seasons, with Bryant.

“We had a lot of meetings this summer,” O’Neal said. “Kobe is a student of the game, just like I am. And we know that historically every great team had a one-two punch. . . .

“Kobe’s doing a fabulous job. . . . He’s a hell of a player.”

And does O’Neal picture Bryant winning the MVP trophy in the future?

“I do. A couple of times.”

The only thing left, for O’Neal and for the Lakers, is to win the championship.

“I like our chances,” O’Neal said. “If we can get it done this year, it’d be nice. Hopefully, my plate will be full as a player.

“I’ve got the chicken, I’ve got the salad, I’ve got the rice, but right now, I’m just missing the macaroni.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

L.A. MVPs

Most-valuable-player winners for Los Angeles-area teams in the four major sports:

NBA

‘75-76 Abdul-Jabbar, Lakers

‘76-77 Abdul-Jabbar, Lakers

‘79-80 Abdul-Jabbar, Lakers

‘86-87 Magic Johnson, Lakers

‘88-89 Magic Johnson, Lakers

‘89-90 Magic Johnson, Lakers

‘99-00 Shaquille O’Neal, Lakers

BASEBALL

1962 Maury Wills, Dodgers

1963 Sandy Koufax, Dodgers

1974 Steve Garvey, Dodgers

1979 Don Baylor, Angels

1988 Kirk Gibson, Dodgers

NHL

1989 Wayne Gretzky, Kings

NFL

1969 Roman Gabriel, Rams

1985 Marcus Allen, Raiders

ALSO

*

Also

SUNS SHARE

MAGIC MOMENT

Skiles isn’t surprised at all by MVP voting, and Hardaway is surprised only that he never got another chance for a championship ring with O’Neal in Orlando.

Page 5

Top Value

A look at Shaquille O’Neal’s numbers and past most valuable player winners:

*

Shaquille O’Neal’s Season Highs

A look at Shaq’s individual game highs this season:

* Minutes--55: at Utah, Jan. 24, 2 overtimes (league high)

* Points--61: at Clippers, March 6 (league high)

* Rebounds--24: vs. Detroit, Dec. 12 (league high)

* Field goals made--24: at Clippers, March 6 (league high)

* Field-goals attempted--35: at Clippers, March 6

* Free throws made--19: vs. Chicago, Nov. 19 (league high)

* Free-throw attempts--31: vs. Chicago, Nov. 19 (league high)

* Blocked shots--8: at Phoenix, Nov. 15; vs. Philadelphia, March 31

*

MVPs By Position

Centers: 25

Forwards: 11

Guards: 9

MVPs By Team

* Boston--10 (1957--Bob Cousy, 1958--Bill Russell, 1961--Bill Russell, 1962--Bill Russell, 1963--Bill Russell, 1965--Bill Russell, 1973--Dave Cowens, 1984--Larry Bird, 1985--Larry Bird, 1986--Larry Bird).

* Lakers--7 (1976--Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1977--Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1980--Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1987--Magic Johnson, 1989--Magic Johnson, 1990--Magic Johnson, 2000--Shaquille O’Neal).

* Chicago--5 (1988--Michael Jordan, 1991--Michael Jordan, 1992--Michael Jordan, 1996--Michael Jordan, 1998--Michael Jordan).

* Philadelphia 76ers--5 (1966--Wilt Chamberlain, 1967--Wilt Chamberlain, 1968--Wilt Chamberlain, 1981--Julius Erving, 1983--Moses Malone).

* Houston--3 (1979--Moses Malone, 1982--Moses Malone, 1994--Hakeem Olajuwon).

* Milwaukee--3 (1971--Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1972--Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1974--Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).

* St. Louis--2 (1956--Bob Pettit, 1959--Bob Pettit).

* Utah--2 (1997--Karl Malone, 1999--Karl Malone).

* Baltimore--1 (1969--Wes Unseld).

* Buffalo--1 (1975--Bob McAdoo).

* Cincinnati--1 (1964--Oscar Robertson).

* New York--1 (1970--Willis Reed).

* Philadelphia Warriors--1 (1960--Wilt Chamberlain)

* Phoenix--1 (1993--Charles Barkley).

* Portland--1 (1978--Bill Walton).

* San Antonio--1 (1995--David Robinson).

O’Neal By Season

1992-93*

POINTS

23.4

REBOUNDS

13.9

*

1993-94*

POINTS

29.3

REBOUNDS

13.2

*

1994-95*

POINTS

29.3

REBOUNDS

11.4

*

1995-96*

POINTS

26.6

REBOUNDS

11.0

*

1996-97

POINTS

26.2

REBOUNDS

12.5

*

1997-98

POINTS

28.3

REBOUNDS

11.4

*

1999

POINTS

26.3

REBOUNDS

10.7

*

1999-2000

POINTS

29.7

REBOUNDS

13.6

* Orlando; Rest with Lakers

Researched by HOUSTON MITCHELL / Los Angeles Times

Lakers vs. Phoenix

Game 2 Tonight

at Staples Center

7:30, Fox Sports Net

*

DON’T FORGET

ABOUT GAME 2

After two big victories and Shaq’s MVP award, Lakers say there won’t be a letdown tonight.

Page 4

*

BUSS WANTS

KUPCHAK TO STAY

Owner gives permission for talks with Nets, but says he still expects general manager to remain. Page 4

*

KIDD SAYS HE

FEELS BETTER

However, there is still no definite announcement that Phoenix point guard will play tonight. Page 4

*

PORTLAND: 103

UTAH: 85

Balanced Trail Blazers shoot 56% and take control from the start against Jazz for a 2-0 edge in series. Page 6

NEW YORK: 82

MIAMI: 76

Knicks get even in the always-ugly series, as Heat shoots 34% and misses 14 of 33 free throws. Page 6