As the sport of basketball grows, the things the NBA do to keep interest and new things coming into the sport will also continue to grow as well.
Of course, it is important to always be bringing in new things, it keeps interest, and not just for fans, but for players, and future prospects too. Awards, competitions and ways to show off skill are all very important.
For fans, it is exciting to see new things brought in, maybe not as exciting as sports odds, but still exciting nonetheless.
One new thing that the NBA has brought in that is new is a new award, accompanied by a new trophy, named after legends that we know all too well.
So, today, instead of talking about the history of the game, or the latest thoughts we have around the league, we will tell you everything you need to know and everything you could think of to do with this new award.
A New Trophy
A new trophy and award was brought into being this year, so from 2022 onwards, when the NBA conference finals end each year there will be two new trophies awarded to a player.
In the Eastern Conference, the MVP will receive the Larry Bird trophy, and in the Western Conference the MVP will receive the Earvin “Magic” Johnson trophy.
Both Bird and Johnson are very fitting for each of these trophies as their struggle to be the best, coming from opposite coasts if often talked about, and is something of a memoir of the NBA in the 80s.
However, what many NBA fans are asking is, if these awards had existed in the time of these legends, would they have won these trophies? And, if they had done, which of these two legends would have gained the most of these trophies?
Let’s just spare a moment to think about that.
What If It Had Always Existed?
Thinking about the two legends these trophies are named after we will use the Hollinger’s Game Score to calculate who would win the most. In this 10 is average, 40 is outstanding, so an average score of 20 is good, 25 is amazing, and 30 is almost unheard of in the league.
Game Score can tell you which had the best series, but you have to also account that MVP awards are usually only handed to a winning team.
If you consider all the above factors and more, we can say that both would have won these trophies, however, Johnson would have had a couple more than Bird. But, they would have had the trophies, and that’s enough.
But, enough on this, let's think about the current winners, and what we know so far about this trophy and award.
The Winners So Far
This new trophy is an award in the NBA that has only begun this year (2022). It is given to the players with the top performance in the Conference Finals.
It will be decided by a panel of media persons who will vote after the Finals have ended. Then, the person who gets the most votes will win.
Since the award has literally only just come into existence, there are only two winners, one in the Eastern Conference, and one in the Western Conference.
2022 saw Jayson Tatum win the Eastern conference “Larry Bird” Trophy for the Boston Celtics. Whereas Stephen Curry won the Western Conference Earvin “Magic” Johnson Trophy for the Golden State Warriors.
Jayson is a Forward and Stephen is a Guard.
Not only will this trophy be a way to further motivate players and remember the history of the league, but it will also be a way to denote the success of a player overall.
When we look on Wikipedia, the NBA site and so on, and look at the achievements and awards of a player, we will now see how many of these conference finals MVP awards a player has received.
It is not only good to know, but it is a good idea to be able to check this information, so you can have a better idea of what players are doing the best for when you make your sports bets on the NBA games.
The Trophy
Now, we can hardly leave you hanging, can we? You want to know about the trophies themselves right?
Well, here’s something new for you… The Larry O’Brien trophy has also had a makeover.
Meanwhile, these two new trophies are both gorgeous. Not so different from the typical trophies that you find in the NBA. They have a golden based and a silver colored basketball on the top.
However, what it means for the players is even more important. Conference Finals are important, okay they are not the Finals, but they’re close, and the NBA wants to recognize the MVP’s of the Conference Finals.
It gives a tangible representation of the abilities and skill of the players. Players can often be disputed on their achievements, but now these trophies will be perfect proof. They might be pretty, but their meaning for the players is even more important.
