The NBA has been steadily updating its awards lineup, finding ways to pay tribute to some of the game’s legends in the process. Recently the league renamed the Finals MVP award for Bill Russell, the NBA All-Star MVP award for Kobe Bryant, the Eastern Conference title for Bob Cousy, the Western Conference title for Oscar Robertson, East MVP award for Larry Bird, and West MVP award for Magic Johnson.
That was just the beginning, though, as on Tuesday the league announced the new names for its regular season awards, along with new trophy designs, headlined by the Michael Jordan Trophy for the NBA MVP.
The rest of the awards are in the style of crystal vases, with the Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy for the Defensive Player of the Year, the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy for Rookie of the Year, the John Havlicek Trophy for Sixth Man of the Year, George Mikan Trophy for Most Improved Player, and a new Jerry West Trophy for Most Clutch Player. The West award will be voted on by the media like the others, but nominees will be compiled by NBA head coaches.
The NBA is redesigning and renaming many of its individual awards.
The MVP is named after Jordan
The DPOY is named after Olajuwon
The ROY is named after Wilt
The MIP is named after Mikan
The 6th Man is named after Havlicek
And there's a new Clutch award named after Jerry West pic.twitter.com/Y3HFo2qkYm— Kirk Goldsberry (@kirkgoldsberry) December 13, 2022
While the new trophy designs will surely be met with some pushback, it’s good of the league to try and make sure they honor the legends of the game in this manner. Highlighting the best players the NBA has seen through individual and team honors is a great way to keep their legacies alive and introduce other generations to their accomplishments.
