NBA Award Trophies

[Cujo]

The league just renamed and redesigned and created some new awards

 

 Michael Jordan Trophy: MVP 

Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy: DPOY 

Wilt Chamberlain Trophy: ROY 

Jerry West Trophy: Clutch Player of Year (whatever that is)

John Havlicek Trophy: Sixth Man of Year 

George Mikan Trophy: Most Improved Player of the Year

 

[WSU151]

Olajuwon as the DPOY? One could make the argument that Rudy Gobert has a stronger case than Hakeem. 

[Discogod]

1 minute ago, WSU151 said:

Olajuwon as the DPOY? One could make the argument that Rudy Gobert has a stronger case than Hakeem. 

 

Yes, but that would be an incredibly stupid argument.

[WSU151]

31 minutes ago, Discogod said:

 

Yes, but that would be an incredibly stupid argument.

 

Gobert has more Defensive Player of the Year awards (3) than Hakeem (2) and Gobert was elected to the All-Defensive First Team six times (in 9 seasons) compared to Hakeem's five (over 18 seasons).  So maybe it's not as stupid as some people's poorly thought out edgy takes on a message board. 

 

Hell, Mutombo (who has the most) would be a better choice. 

[Eszcz21]

Just now, WSU151 said:

 

Gobert has more Defensive Player of the Year awards than Hakeem.  So maybe it's not as stupid as some people's poorly thought out edgy takes on a message board. 

 

Hell Mutombo (who has the most) would be a better choice. 

Mutombo is tied for the most with Ben Wallace, who would be a better choice, him or Rodman. No Detroit bias here though.

[WSU151]

1 minute ago, Eszcz21 said:

Mutombo is tied for the most with Ben Wallace, who would be a better choice, him or Rodman. No Detroit bias here though.

 

I love Hakeem as a player and he had great defensive stats...but defense is not what I remember him for, as I would for Wallace or Mutombo.  

[-Akronite-]

Can't really argue against any of the choices, but I don't think they need to be adding names to the trophies. Naming the Finals MVP for Russell made sense because he played before the award existed and would otherwise have the most given all of his championships as the centerpiece of the leagues first great dynasty.

 

In 50-100 years, IMO, there will be players more synonymous with these labels than the namesakes. If they had waited 10 years, for instance, I could see LeBron and Steph being the East & West Conference MVP trophies, as a for instance. But again, the choices aren't bad.

[FinsUp1214]

10 hours ago, WSU151 said:

 

I love Hakeem as a player and he had great defensive stats...but defense is not what I remember him for, as I would for Wallace or Mutombo.  

That’s where I’m thrown off on this too. Hakeem is obviously one of the greatest players ever, and he was indeed a great defender, but defense is never the first thing that comes to mind when I think of him. I almost feel like naming DPOY after him inadvertently puts him in the wrong box.

 

If you’re going to name a specialty award after a player, then that player ought to be known and remembered clearly for that specialty. Not that they were one-dimensional players by any means, but that they were one of the all-time greatest at thier specialty and role. When it comes to defense? Gary Payton, Ben Wallace, Dikembe Mutumbo, Dennis Rodman…each of those would have made perfect sense to me (Gobert’s in that group too, but he’s still active and awards should be named after retired/retiring players). Hakeem, as great as a defender as he was, doesn’t make the same amount of sense to me. 

[-Akronite-]

1 hour ago, FinsUp1214 said:

That’s where I’m thrown off on this too. Hakeem is obviously one of the greatest players ever, and he was indeed a great defender, but defense is never the first thing that comes to mind when I think of him. I almost feel like naming DPOY after him inadvertently puts him in the wrong box.

 

If you’re going to name a specialty award after a player, then that player ought to be known and remembered clearly for that specialty. Not that they were one-dimensional players by any means, but that they were one of the all-time greatest at thier specialty and role. When it comes to defense? Gary Payton, Ben Wallace, Dikembe Mutumbo, Dennis Rodman…each of those would have made perfect sense to me (Gobert’s in that group too, but he’s still active and awards should be named after retired/retiring players). Hakeem, as great as a defender as he was, doesn’t make the same amount of sense to me. 

 

Obviously the Dream Shake comes to mind for Hakeem, and there are guys more singularly known for their defense, but just to make the case:

• All time blocks leader (I feel like this is the big one, but obivously there is more to that side of the ball)
• Only center in the top ten in steals (and among the top 30 basically)
• 2 time DPOY, of course
• More versatile than most centers

Ben Wallace would probably be my choice if you're going by greatest defensive player ever, but I think they wanted to honor their biggest stars with these awards. Hakeem fits that bill and is truly one of the great defenders in the game's history.

[dont care]

These all look like middle school JV participation trophies. Plastic little gold men and all

[MellowTheMyth]

I don't mind the players attached to these awards at all, my problem is the uniformity of them all. It sucks. They are traveling down the path of generic standardization, like the NFL and their Playoff and Super Bowl logos. And it's prevalence in the NBA has been creeping in within the last decade, with how they've had the terrible NBA Finals patch (and horrible placement on the back of the jerseys), the generic All-Star Game logos and lacking ASG uniforms, and the less decorative Playoff and Finals logos.

[MJWalker45]

6 minutes ago, Jay_Mellowed said:

I don't mind the players attached to these awards at all, my problem is the uniformity of them all. It sucks. They are traveling down the path of generic standardization, like the NFL and their Playoff and Super Bowl logos. And it's prevalence in the NBA has been creeping in within the last decade, with how they've had the terrible NBA Finals patch (and horrible placement on the back of the jerseys), the generic All-Star Game logos and lacking ASG uniforms, and the less decorative Playoff and Finals logos.

If all of the trophies look like the person they are named after I'm fine with it. It's weird the amount of detail that went into Jordan's MVP trophy. 

[The_Admiral]

On 12/13/2022 at 9:37 AM, WSU151 said:

Olajuwon as the DPOY? One could make the argument that Rudy Gobert has a stronger case than Hakeem. 

Defended his teammates from covid by licking microphones and getting the entire league shut down

 

On 12/13/2022 at 9:46 AM, -Akronite- said:

In 50-100 years, IMO, there will be players more synonymous with these labels than the namesakes. If they had waited 10 years, for instance, I could see LeBron and Steph being the East & West Conference MVP trophies, as a for instance. But again, the choices aren't bad.

Well, I'm sure the LeBron James trophy for most people reported to authority figures will stand the test of time.

[Guest]

On 12/16/2022 at 6:06 AM, Jay_Mellowed said:

I don't mind the players attached to these awards at all, my problem is the uniformity of them all. It sucks. They are traveling down the path of generic standardization, like the NFL and their Playoff and Super Bowl logos. And it's prevalence in the NBA has been creeping in within the last decade, with how they've had the terrible NBA Finals patch (and horrible placement on the back of the jerseys), the generic All-Star Game logos and lacking ASG uniforms, and the less decorative Playoff and Finals logos.

 

Not to mention sticking KIA on everything.