The National Basketball Association will say good-bye to two of its greatest stars in 2005. Karl Malone officially announced his retirement last weekend after flirting with a return with the San Antonio Spurs. Malone’s retirement brings to a close a fabulous 19-year career in which he established himself as arguably the greatest power forward in the history of the game. “The Mailman,” who spent all but one of his 19 seasons with the Utah Jazz, retires as the NBA’s second leading all-time scorer behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Malone will be joined in retirement by Reggie Miller, who will call it a career at the end of the season. Miller spent his entire 18-year career with the Indiana Pacers. He will go down as one of the top clutch 3-point shooters in this history of the game. Although neither one of these two future Hall of Famers won a championship ring, that should not diminish the greatness and consistency that they exhibited throughout their careers.
As the NBA begins the second portion of the season, here are my awards at the All-Star Break. Of course, this could change by the end of the season.
*Most Valuable Player: Steve Nash (Phoenix) n Nash gets the nod by a whisker over Cleveland’s LeBron James, who is having a monster season. Nash has been a godsend to the Suns after coming over from Dallas in the offseason. Not only is he averaging 16 points a game, but he leads the league at 11 assists a game. The biggest factor is choosing Nash right now is the impact he has had on the team, which entered the break with the league’s best record at 42-12. The Suns only won 29 games a year ago. The Suns are the highest scoring team and one of the most entertaining as well. With Nash dishing out the rock, teammates Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion and Quentin Richardson are scoring almost at will. When Nash left the lineup with a groin injury in December, the Suns lost all five games he missed.
*Rookie of the Year: Emeka Okafor (Charlotte) n There is a groundswell of support for Okafor’s former collegiate teammate Ben Gordon of the Chicago Bulls, but Okafor gets the nod here because of his consistency in carrying the banner for the expansion Bobcats. Okafor enters the second half of the season averaging 15 points, 11 rebounds and nearly two blocks a game. He has become a bigger scoring threat than most people realize while continuing to rebound and play solid defense in the paint. He also had a string on 20 consecutive “double-doubles” this season.
*Coach of the Year: Mike D’Antoni (Phoenix) n There are many good candidates here, including Eddie Jordan (Washington), Nate McMillan (Seattle) and Scott Skiles (Chicago), but D’Antoni is the choice with what he’s done in the Valley of the Sun. A veteran coach of the European pro leagues, D’Antoni has brought that style to the Suns with its wide-open running and shooting that entertains on a nightly basis.
*Comeback Player of the Year: Grant Hill (Orlando) n Is there any doubt? After missing the better part of four seasons with troublesome ankles, Hill made one last comeback attempt and he made it count. Remarkably, he is performing the same All-Star level that he was during his days as a Detroit Piston, averaging nearly 20 points a game. He is the main reason whey the Magic are a probable playoff team in a year when the franchise was supposed to be rebuilding.
*Most Improved Player: Larry Hughes (Washington) n Okay, I’m a little big of a homer here, but Hughes was enjoying a tremendous season before being sidetracked by a broken thumb last month. At the time of his injury, Hughes was averaging 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and a NBA-high 2.9 steals a game. The Wizards were enjoying the best season in years with Hughes, Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison forming one of the league’s highest scoring trios. Hughes is expected back at the end of the month, which bodes well for the fans in Washington, who are starving for a playoff contender.
*Biggest Surprise: Washington and Orlando n The Wizards have been a consistent lottery team for years, but now they have the third best record in the East. The Magic were supposed to be in a rebuilding stage after trading star guard Tracy McGrady, but Steve Francis, the return of Grant Hill and rookie Dwight Howard have put the Magic in the playoff hunt.
*Biggest Disappointment: Minnesota n The Timberwolves had the best record and the West and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs a year ago. Now, they needed a late rush to finish the All-Star break at the .500 mark. The struggle in Minnesota led to the firing of head coach Flip Saunders. Team President Kevin McHale will try to right ship.
Baker joins the Clippers
Another local player joined the NBA ranks this week as former Madison High star Maurice Baker was picked up by the Los Angeles Clippers. Baker was signed to a 10-day contract. Baker was enjoying a fine season with the Dakota Wizards of the CBA when he was signed by Los Angeles. Baker was a junior college star at Dixie College and a former All Big XII Conference performer at Oklahoma State.
