The National Basketball Association has unveiled six new trophy to be awarded at the end of the season during the Kia Performance Award presentation.
The six newly designed awards were named after NBA legends that have excelled in the league and have helped to set the standards for excellence in times past.
One of the most noticeable awards is the Hakeem Olajuwon trophy which will be presented to the Kia NBA defensive player of the year.
Named after Nigerian-born Olajuwon, the trophy features a nice defensive stance with one hand up and one down, knees bent and ready to move.
A two-time NBA defensive player of the year, the 59-year-old made nine NBA All-defensive teams and is a member of the NBA’s 50th and 75th anniversary teams.
Another one is the Michael Jordan Trophy, named after six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan, which will be awarded to the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player at the end of the season.
Jordan, arguably the greatest player in the history of the NBA, added six NBA Finals MVP awards, 14 NBA All-Star selections, three NBA All-Star Game MVP Awards, 10 scoring titles, an NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, an NBA Rookie of the Year Award, and selections to the NBA’s 50th and 75th Anniversary teams to a list of already mind-blowing laurels.
The Jerry West Trophy, named after NBA and Los Angeles Lakers legend Jerry West, will be awarded to the Kia NBA clutch player of the year.
The award will be newly introduced at the end of the 2022–2023 season and votes will be from a media panel after nominations from NBA head coaches. The award is given to honour the player who helps his team the most in the clutch (when the scoring margin is within five points with five or fewer minutes remaining in a game).
The Wilt Chamberlain trophy is named after the late Wilt Chamberlain, a two-time NBA champion and the 1959–60 rookie of the year.
Chamberlain’s rookie season in the NBA is still unmatched, as he won both the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards.
Chamberlain averaged 37.6 points and 27.0 rebounds in 46.4 minutes per game for the Philadelphia Warriors.
The John Havlicek trophy will be awarded to the sixth man of the year at the end of the season
Havlicek excelled in his bench role during a lengthy career, like no player before him. He came off the bench for the first seven seasons of his career and ended up as an All-Star in four of those seasons. He ended his career with eight NBA championships, 13 NBA All-Star selections, and an NBA Finals MVP.
The award for the Kia most improved player of the year has been renamed after the NBA’s first dominant big man, George Mikan.
Mikan developed the “Mikan Drill”, a layup and footwork skill used by players of all levels to improve their game.
A hall of famer, Mikan won five NBA championships in seven seasons, an NBA All-Star Game MVP, six selections to the All-NBA Team, and inclusion on the NBA’s 25th, 35th, 50th, and 75th Anniversary Teams.
