Michael Jordan is widely considered to be the greatest NBA player of all time. He has multiple accolades to back his claims to the title of GOAT, the greatest being that he won 6 NBA Finals MVPs along with several other titles over his 15-year NBA career.
Black Jesus as he is nicknamed by a few dominated the league for the majority of the 1990s and seemed almost second to none. It would interest NBA fans to know that MJ never lost in the NBA Finals. Moreover, he never saw a Game 7 or faced an elimination game in his multiple Finals appearances.
He has also dominated in the NBA regular season and has multiple MVPs to back it up. 5 to be exact. It seems that the league has decided to acknowledge his greatness by remodeling the NBA MVP trophy to show respect to the Chicago Bulls legends. Fans must certainly want to know more about this trophy.
Taking a closer look at the NBA MVP trophy named after Michael Jordan
The initial NBA MVP trophy was called the Maurice Podoloff trophy. Fans might remember that he was the first commissioner of the league. In order to show respect to him, it was named after him. However, in order to keep up with the changing times, league authorities have changed the design of the trophy. Now, they have named it after Michael Jordan.
The design of the Michael Jordan NBA MVP trophy has a miniature Jordan holding a basketball high in the air with one hand. Interestingly, almost every single aspect of this trophy has something to do with MJ’s legacy.
Firstly, the trophy is expected to be around 23.6 inches in height and 23.6 lbs in weight. Fans must certainly be aware that Jordan wore number 23 and won 6 NBA titles. Thus, this aspect highlights those accomplishments. Next, the ball that the statue will be holding is also designed as a 23-point faceted crystal ball.
Paying homage through the details.
An in-depth look at the intricacies and stories featured within the design of the new Michael Jordan Trophy for the #KiaMVP. pic.twitter.com/WyOXgsKVxQ
— NBA (@NBA) December 13, 2022
To those who are confused, this simply means that there will be 23 edges or sides on the ball, giving it a completely unique appearance. The statue itself will be positioned at a 15-degree angle. This represents the number of complete seasons that Jordan played in the league.
Finally, it will also have a 5 sided base to commemorate his 5 regular season MVPs and a six-sided nameplate representing his championships. This trophy will be given to the NBA MVP of the 2021-2022 season, Nikola Jokic, and to the others moving forward.