NBA rename MVP award after Michael Jordan
Formerly known as the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, this year’s MVP will instead be handed a new award named after one of basketball’s greats.
This season’s MVP winner in the NBA regular season will be the first recipient of the Michael Jordan Trophy. The NBA announced on Tuesday the renaming of the award after the former Chicago Bulls star, widely considered to be the greatest basketball player of all time, who won the MVP award himself five times during his career.
When Mark Smith got the call from Michael Jordan, he initially thought Jordan was joking about a project he was recruiting him for.
— Rod Boone (@rodboone) December 13, 2022
“This one in fact turned out to be a real deal. It was wild.”
A backstory and why the trophy is missing Jordan's likeness https://t.co/AWsNNgXFEs
New trophies in the NBA
The Michael Jordan Trophy is the headline of six newly-designed trophies, which includes a new award for Clutch Player of the Year, named after Los Angeles Lakers legend Jerry West, the only player to win the Finals MVP award as part of the losing team when he did so in 1969. The Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy will be awarded to 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 and the George Mikan Trophy for Most Improved Player.
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“Our new collection of trophies celebrates some of the greatest and most impactful players in the history of the NBA,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “As we recognise the league’s top performers each season, we also pay tribute to the legends who embody these prestigious awards.”
The NBA today unveiled six newly designed trophies named after NBA legends, which will be presented to the end-of-season Kia Performance Award winners. The lineup is headlined by The Michael Jordan Trophy, awarded to the Kia NBA MVP.
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) December 13, 2022
THREAD ⤵️https://t.co/zmXUdtolWo
The announcement comes shortly after the league revealed a new trophy for the 2022-23 campaign to be awarded to the team that finishes with the best regular-season record. The Maurice Podoloff Trophy – named after the NBA’s first commissioner – will be handed out for the first time this season. The MVP trophy had previously been named after Podoloff up until last year when it was retained by Nikola Jokic.