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Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Nash Edges Shaq In Fourth-closest MVP Vote

By BOB BAUMAP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) – Steve Nash edged Shaquille O’Neal by 34 points to win the NBA’s most valuable player award, the fourth-closest margin since the media began determining the winner in 1980-81. The decision was first reported Friday, but the official announcement Sunday detailed the balloting by a panel of 127 sports writers and broadcasters in the United States and Canada. Nash, who led Phoenix to an NBA-best 62 victories in his first season with the Suns, received 1,066 points. O’Neal, who left the Los Angeles Lakers for Miami and helped the Heat to the best record in the Eastern Conference, received 1,032. Players received 10 points for a first-place vote, seven for second, five for third, three for fourth and one for fifth. Nash received 65 first-place votes to O’Neal’s 58. The NBA assist leader at 11.5 a game, Nash is the sixth guard to win the award, joining Bob Cousy, Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson. Nash’s close friend Dirk Nowitski of Dallas was a distant third in the balloting with 349 points, followed by Tim Duncan (328) of San Antonio and Allen Iverson (240) of Philadelphia. Nash is the first player to lead the league in assists and be named MVP since Johnson in 1987.

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Florida Lawmaker Blasts Alligator Alcatraz As ‘Concentration Camp’ 

Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon has condemned the state’s $450 million immigration detention facility in the Everglades—dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz”—as an inhumane, politically motivated stunt that is detaining people accused of minor infractions like driving without a license or running a stop sign.