Solomon is back after redesigning the Larry O’Brien Trophy last year to provide new looks for five other NBA awards for the 2022-23 season.
On the heels of altering several trophies last year during the league’s 75th anniversary, the NBA announced Tuesday it has created new iterations of a different set of hardware. The awards that will feature new looks are Executive of the Year, Coach of the Year, Best Regular Season Record, Teammate of the Year, and Best Sportsmanship.
Like last season, the league teamed up with artist Victor Solomon, who has become a go-to guy among NBA players when it comes to basketball-related art. The artist told Boardroom in May that a trophy “is a symbol of the pinnacle of this journey that these athletes go on.”
Let’s take a gander at what Solomon and Co. were able to cook up for the new-look awards.
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Executive of the Year
This award is given to the top front office executive. Last year’s winner was Memphis Grizzlies GM Zach Kleiman, who built a 56-win team with the league’s second-youngest squad on the second-lowest payroll ($115M). He was the youngest GM to ever receive the hardware.
New Look: The five-sided pyramid symbolizes five players on the floor united and pointing toward that apex under the direction of the executive. These individual trophies all feature an embedment inside a 15-inch crystal net structure.
Coach of the Year
Coach of the Year, named in honor of Celtics‘ legendary leader Red Auerbach, is currently held by Monty Williams of the Phoenix Suns. Williams led the Suns to a franchise-record 64 wins in the 2021-22 campaign.
New Look: The trophy features the famous Lloyd Lillie sculpture of Auerbach on the bench with the game plan in one hand and a cigar in the other.
Best Regular Season Record
Named after the first league commissioner, Maurice Podoloff, the Phoenix Suns are also the reigning recipient of this award.
New Look: The trophy features a crystal ball cut into 82 panels. It sits on a pedestal that combines the structures of the Eastern and Western Conferences.
Teammate of the Year
It’s coined the “Twyman-Stokes” Award after Jack Twyman supported teammate Maurice Stokes, who was injured in a game and later came down with encephalopathy. Bucks guard Jrue Holiday won last year’s award; he’s the only player to ever win the honor twice.
New Look: The hardware features Twyman with his arm around Stokes.
Best Sportsmanship
The trophy is named after the former Detroit Pistons great, Joe Dumars, who won the inaugural NBA Sportsmanship award in 1995-96. Patty Mills of the Brooklyn Nets won in 2021-22.
New Look: The trophy shows two players shaking hands.
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