The annual regular season MVP award for the NBA will now be named after Michael Jordan. There are also five new re-imagined trophies named after some of the game’s greatest.
The NBA’s new Michael Jordan MVP Trophy was created by longtime Air Jordan designer Mark Smith.
— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) December 13, 2022
Smith says design celebrates “working for, and reaching, the pinnacle of individual accomplishment. Michael wants the recipient to see themselves in the award, not a likeness of him.” pic.twitter.com/mN6QHCjzqa
Jordan won the MVP award 5 times in his career, second only to all-time leading scorer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who won it 6 times. The NBA is also adding a new award for the regular season, named the Clutch Player of the Year, and is named after Jerry West.
The other trophies being renamed include:
The Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy for Defensive Player of the Year
The George Mikan Trophy for Most Improved Player
The Wilt Chamberlain Trophy for Rookie of the Year
The John Havlicek Trophy for Sixth Man of the Year
New names and trophies for NBA’s major individual awards:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 13, 2022
- 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
The NBA has updated nearly all of its trophies in the past few seasons. The All-Star game MVP was renamed after Kobe Bryant. The Eastern Conference MVP was named after Larry Bird and the Western Conference MVP was named after Magic Johnson.
© 2025 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
