One former rival is among those who wants to inspect LeBron James’ 2020 championship ring for a Mickey Mouse logo.
The NBA announced on Tuesday that the league’s major individual awards now have new names and trophies. Michael Jordan (Most Valuable Player), Hakeem Olajuwon (Defensive Player of the Year), and Wilt Chamberlain (Rookie of the Year) are among the icons whose names and likenesses will now adorn those awards.
Here is what the trophies will look like:
The NBA has unveiled six new trophies:
🏆 Michael Jordan Trophy: MVP
🏆 Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy: DPOY
🏆 Wilt Chamberlain Trophy: ROY
🏆 Jerry West Trophy: Clutch Player of Year
🏆 John Havlicek Trophy: Sixth Man of Year
🏆 George Mikan Trophy: Most Improved Player of the Year pic.twitter.com/IYAwPQTBR3— NBA TV (@NBATV) December 13, 2022
The Finals MVP Award had already been named after Bill Russell since 2009. But the NBA recently decided to name trophies after Kobe Bryant (All-Star Game MVP), Larry Bird (Eastern Conference Finals MVP), and Magic Johnson (Western Conference Finals MVP) as well. Now six more NBA greats are receiving a similar honor.
One debate that raged on social media after Tuesday’s news was what trophy would eventually be named after the Los Angeles Lakers star James. Retired ex-NBA forward Evan Turner, a James rival in the Eastern Conference for many years, chimed in with a hilarious suggestion.
“If we ever have a bubble championship again then that specific trophy should be named after him,” Turner tweeted.
If we ever have a bubble championship again then that specific trophy should be named after him https://t.co/K0HChhVbRF
— Evan Turner (@thekidet) December 14, 2022
Turner is essentially calling into question the legitimacy of the NBA title won by James and the Lakers in the Orlando bubble. Many have expressed a similar sentiment given the extremely unique bubble circumstances as well as the fact that James has a mere two combined playoff wins in every other season that he has been a Laker (even missing the postseason altogether multiple times).
Of course, Turner might just be a generational hater. He recently took to Twitter with shade for Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo too.
