It was an awesome moment in time when the NBA decided to name the All-Star game’s MVP trophy after Kobe Bryant following the legend’s tragic death.
And it totally makes sense. I mean, Bryant is tied for the most All-Star game MVP trophies ever with 4. It’s a totally fitting award to name after one of the greatest All-Stars ever.
Although they renamed the trophy after Bryant, they didn’t change its look at all. It was still just a trophy with basketball on top and the NBA’s logo in the center. It’s fine. Nothing special, though. Certainly, there was room for change. And so the NBA decided to change the look.
Sounds easy enough, right? It’s a trophy. It doesn’t need to be too complicated. Maybe you just make it Bryant doing a fadeaway jumper or maybe it’s just, you know, a bedazzled round basketball instead of a flat one. Something simple should work, right?
The NBA said absolutely not.
Instead of something straight to the point, they gave us this complicated thing to honor Bryant’s career.
The NBA’s new Kobe Bryant All-Star Game MVP trophy – a four-level design honoring the late icon’s Nos. 8 and 24, 18 All-Star appearances, four ASG MVPs, USA Basketball No. 10, NBA MVP award, five titles and two-inch final star for his two Finals MVPs. pic.twitter.com/TsRJOHjLps
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 3, 2022
First of all, that trophy is not a trophy. It is a mountain. A beautiful mountain, yes. But also a complicated one. This thing has so many details to it.
nba: hey we need u to make a kobe trophy
trophy designer: sounds simple enough. thinking a ball with his name or mayb —
nba: pic.twitter.com/1uNWOPR5MV
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) February 3, 2022
Just look at all that, man. That’s wild. The tiers of the trophy are 2, 7, 9 and 11 inches tall each and are supposed to represent Bryant’s All-Star game MVP trophies. There’s also an 8 sided base with 24 stars representing his numbers. And there’s a lot more detail there you probably don’t want to hear because I’ve already given you a lot.
It’s dope that the NBA is honoring Kobe in this way. It just would’ve been cool to find an easier way to do it.
Despite this trophy being pretty complicated, fans still appreciated it.
