Larry O’Brien the NBA Championship Trophy
The Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy is the eventual award of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It is named after Larry O’Brien the former Postmaster General and then NBA Commissioner from 1975 to 1984. The trophy is awarded to the NBA Finals winning team, which was first given in 1977.
The trophy is made of sterling silver and stands 2 feet tall. It weighs approximately 14.5 pounds and is decorated with a 24-karat gold overlay. The trophy features a basketball atop a hoop, which is surrounded by a column of sterling silver that has the words “NBA Finals” inscribed on it. The column is flanked by two columns of sterling silver that represent the NBA’s Eastern and Western Conference.
The design of the trophy has been changed again to mark the 75th anniversary. The most notable change is two discs replacing the square base of the previous design. According to the designer of the new trophy, the square foundation was seen as an awkward way to hold the trophy and the round discs would make it easier to carry and easier to lift. While the top disc will feature the league’s first 75 championship teams from 1947 to 2021, the bottom disc will feature the next 25 championship teams from 2022 to 2046 to mark the 100th anniversary.
The Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy symbolizes excellence and achievement in the NBA. It represents the culmination of months of hard work and dedication by the league’s top teams and players. The Larry O’Brien Trophy has been compared to the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup but was not as prominent as the NHL trophy. So to reduce this disparity, the NBA has taken various steps in recent years to actively promote the O’Brien Trophy in order to create more recognition and iconic status for the trophy.
In 1977, the Portland Trail Blazers won the first championship since the modern version of the trophy was introduced. The Los Angeles Lakers have won the most Larry O’Brien trophies and recently the champion team is Golden State Warriors.