Sidebar

Exclusive Reports

29
Fri, Mar

MVP All-Star Award Permanently Named 'The Kobe Bryant MVP Award'

Exclusives
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game MVP Award has been permanently renamed in honour of Late 18-time All-Star MVP Award recipient, Kobe Bryant.

League Commissioner Adam Silver stated on Saturday that the Kia NBA All-Star Game MVP Award has been permanently named for the late Kobe Bryant, an 18-time All-Star who won a record-tying four All-Star Game MVP awards.

"Kobe Bryant is synonymous with NBA All-Star and embodies the spirit of this global celebration of our game; He always relished the opportunity to compete with the best of the best and perform at the highest level for millions of fans around the world." - Silver

Bryant, an 18-time All-Star who won a record-tying four All-Star Game MVP awards, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles on Jan. 26. He was 41.

Silver further added during a news conference before the All-Star Saturday Night event at the United Center in Chicago “His loss, together with his daughter and those other seven people on the helicopter, is unspeakable. As the father of a child ... that’s unimaginable.”

The Kobe Bryant MVP Award will be presented on Sunday to the most valuable player at the end of the 2020 NBA All-Star Game.

“Kobe Bryant is synonymous with NBA All-Star and embodies the spirit of this global celebration of our game,” Silver said in a statement. “He always relished the opportunity to compete with the best of the best and perform at the highest level for millions of fans around the world.”

Bryant made his NBA All-Star Game debut in 1998 at age 19 – the youngest player to ever play in an All-Star Game. His 18 All-Star selections are the second-most in NBA history behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, at 19. Silver said the decision to name the MVP award in honour of Bryant was made collectively by league officials and some players.

“To all of us, it seemed like the appropriate way to bring honour to him,” Silver said.

Silver also spoke about the loss of former NBA Commissioner David Stern, who oversaw explosive growth in the popularity of the game during his 30-year tenure. Silver said that Stern, who died in January, and Bryant had a lot in common.

“They were both determined to win,” he said. “They could be difficult at times because they prioritized winning, and often, they didn’t have time for some of the niceties around personal relationships because it was about winning.”

Moments after Silver’s news conference ended, the packed United Center stood and cheered as the game clock was wound up to 24.2, in honour of Bryant’s No. 24 jersey number and the No. 2 that Gianna Bryant wore when she played basketball at her father’s Mamba Sports Academy.

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS