CHICAGO — The NBA has renamed its All-Star Game MVP trophy after Kobe Bryant in the wake of Bryant’s tragic death last month.
Commissioner Adam Silver announced Saturday that the award would now be known as the Kobe Bryant All-Star Game MVP Award. Silver unveiled the newly-minted trophy at his annual All-Star weekend news conference in Chicago.
Bryant made 18 consecutive All-Star Games from 1998 to 2016, and won the game’s MVP four times – in 2002, 2007, 2009 and 2011.
The award he won on those four occasions will now forever be associated with him.