Talking new NBA trophies (at last)
We have reactions. And questions ...
The NBA announced on a recent Tuesday morning, without warning, that it has renamed a slew of trophies for the most significant individual awards in the sport.
I was in the throes of assembling a fresh batch of NBA Power Rankings that morning. Then last Tuesday, I was in Las Vegas for the second day of the league's annual G League Winter Showcase and on the run.
What I'm trying to say here: Things have been a bit too frantic these past couple weeks, with Hanukkah and Christmas thrown in, for me to weigh in on all the trophy revamping. I'm finally ready now, though.
So ...
Here are five not-so-instant reactions to all the change:
The NBA got it right by putting Michael Jordan's name on the regular-season MVP trophy.
I thought, for a flicker, that the former Maurice Podoloff Trophy might be renamed after a subsequent commissioner, which could only be David Stern.
Had we known in advance that the honoree would be a player, once it became apparent a few weeks ago that a new MVP trophy was in the works, His Airness was clearly the slam-dunk choice.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, remember, became the namesake for the NBA's Social Justice Champion award introduced after the 2020-21 season. With the ace Substacking columnist already affiliated with another honor, MJ was pretty much a lock.
The NBA reached awkwardly by selecting George Mikan as the Most Improved Player namesake.
I'm sorry. I totally understand the league's determination to make sure its first superstar was recognized among this flurry of pioneering honorees, but Mikan was a significant force from his first NBA minute. And, no, I cannot be swayed by the idea that the Mikan Drill has a justified link to the MIP trophy because it has been utilized for so long as a pillar of youth development.
Current players naturally weren't considered in any of these categories, but Giannis Antetokounmpo would be a sensible name to end up on this trophy someday.
This question nags at me: If not the MVP trophy, what is the league going to name after Stern?
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has unofficially referred to the forthcoming in-season, soccer-style tournament as The Stern Cup, but there are a couple of important caveats that need to be immediately registered if making that official as early as next season is truly the league's plan:
I don't love the idea because there's no guarantee that an in-season tournament will become a permanent part of the schedule. If it went away after, say, five years, it would be a bad look to nix an event bearing Stern’s name given how much he did for the NBA as commissioner from 1984 through 2014.
Even if the in-season tournament is an unexpected hit and sticks, I don't think it's a big enough deal to reflect Stern's stature. His name should be on something more significant ... and I understand you can't really put his name on the Larry O'Brien Trophy awarded annually to the NBA's new champion. (Or can you?)
If the league was so set on conceiving a Jerry West-inspired prize, it would have been smarter to introduce a Clutch PLAY of the Year trophy rather than a Clutch Player of the Year award.
West is already the inspiration for the NBA logo, so I'm not sure they needed to name one of the new trophies after him, too.
(Unless, of course, there is a clandestine movement at NBA headquarters to give the shield a makeover featuring a new silhouette, which would require a completely separate column filled with its own emotion and vitriol.)
That said ...
If it was indeed a must to remind the world about West and his clutchness, it would have been so much easier to keep the focus on one standout play, which would pay fitting homage to West's incredible 60-footer at the buzzer of Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals to force overtime against the Knicks.
A debate over the clutchest play in any given season would have some semblance of staying within a few zip codes of sane. The prospect of trying to choose the clutchest player from any given season, knowing how hard clutchness is to actually measure and how likely that process is to spark incendiary discourse no one in #thisleague needs, is a dubious idea at best.
Read my fellow Substacker Tom Ziller for more insight into the complications with this one. I'm just glad I'm no longer an active awards voter.
Also: The NBA’s Executive of the Year trophy has not yet been named in honor of a former front-office great. West would be a most worthy choice there, too.
One more nagging question: How will younger legends be worked into the awards mix?
I know many fans and colleagues have questioned why Hakeem Olajuwon was chosen over Tim Duncan as the name now synonymous with Defensive Player of the Year. My concerns are broader.
As in: How long after their retirements will the NBA wait to name (or invent new) trophies that bear the names of (just to name a handful): LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Shaquille O'Neal, Dirk Nowitzki, Duncan and/or (as mentioned in the MIP section) Giannis?
PS — I don't feel as strongly about this as my pal William, but I'm including his angry tweet because I suspect some of you do feel the same, which you are invited to address in the comments below as you see fit. (Or should we dedicate a separate Substack Chat thread to it?)
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Year In Review
We're nearing the end of the calendar year, which means it's time to reflect on what we've seen in the NBA in 2022.
But I want to do it a little bit differently this year. I want to do it interactively.
If we get enough good responses — and I must say we're off to a good start — I will assemble a list of your nominations for the standout memories from this past calendar year in #thisleague that most deserve to be captured for year-in-review posterity.
So ...
What will you remember most from the NBA's 2022?
Share your responses in the comments section below or email them to marcstein@substack.com.
Numbers Game
🏀 15
Here's a list of 15 NBA awards that bear the name of a legend:
Regular-season MVP: Michael Jordan
Rookie of the Year: Wilt Chamberlain
Coach of the Year: Red Auerbach
Sixth Man of the Year: John Havlicek
Defensive Player of the Year: Hakeem Olajuwon
Most Improved Player: George Mikan
Clutch Player of the Year: Jerry West
Social Justice Champion: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
NBA championship trophy: Larry O'Brien
Eastern Conference championship trophy: Bob Cousy
Eastern Conference finals MVP: Larry Bird
Western Conference championship trophy: Oscar Robertson
Western Conference finals MVP: Magic Johnson
NBA Finals MVP: Bill Russell
All-Star Game MVP: Kobe Bryant
🏀 4
Four Eastern Conference teams got to 20 wins before anyone in the parity-stricken West did: Boston, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Brooklyn.
🏀 9
There have been nine 50-point games already this season:
🏀 50
A few reminders with All-Star voting underway as of Dec. 20 through Jan. 21: Fan balloting accounts for 50 percent of the total results. Separate panels comprised of media members and current players account for 25 percent each. All-Star starters and the two team captains will be revealed Jan. 26; reserves will be announced Feb. 2.
🏀 30
Golden State last week became the first defending champion to absorb back-to-back losses by at least 30 points (to New York and Brooklyn) since the 1998-99 Chicago Bulls. That lockout-shortened season was the Bulls’ first after losing Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and Coach Phil Jackson.
🏀 17
Seventeen players are averaging at least 25 points per game this season. As my pal @MicahAdams13 recently noted via Twitter, there was only one player in that category (Tracy McGrady) in LeBron James’ rookie season of 2003-04.
🏀 13
Count Jacque Vaughn as an increasing threat in the NBA Coach of the Year race. The Nets, under Vaughn, have won nine straight games and 13 of their last 14.
🏀 12
Vaughn is one of 12 head coaches who played in the NBA, joining Chauncey Billups (Trail Blazers), Rick Carlisle (Pacers), Billy Donovan (Bulls), Willie Green (Pelicans), Darvin Ham (Lakers), Steve Kerr (Warriors), Jason Kidd (Mavericks), Tyronn Lue (Clippers), Nate McMillan (Hawks), Doc Rivers (76ers) and Monty Williams (Suns).
2022 highlights:
- Celtics vs. Warriors. Upstarts vs. old guard. Steph dominating the Finals.
- Jimmy Butler in the EC Finals (and taking that transition 3)
- Covid forcing teams to play skeleton crews and call up deep G-Leaguers and former players.
- Giannis. And Middleton's playoff injury
- NBA on TNT's continued excellence. Charles Barkley: "When a guy's banging you..."
And personally, I saw Ja Morant play in person, and he's THE guy to see right now. He made several acrobatic scoop layups and dunks where he touched the sky, and the Pistons home crowd reacted the same way every time: "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....." A sound that was like, wow that was cool, but I'm bummed he's not on our team.
Sadly, the thing I will remember most is the sport's awkward and somewhat underwhelming reaction to various controversies. Especially Kyrie. My enthusiasm for the sport has dipped since he returned, and it just makes me sick that he will probably be an all-star. Though the mishandling of things in Phoenix is pretty awful. (All the kudos in the world to Nick Friedell and Baxter Holmes for not letting their stories rest.) Hard to feel like the sport really knows what to do when controversy arises.
On the court? The ascent again of Steph, above all else. The triumphant return of Zion. Those few moments now and again when Quickley and RJ and Grimes and the rest of the Knicks' young players do something special. Luka's one man band.