NBA announces new trophies named after Larry Bird, Magic Johnson
Next time the Boston Celtics make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, they’ll be vying for the Larry Bird Trophy.
The NBA Larry Bird and Earvin “Magic” Johnson helped define the modern NBA with their individual brilliance and team success in the 1980s. The two NBA legends are honored as the namesakes for the trophies that will now be awarded each year to the Eastern & Western Conference Finals MVPs. pic.twitter.com/9G5oiCvEfV
Bird is widely considered one of the greatest players in NBA history. He won three NBA championships with the Celtics in 1981, 1984, and 1986, and was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998, six years after retiring in 1992.
Bird made an immediate impact in Boston, averaging 21.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 4.5 assists as a rookie. His on-court rivalry with Johnson revived the struggling NBA and brought it to new heights of popularity, as the duo and their respective star-laden teams dueled for the NBA title three times in the 1980s. The Celts won in 1984, while the Lakers won in 1985 and 1987. The Bird-Johnson rivalry still stands as one of the most famous in all of sports.
Larry Bird and Earvin “Magic” Johnson helped define the modern NBA with their individual brilliance and team success in the 1980s. The two NBA legends are honored as the namesakes for the trophies that will now be awarded each year to the Eastern & Western Conference Finals MVPs. pic.twitter.com/9G5oiCvEfV
— NBA (@NBA) May 12, 2022
In addition to being a three-time NBA champion, Bird won three straight MVP awards from 1984-86, and won NBA Finals MVP in 1984 and 1986. He was also a 12-time All-Star.
The Celtics have a chance to vie for the Larry Bird Trophy in 2022, but they’ll have to win two games in a row to close out their series against the Milwaukee Bucks in order to get there. The NBA also announced a redesigned Larry O’Brien Trophy as part of their new hardware lineup.
PHOTOS: Celtics legend Larry Bird Through the Years
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