The NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award has been renamed the Michael Jordan Trophy in honour of arguably the league’s greatest-ever player. The trophy was given Maurice Podoloff’s name for 60 years because he served as the league’s first commissioner.
The NBA made their decision to rebrand public on Tuesday. Jordan has won the prize five times, the most recent time being in 1998 when he led the Chicago Bulls to their final NBA Championship. The best player of all time has long been a topic of discussion, and this new MVP trophy might help fans come to an agreement.
The trophy will stand 23.6 inches tall and weigh 23.6 pounds, according to the AP. His jersey number and the six NBA championships he won with the Bulls are referenced in the weight. Jordan, who owns the Charlotte Hornets, supported the concept but asked that his likeness not be used for the statue. The statue is simply supposed to represent someone striving for excellence.
NBA announced the wholesale rebranding of all its trophies in the last few seasons, and added a few more alongside the Jordan trophy on Tuesday.
The Jerry West Award is being introduced and will be awarded to the NBA Clutch Player of the Year. Voting will be done by a media panel and nominations will be made through NBA coaches.
Other awards include the Defensive Player trophy (Hakeem Olajuwon), the Rookie of the Year trophy (Wilt Chamberlain), the Sixth Man of the Year trophy (John Havlicek) and the Most Improved Player trophy (George Mikan). Jordan won six NBA titles along with six Finals MVP accolades.