NBA players have voted Philadelphia 76ers forward Charles Barkley as The Sporting News' Player of the Year, the St. Louis-based publication said Friday.

In balloting by 180 NBA players, Barkley received 57 1/2 votes. Los Angeles guard Magic Johnson received 44 1/2. Chicago's Michael Jordan was third with 44 votes, followed by New York's Patrick Ewing with 21 1/2 and Houston's Akeem Olajuwon with 7.During the regular season, Barkley averaged 25.2 points a game and 11.5 rebounds. The Sixers had a regular-season record of 53-29 and were eliminated by the Bulls in conference semifinals.

For the second straight year, Jordan was the leading vote-getter for The Sporting News' NBA All-Star Team. He is joined on the first team by Barkley, Johnson, Utah's Karl Malone and Ewing.

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San Antonio center David Robinson was chosen the NBA Rookie of the Year. Runner-up was Tim Hardaway of Golden State.

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