THIS season’s MVP winner in the NBA regular season will be the first recipient of the Michael Jordan Trophy.
The NBA announced yesterday the renaming of the award after the former Chicago Bulls star, widely considered to be the greatest basketball player of all-time, and who won the MVP award himself five times during his career.
The Michael Jordan Trophy is the headline of six newly-designed trophies, including 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.
“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 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. (Yahoo Sport)
