May 12, (THEWILL) – On Thursday, the NBA introduced new conference finals MVP awards, as well as redesigns of the Larry O’Brien Trophy, NBA Finals MVP, and Eastern and Western Conference trophies.
The new postseason trophies are all named after NBA luminaries and were created in conjunction with artist Victor Solomon and Tiffany & Co.
Since 1984, the NBA championship has been named after O’Brien, and the Finals MVP has been named after Bill Russell since 2009. Larry Bird (Eastern Conference) and Magic Johnson (Western Conference) will be honoured with new conference finals MVP trophies (Western Conference).
The Eastern Conference’s Bob Cousy and Oscar Robertson (Western Conference) are now honoured with conference championship trophies.
In a statement released in reaction to the news, Johnson said: “The NBA Conference Finals represent the last hurdle a team must face for an opportunity to make it to the big stage, the NBA Finals.
“I’m truly honoured to have my name memorialised on the Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Trophy. This player excels on both ends of the court, makes his teammates better and leads his team to the greatest stage in basketball.”
“I am very honoured to have my name associated with the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals MVP Trophy,” Bird said. “I know how tough it is to get to this great milestone of the Eastern Conference Finals, and to be named the Most Valuable Player makes it even more special.”
The new Larry O’Brien Trophy features a forward-looking ball and net to represent “the league looking ahead to its future.” The trophy’s base now has two independent discs, with the top disc honouring the league’s first 75 years and the bottom disc providing space for the following 25 years of NBA champions.
The gold vermeil on the Bill Russell Trophy now matches the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
The conference championships and conference MVP honours will follow a similar format, with a sterling silver basketball as the centrepiece. The Magic Johnson and Larry Bird MVP medals differ from the Bill Russell Award in that they feature a 24-karat gold vermeil net.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
