NBA Will Award Conference Final MVPs to Commemorate 75th Anniversary

Magic Johnson in 2018
Magic Johnson in 2018. Photo by Frank Micelotta/Shutterstock (9946576az)

The NBA has stepped up its efforts to commemorate its 75th anniversary this year. Aside from redesigning its existing postseason trophies, the league also announced the intention to add Conference Final MVP trophies to the lineup.

The player who is named Western Conference Final MVP will receive Magic Johnson Trophy, named after the Los Angeles Lakers’ legendary point guard. The Eastern Conference Final MVP winner will lift the Larry Bird Trophy, named after the iconic forward of the Boston Celtics.

Johnson and Bird are considered among the greatest players in basketball history and are credited for helping NBA become a global brand in the 1980s. They also “helped define the modern NBA with their individual brilliance and team success,” according to the league.

The NBA also assigned names to the Conference Championship trophies as part of rebranding efforts. The trophy for the Western Conference is named after Oscar Robertson, while the trophy for Eastern Conference carries the name of Bob Cousy.

Finally, the NBA made several tweaks to the designs of all its trophies, including the Larry O’Brien Trophy, given to NBA champions, and the Bill Russell Trophy, given to the Finals MVP.

“We wanted to explore and start a new 75 years and bring some aesthetic consistency to that and have some meaning behind all the trophies we had,” said the league in a statement.

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