The National Basketball Association has re-vamped its slate of awards in a massive announcement this morning, including renaming five after historical players who are widely known to represent each award. For the Most Valuable Player award, no player is more fitting to carry that honor than five-time MVP winner Michael Jordan. Being top three in 10 of his 15 career seasons, Jordan was seemingly always among the league’s best. A subtle nod in the GOAT debate, the Michael Jordan Trophy will be handed out to the league’s regular season KIA MVP each year.
“Our new collection of trophies celebrates some of the greatest and most impactful players in the history of the nba”…”As we recognize the league’s top performers each season, we also pay tribute to the legends who embody these prestigious awards”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in a statement upon the releasing of the news
The GOAT In Trophy Form
The ultimate honor of receiving this award just got an upgrade that will leave future winners in awe of the craftsmanship and details. Re-made from the original KIA MVP award, starting on the bottom, this trophy now features a five-sided base as a nod to Jordan’s five MVP awards. It is angled at 15 degrees to signify his 15-year illustrious career and has a six-sided black nameplate, representing Jordan’s six championships. The player figure on it is the only re-created award that does not feature the legend it is named after, a request Jordan made to salute future winners, saying it’s not about him but rather the award winner himself. He wants it to represent a “raw to refined” look as the trophy moves from the bottom to the top, a journey that the award winner can reflect on and recognize as the ultimate progression of their career—emerging from entering the league to achieving the NBA’s most significant individual regular season honor.
“As we worked together on this project, it was very important to michael that the figure not be a likeness of him, but instead that the recipient should be able to see himself in the award”…”FOr michael, naming the award in his honor was recognition enough”
Nike designer Mike Smith upon announcement
The bronze player on the base is reaching up at a 23-point crystal ball, as Jordan wanted the trophy to represent an MVP’s ultimate quest of endlessly chasing greatness and 23 points being an ode to his jersey number for most of his extraordinary career. That crystal ball is also 1.23″ in diameter, standing for the singularity of the Most Valuable Player and his Bulls’ number hanging in the rafters at the United Center. The piece as a whole stands 23.6″ tall and weighs 23.6 pounds, both representing his jersey number and championship rings. Seeing the immense detail in the newly renovated trophy, Bulls fans will forever gleam with pride in an award fit for the greatest of all time.
NBA Puts A Nail In James Versus Jordan Debate
As Lebron James’ career has spanned north of 20 years, the GOAT debate has been revisited what seems like a million times by now and has officially been put to rest. The NBA released a “Top 75 of All-Time” team, which featured both James and Jordan, but did not provide any order of the chosen players, so it did not supply many contexts for this endless debate. However, two of the most famous sports platforms, The Athletic and ESPN, made rankings based on the NBA’s chosen pool of 75 players and agreed with one another on the most sought-after portion of the list, #2. Lebron James, #1. Michael Jordan.
Given that two of the worldwide leaders in sports coverage have agreed on the subject and that the NBA has chosen to name the league’s most difficult award to obtain after Jordan, this debate is closed. With two NBA Championships, two Finals MVPs, one regular season MVP, nine scoring titles, and four All-Defensive First Teams separating the two legends, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for James’ following to formulate a significant argument on his behalf. There can only be one GOAT, and he hails from the Windy City.
With the Bulls’ season going much worse than expected and not many positive outlooks on the future, Chicago needed a boost, and this exciting news did just the trick. So the question looms, who will be the first Chicago Bull to hoist the Michael Jordan Trophy?
