Basketball is a team sport, it takes a whole roster for teams to win a championship. But the NBA is also the most superstar-driven league in the world, one player can make all the difference between winning and losing on a team. While everyone’s ambition at the start of a new season is always to win a championship, there are numerous individual awards that players strive for as well.
The MVP award is arguably the most prestigious, and the race for it is a closely followed plotline in the NBA every season. There are also awards for the Defensive Player Of The Year, the Rookie Of The Year, and Sixth Man Of The Year to name a few. And those awards have now been revamped a bit, with some of the NBA’s greatest legends honored with their names being given to the trophies.
The NBA Announced 6 New Names And Trophies For Individual Accolades
Everyone knows that the Finals MVP is named after the legendary Bill Russell, but now it would seem that all the other significant accolades will also be named after various legends. The NBA named the Eastern and Western Conference Finals MVP trophies last season. Now, the MVP, the DPOY, the ROTY, the 6MOY, and the MIP have been given new trophies, while they have also been named after players that excelled in those roles.
New names and trophies for NBA’s major individual awards:
– MVP: The Michael Jordan Trophy
– DPOY: Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy
– ROY: Wilt Chamberlain Trophy
– Sixth Man of Year: John Havlicek Trophy
– Most Improved: George Mikan Trophy
– New Clutch Player of Year: Jerry West Trophy
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 13, 2022
“New names and trophies for NBA’s major individual awards:
MVP: The Michael Jordan Trophy
DPOY: Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy
ROY: Wilt Chamberlain Trophy
Sixth Man of Year: John Havlicek Trophy
Most Improved: George Mikan Trophy
New Clutch Player of Year: Jerry West Trophy.”
There have been explanations for why each trophy has been named for the players it has been named after, with NBA PR explaining it after the reveal.
“The league’s MVP will now be awarded The Michael Jordan Trophy, bearing the name of the NBA legend widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. During his illustrious career, Jordan was named MVP five times.
“The NBA will introduce a new Kia Performance Award at the end of the 2022-23 season, the Kia NBA Clutch Player of the Year, with its recipient receiving The Jerry West Trophy. Legendary Los Angeles Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn gave West the nickname “Mr. Clutch” for his extraordinary shooting at the end of close games.
“Defensive dominance helped define Hakeem Olajuwon’s Hall of Fame career. A two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and nine-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection, Olajuwon is the league’s all-time leader in blocked shots and ranks ninth in steals.
“Wilt Chamberlain’s 1959-60 season is unmatched for an NBA rookie. Chamberlain averaged 37.6 points and 27.0 rebounds in 46.4 minutes per game for the Philadelphia Warriors, winning both the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards.
“John Havlicek starred in his role during his Hall of Fame career, excelling off the bench like no player before him. Havlicek came off the bench for the first seven seasons of his career and was an All-Star in four of those seasons.
“A layup and footwork exercise known as the “Mikan Drill” has been used for decades by players at all levels to improve their game. It is named for George Mikan, who mastered the fundamentals as the NBA’s first dominant big man.”
The NBA has put a lot of thought into how these trophies will be named, and it is wonderful to see so many of the game’s best be honored in these ways. There is an added level of prestige to the awards for those receiving them now, and the trophies themselves look pretty good as well. It will be fun to see which players receive the first of all these new trophies at the end of this season.
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