NBA unveils the 'Michael Jordan Trophy' for the MVP

CHICAGO (CBS/AP)-- The National Basketball Association is renaming its annual Most Valuable Player award after Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan, widely considered the best player in league history.

The NBA unveiled the newly designed "Michael Jordan Trophy," on Tuesday, along with five other trophies trophies named after NBA legends. The winners will be presented to the end-of-season Kia Performance Award winners.

Trophy won the NBA MVP award five times in his career, as he led the Bulls to six league titles in the 1990s. Only Los Angeles Lakers star Kareem Abdul Jabbar was named MVP more times, with six trophies during his career. 

The other new trophies unveiled on Tuesday include the Jerry West Trophy for the league's Clutch Player of the Year, the Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy for the Defensive Player of the Year, the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy for the Rookie of the Year, the John Havlicek Trophy for the Sixth Man of the Year, and the George Mikan Trophy for the Most Improved Player of the Year. 

"Our new collection of trophies celebrates some of the greatest and most impactful players in the history of the NBA," said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.  "As we recognize the league's top performers each season, we also pay tribute to the legends who embody these prestigious awards."

The Jordan trophy will stand 23.6 inches tall and weigh 23.6 pounds -- nods to his jersey number and six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls -- but is not a depiction of him. The chairman of the Charlotte Hornets approved the design, one that symbolizes someone reaching for excellence, but did not want the statue to be of himself. He also declined a request for comment through the NBA.

"Anybody should be able to see this and see themselves in it," said Mark Smith, a longtime designer at Jordan Brand and the person who oversaw the trophy's design. "They should feel the excellence of Michael Jordan and his pursuit. It's got his name on it, but it isn't him. It's everybody. It could be a shipbuilder or it could be a teacher or a lawyer or a writer who looks at it and says, 'That's what I'm trying to do.'"

The league has rebranded almost all its trophies in the last two seasons, even adding some new ones. As part of Tuesday's announcement, the league revealed that The Jerry West Award is being introduced and will be given to the NBA Clutch Player of the Year — which, like almost all other league awards, will be voted on by a media panel. NBA coaches will nominate players for the clutch award.

Also, the Defensive Player of the Year will now receive The Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy; the Rookie of the Year will receive The Wilt Chamberlain Trophy; the Sixth Man of the Year will now receive The John Havlicek Trophy; and the NBA's Most Improved Player will receive The George Mikan Trophy.

"Our new collection of trophies celebrates some of the greatest and most impactful players in the history of the NBA," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. "As we recognize the league's top performers each season, we also pay tribute to the legends who embody these prestigious awards."

It became evident last week that something was changing about the MVP trophy when the NBA said Podoloff's name was going onto a new prize -- a trophy that will go to the team with the best regular season record.

The MVP trophy has many levels of numerical significance related to Jordan, besides its height and weight. It has a five-sided base, a tribute to his five MVP awards. The name badge is six-sided, one for each of his championships. The base is shaped at a 15-degree angle; he played 15 NBA seasons.

"I'm always going to numbers and symbiology as key root DNA to make something specific and authentic for that person," Smith said. "When you start putting all these things together, there's only one person and it becomes very unique. Not different, but very unique."

Jordan was involved at every step of the design process, Smith said. The final product was a bronze trophy depicting a player "breaking out of a rock to reach for the ultimate rock — a crystal basketball," the league said. The trophy becomes more refined closer to the top, meant to show how hard work leads to something more polished and finally something great.

Smith said he fully expects to be emotional when he sees the new trophy awarded for the first time this spring.

"This is actually the highest achievement for a single player ... and it's mind-blowing," Smith said. "It'll be a mind-blower."

Other trophies renamed or reimagined in the last year or so include ones named for Joe Dumars (sportsmanship), Red Auerbach (coach of the year), the Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP award — along with the Larry O'Brien Trophy for the NBA champions and the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP trophy.

New Eastern Conference and Western Conference championship trophies named for Bob Cousy and Oscar Robertson respectively were added, along with the Larry Bird Trophy for East finals MVP and the Magic Johnson Trophy for West finals MVP. The league also began issuing divisional championship trophies, naming them for Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton (Atlantic Division), Wayne Embry (Central), Earl Lloyd (Southeast), Willis Reed (Southwest), Sam Jones (Northwest) and Chuck Cooper (Pacific).