NBA Awards

NBA Awards

The National Basketball Association (NBA) presents 12 annual awards to recognize its teams and players for their accomplishments. The NBA championship trophy is called the Larry O'Brien Trophy. First introduced in the 1978 NBA Finals, it is awarded annually to the winner of the NBA Finals.

The NBA's championship trophy was first awarded after the inaugural NBA Finals in 1947. In 1964, it was named after Walter A. Brown, in honor of the original owner of the Boston Celtics who was instrumental in merging the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League into the NBA in 1949. The Brown Trophy remained in use until 1978, when a new trophy design was introduced and first presented, though it retained the Walter A. Brown title. In 1984, the new trophy was renamed to honor former NBA commissioner Larry O'Brien, who served from 1975 to 1984.

The NBA's first individual awards were the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player and the Rookie of the Year awards, both of which made their first appearance in 1953. First awarded in 1956, the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is presented to the best performing player of the regular NBA season. The only individual award awarded in the NBA Finals is the Bill Russell Finals Most Valuable Player award, which was first presented in 1969. The Executive of the Year award is the only award not presented by the NBA. Though it is presented annually by Sporting News, it is officially recognized by the NBA.

Aside from annual awards, the league also awards players and coaches weekly and monthly awards.

The awarding of each individual regular season award in the NBA is unique because they were awarded while the NBA Playoffs are ongoing, unlike in other major professional sports leagues where they hand out individual awards well after their postseasons have concluded.