NBA Rename MVP Trophy After Chicago Bulls Icon Michael Jordan

NBA Rename MVP Trophy After Chicago Bulls Icon Michael Jordan

Edwin Kiplagat
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:20 PM
  • After six decades, the NBA MVP trophy will now be called the Michael Jordan trophy
  • The NBA announced the rebrand on Tuesday to honour arguably the basketball GOAT
  • Jordan won the MVP award five times, plus six NBA titles and six Finals MVP trophies

The NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award has been renamed the Michael Jordan Trophy, in honour of arguably the league's greatest-ever player.

For six decades, the trophy was named after Maurice Podoloff, the league's first commissioner.

Michael Jordan, NBA, Chicago Bulls
Michael Jordan won the NBA MVP trophy five times. Photos by NBA and Sporting News.
Source: Getty Images

The NBA announced on Tuesday their decision to rebrand. Jordan is a five-time winner of the award, with the last one coming in 1998 when he led the Chicago Bulls to their last NBA Championship.

A debate has been raging for years as to who is the greatest player of all time, and this new MVP trophy may go someway in settling the debate among fans.

Exciting feature: Check out news exactly for YOU ➡️ find "Recommended for you" block and enjoy!

Michael Jordan honoured with trophy

AP reports that the trophy will be 23.6 inches tall and weigh 23.6 pounds. The weight is a nod to his jersey number and the six NBA rings he won with the Bulls.

Jordan, who owns Charlotte Hornets, endorsed the design but declined the use of his image for the statue. The statue is meant to simply be someone reaching 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.

The NBA's most decorated players

Sports Brief earlier reported on the most decorated NBA players. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has the most MVP awards with six.

He is followed by Jordan and the late great Bill Russell, who have won the coveted award five times each.

Jordan won five MVP awards in his career - a feat he shares with Russell - winning the accolade as a Chicago Bulls player in 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996 and 1998.

Authors
Edwin Kiplagat photo
Edwin Kiplagat
Edwin Kiplagat has five years of experience in journalism working as a Sports Editor at Africa Insight Communications and ESPN. Edwin Kiplagat is a Bachelor's Degree holder in journalism from the Multimedia University of Kenya.
Tags
Lebron James