The NBA is celebrating its 75th anniversary in the same year the league will unveil an ensemble of trophies and awards that will feature new designs and will honor icons such as Larry Bird, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, and Bob Cou.
The first Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player will be awarded on Sunday or Monday, and the first Earvin "Magic" Johnson Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player will be awarded on Tuesday.
The NBA said that Johnson and Bird, both Basketball Hall of Famers who entered the league in 1979 and whose rivalry helped the NBA explode in popularity over several decades, are logical names for new awards.
Christopher Arena, the NBA's head of on-court brand partnerships, said that Larry and Magic defining the 80's and having that bicoastal relationship representing their conferences like no other two people have.
The Eastern Conference Championship trophy will now be named after a six-time NBA champion in the form of Cousy. The trophy for the Western Conference Championship will be named after Robertson, who won the 1971 NBA championship with the Milwaukee Bucks.
The impact they made as early presidents of the National Basketball Players Association is one of the reasons why Robertson and Cousy are being honored. The Eastern and Western Conference champion trophies each have a silver basketball.
Arena said that the four former players were chosen for their obvious reasons.
The league has introduced a number of changes this season, including newly named trophies and redesigns, thanks to an ongoing collaboration with Los Angeles-based designer Victor Solomon, Tiffany & Co.
The Larry O'Brien NBA Championship trophy was first introduced in 1977 and was named after O'Brien in 1984. The new version of the trophy will feature a new circular base with names etched on it and moderations to the appearance of the basketball at the top of the trophy and a golden basketball hoop.
The Bill Russell trophy has received an update. The silhouettes of the Finals trophies won't be changed too dramatically, but they will have refreshed appearances ahead of this year's championship series.
The league introduced new awards for Kobe Bryant and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
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