Mutombo Hauls In Award

Tue., May 2, 1995

Compiled From Wire Services

Dikembe Mutombo, who led the NBA in blocks and finished second in rebounding, became the first Denver Nuggets player to win the NBA’s defensive player of the year award.

The 7-foot-2 center received 45 of a possible 105 votes from a nationwide panel of sports writers and broadcasters.

Chicago forward Scottie Pippen was second with 16 votes and Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon, who won the award the previous two years, was third with 13.

“I knew there was a possibility that I could win this year if I didn’t talk too much. I just needed to go out and take care of business,” Mutombo said.

Garry St. Jean, who led the Sacramento Kings to their finest NBA season in a decade, was rewarded with a three-year contract.

Terms were not disclosed, although The Sacramento Bee reported during the weekend that St. Jean would receive $700,000 per year.

San Antonio’s Dennis Rodman was fined $7,500 for throwing Mutombo to the floor in the first quarter of San Antonio’s 122-96 playoff win Sunday.

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Mutombo Hauls In Award

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