9/18/2023 0 Comments Nba western conference finals 2017“I am very honored to have my name associated with the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals MVP Trophy,” the 65-year-old Bird said. Bird was named to both the NBA’s 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams. Like Johnson, Bird was a 1992 Olympic gold medalist, though back issues limited his efficacy with the club. Bird was a three-time league MVP and one-time All-Star Game MVP. He advanced to the NBA Finals out of the East five times. The 6’9″ forward was named to three All-Defensive Second Teams, won three championships with the Celtics, and was awarded the Finals MVP in two of those title trips. In a 13-year playing career for Boston, Bird – like Johnson – made nine All-NBA First Teams and one All-NBA Second Team. Bird bested Johnson for the 1980 NBA Rookie of the Year award with the Celtics. Bird also made his NBA debut during the 1979/80 NBA season along with Johnson, following three years at Indiana State that culminated in an NCAA championship game loss to Johnson’s Spartans. The Larry Bird Trophy will be given to the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, in tribute to Johnson’s longtime Eastern Conference counterpart Larry Bird. This player excels on both ends of the court, makes his teammates better and leads his team to the greatest stage in basketball.” “I’m truly honored to have my name memorialized on the Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Trophy. “The NBA Conference Finals represent the last hurdle a team must face for an opportunity to make it to the big stage, the NBA Finals,” Johnson, now 62, said of the honor. He briefly returned to the Lakers in separate stints as a coach and executive, and is currently advising Lakers owner Jeanie Buss in an informal capacity. Johnson also won another basketball title as the co-owner of the WNBA club the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016. He had an ownership stake with the Lakers for the team’s five subsequent titles from 10. Johnson was also a key member of the 1992 Olympic gold medal-winning “Dream Team.” He went on to enjoy an incredibly lucrative career with a variety of businesses following his NBA tenure, as well as several successful stints as a league broadcaster. Johnson was named to both the NBA’s 50th Anniversary Team in 1997 and its 75th Anniversary Team this year. The hardware honors Lakers legend Magic Johnson, a 12-time All-Star and five-time champion with Los Angeles who advanced out of the West and into the Finals nine times during his 13-season career. The Western Conference Finals MVP will now be rewarded with the Earvin “Magic” Johnson Trophy. The Conference Finals awards will pay tribute to two Hall of Fame players with some of the starriest resumes in league history, who have each made plenty of appearances in the playoffs’ penultimate round. The NBA has created two new Conference Finals MVP awards to honor the best performances in each conference, as well as overhauling several of its signature postseason awards, the league announced today in a press release.
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