NBA Introduces New Postseason Awards and Redesigned Trophies
The NBA on May 12th, 2022 unveiled multiple redesigns of their postseason awards, as well as adding two new awards.
NBA Championship Trophy
The award for winning an NBA Championship is the Larry O’Brien trophy which has not been changed since its inauguration in 1977. The, “Larry O.B”, which is what Kawhi dubbed the trophy in 2019, has been a basketball icon for 45 years and is something that all players strive for.
The NBA along with artist, Victor Solomon, and Tiffany & Co, chose to redesign this trophy by shifting the ball and net configuration to symbolize the league looking ahead to its future. Additionally, silver markings were added to the basketball seams and net design.
Conference Championship Trophies
The Eastern and Western conference championship trophies, awarded to the East and West champions, have been renamed after two NBA legends. The Oscar Robertson Trophy will go to the Western Conference champion. While the Bob Cousy Trophy will go to the Eastern Conference champion.
Larry Bird and Earvin “Magic” Johnson helped define the modern NBA with their individual brilliance and team success in the 1980s. The two legends are honored as the namesakes for the trophies that will now be awarded each year to the Eastern and Western Conference Finals MVPs. pic.twitter.com/XW5ptAVtYX
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 12, 2022
Conference Final MVP
The biggest change the NBA made was to introduce a new Conference Finals MVP award. This is a much-needed award, as the only individual postseason award currently is Finals MVP, which many people did not think was enough. This will provide players with another accolade they can add to their resumes which may have a legacy-altering impact for some players.
The player that is named Western Conference Finals MVP will win the Earvin, “Magic,” Johnson Trophy. Likewise, the player that is named Eastern Conference Finals MVP will win the Larry Bird Trophy. The names are fitting as between both players they participated in every NBA finals during the 1980s.
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