The redesigned NBA MVP trophy celebrates Kobe Bryant's 20-year NBA career.
Vanessa Bryant debuted the new design for the NBA MVP trophy, inspired by her late husband and NBA superstar, Kobe Bryant. On Thursday, Vanessa shared the first look of the four-tiered trophy on her Instagram, and went into detail about how much of her husband's legacy is represented in it.
“Introducing the newly designed Kobe Bryant Trophy, awarded to the NBA All-Star MVP,” the mother of four wrote.
“The eight-sided base represents Kobe’s No. 8 jersey number. The 18 stars around the trophy represent his 18 All-Star selections. The base height of 2 inches is a nod to his 2002 NBA All-Star MVP,” Vanessa wrote.
Vanessa went on to break down each level of the trophy, and how each one highlights a range of Kobe's career highlights, including his MVP honors and championships he received as a part of the Los Angeles Lakers. The trophy also honors his time on the NBA Olympic all-star team.
“Level 1: The 24 stars represent Kobe’s No. 24 jersey number. The 7-inch height is a nod to his 2007 NBA All-Star MVP. Level 2: The 10 stars represent Kobe’s USA Basketball No. 10 jersey. The 9-inch height is a nod to his 2009 NBA All-Star," she wrote.
"MVP. Level 3: The five stars represent Kobe’s five NBA championships. The 11-inch height is a nod to his 2011 NBA All-Star MVP. Level 4: A single star represents Kobe’s NBA MVP Award in the 2007-08 season. The 2-inch height of the final star represents his two Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP awards (2009, 2010).” Vanessa added.
She ended her note with a message to the designer of the trophy, Victor Solomon. “I love everything this trophy represents, all of my husband’s hard work and dedication ~ Mamba Mentality 👑🐍💪🏽,” Vanessa, 39, wrote. “Thank you @NBA & @victorsolomon.”
Kobe retired from the NBA in 2016 after 20 years. During his career, the athlete broke numerous records and set the standard for sports. In January, Vanessa celebrated Kobe’s historic 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors that put him at second place with the most points scored during a single game.
Kobe isn’t the only one being honored. On Monday, it was announced that Vanessa would be the recipient of the Be Your Own Champion Award at the third annual Sports Power Brunch.
Kobe died on Jan. 26, 2020 with his 13-year-old daughter and seven others when their helicopter crashed.
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