Now you Know

NBA Basketball Trophies

Published

2 years ago

May 31, 2022

nbrown

Basketball is full of awards, both team and individual, to congratulate the best of the best in the NBA. But what is the 1st place basketball trophy? And what is the most prestigious individual trophy?

Firstly, the individual player trophies:

Individual Player Trophies

MVP (Most Valuable Player)

The Most Valuable Player award is perhaps the greatest individual accolade in the NBA. The MVP trophy signifies you were more valuable than any other player to step on the court.

As with most NBA awards, the criteria is not well defined, and the weighting to each criteria is whatever the voters believe it to be. But essentially, the MVP criteria is:

Be on a team that finishes with a high seed

This shows the player not just cares about himself but is able to impact winning. The MVP has to lead their team to a good amount of regular season wins.

Be statistically superior

The MVP needs to be putting up incredible numbers. Players in the MVP race are often approaching, if not exceeding an average of 30 points per game. Rebounds and assists depends on the position you play but they are also important as a ranking factor.

NBA MVP Photo Credit: Vy Vu Flickr

Finals MVP

Finals MVP is very similar to MVP (hence the same name) except it is during the NBA Finals best of 7 games. A player could not win (regular season) MVP but get to the finals and win Finals MVP. This player is the most valuable in these best of 7 games.

Dirk Nowitzki Finals MVP. Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images

The Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP

The next 2 awards are new to the NBA this year. The Conference Finals are the Playoff rounds before the Finals where the two remaining teams face off. The MVP of the Eastern Conference series gets the Larry Bird Conference Finals MVP Trophy.

The first winner of this award was Jayson Tatum in 2022.

Who’s Larry Bird? A Boston Celtics legend that led them to 3 championships in the 1980s.

The Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP

The best player of the team that wins the Western Conference Finals gets the Magic Johnson Conference Finals MVP.

The first and only winner of this award so far was Stephen Curry in 2022.

Who’s Magic Johnson? A Lakers legend who won 5 championships in the 1980s.

Defensive Player of the Year

The Defensive Player of the Year award goes to the best regular season defender in the NBA. This is often given to big wings or centers as they are large enough to protect the basket. Big men tend to be better defenders in the NBA as opposed to guards. Skip to the end of the article to see the last 10 winners of the DPOY.

NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

6th Man of the Year

The 6th Man of the Year award goes to the best player that comes of the bench. It rewards players that positively impact the teams performance but isn’t the best player on the team.

Rookie of the Year

Rookie of the Year is an award that goes to the best player in their first year of the NBA.

Coach of the Year

Coach of the Year award goes to the best Coach in the regular season. Team performance is an important factor in COTY voting. The COTY’s team has to have a high seed and often out performs expectations.

Most Improved Player of the Year

The Most Improved Player is pretty obvious by the name – it’s the player that has made the biggest leap from the previous season. Individual statistics are usually an important factor in this award and they are a clear indication of the improvement made.

Basketball Team Trophies

NBA Championship Trophy – 1st Place Basketball Trophy

The ultimate goal for any NBA team. The 1st place trophy for a NBA team is the NBA Championship trophy called the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.

It is named after the NBA commissioner from 1975 to 1984.

To win this trophy you need to win enough games in the regular season to make the playoffs – top 10 in your conference where seed 8, 9 and 10 compete in a play-in for the 8th and final spot. The teams then have to make it through round 1, Conference Semi-Finals, Conference Finals and then win the NBA Finals all in a best of 7.

Kobe Bryant with Larry O’Brien Trophy. Photo credit: Antonio R. Villaraigosa Flickr

Conference Finals Trophy

The Conference Finals Trophy is awarded to the team that makes it through round 1 of the playoffs, the Conference Semi Finals and the wins the Conference Finals. There are 2 Conferences so each year there are 2 winners of this Trophy, with the NBA Finals winner being 1 of the 2.

List of past 10 winners

MVP

2022 Nikola Jokic
2021 Nikola Jokic
2020 Giannis Antetokoumpo
2019 Giannis Antetokoumpo
2018 James Harden
2017 Russell Westbrook
2016 Stephen Curry
2015 Stephen Curry
2014 Kevin Durant
2013 LeBron James
2012 LeBron James

Finals MVP

2022 TBD
2021 Giannis Antetokoump
2020 LeBron James
2019 Kawhi Leonard
2018 Kevin Durant
2017 Kevin Durant
2016 LeBron James
2015 Andre Igoudala
2014 Kawhi Leonard
2013 LeBron James
2012 LeBron James

Defensive Player of the Year

2022 Marcus Smart
2021 Rudy Gobert
2020 Giannis Antetokoumpo
2019 Rudy Gobert
2018 Rudy Gobert
2017 Draymond Green
2016 Kawhi Leonard
2015 Kawhi Leonard
2014 Joakim Noah
2013 Marc Gasol
2012 Tyson Chandler

Larry Bird Easter Conference MVP

2022 Jayson Tatum

Magic Johnson Western Conference MVP

2022 Stephen Curry

Most Improved Player

2022 Ja Morant
2021 Julius Randle
2020 Brandon Ingram
2019 Pascal Siakam
2018 Victor Oladipo
2017 Giannis Antetokoumpo
2016 CJ McCollum
2015 Jimmy Butler
2014 Goran Dragic
2013 Paul George
2012 Ryan Anderson

6th Man of the Year

2022 Tyler Herro
2021 Jordan Clarkson
2020 Montrezl Harrell
2019 Lou Williams
2018 Lou Williams
2017 Eric Gordon
2016 Jamal Crawford
2015 Lou Williams
2014 Jamal Crawford
2013 JR Smith
2012 James Harden

Rookie of the Year

2022 Scottie Barnes
2021 LaMelo Ball
2020 Ja Morant
2019 Luka Doncic
2018 Ben Simmons
2017 Malcolm Brogdon
2016 Karl-Anthony Towns
2015 Andrew Wiggins
2014 Michael Carter-Williams
2013 Damian Lillard
2012 Kyrie Irving

Coach of the Year

2022 Monty Williams
2021 Tom Thibodeau
2020 Nick Nurse
2019 Mike Budenholzer
2018 Dwane Casey
2017 Mike D’Antoni
2016 Steve Kerr
2015 Mike Budenholzer
2014 Gregg Popovich
2013 George Karl
2012 Gregg Popovich

Who will win the 1st place basketball trophy this year?

Basketblues

Now you Know

NBA Basketball Trophies