The NBA All-Star Game MVP will receive a new trophy moving forward.
On Thursday, the NBA unveiled "The Kobe Bryant Trophy," which will be awarded to the NBA All-Star Game MVP. The trophy has "intricate details holding dual meanings, both for NBA All-Star and Bryant's legendary career."
Among them: An eight-sided base that represents the eight decades of All-Star Games and Bryant's No. 8 jersey, 24 stars on the first level that represents each All-Star in the game and Bryant's No. 24 jersey, and 10 stars on the second level to represent the 10 All-Star starters and Bryant's USA Basketball No. 10 jersey.
"The occasion also gave us the privilege and responsibility to develop an entirely new silhouette worthy of being named ‘The Kobe Bryant Trophy’ for the Kia NBA All-Star MVP for which, in the spirit of its namesake, we threw out all conventions and challenged ourselves to reorient how we thought about ‘the game,’” said artist Victor Solomon, who helped design the trophy.
You can read all the details here.
The new Kobe Bryant Trophy awarded to the Kia NBA All-Star MVP further celebrates its namesake, with intricate details holding dual meanings, both for NBA All-Star and Bryant’s legendary career, which include the following: pic.twitter.com/kOXXywo8yX
— NBA (@NBA) February 3, 2022
In 2020, NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced that the All-Star Game MVP award was being permanently named after Bryant, who passed away in a tragic helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020.
"It means a lot to me," Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, who was named All-Star MVP in 2020, said. "Words can't even explain making this the first Kobe Bryant MVP trophy. I want to thank Kobe for everything he's done for me, all the long talks and the workouts. Thank you, this one is for him."
Recognized as one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history, Bryant earned 18 All-Star selections in his career and won four All-Star Game MVP awards, tying him with NBA legend Bob Pettit for the most all-time.
In addition to The Kobe Bryant Trophy, the NBA unveiled a lineup of newly designed All-Star trophies in celebration of the league's 75th anniversary season.
The 2022 NBA All-Star Game will be played in Cleveland on Feb. 20, 2022. The starters have already been revealed, and the reserves will be announced on Thursday, Feb. 3.
