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NBA renames All-Star MVP award after Kobe Bryant

by Marty Johnson - 02/15/20 9:44 PM ET

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced Saturday that the All-Star Game MVP award will be renamed after NBA superstar Kobe Bryant.

“He has the all-time record of 18 consecutive All-Star games and we wanted something more permanent than changing the numbers on the jerseys,” Silver told reporters at the league’s All-Star Weekend in Chicago.

Commissioner Adam Silver has officially announced that the NBA All-Star Game MVP Award has been permanently renamed for the four-time All-Star MVP, Kobe Bryant. pic.twitter.com/VhSgpvkqOP

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 16, 2020

Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people died Jan. 26 when the helicopter they were flying in crashed in Calabasas, Calif.

In his 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant won five NBA championships, one regular-season MVP and made the All-NBA First Team 11 times. He is also the youngest player in the league’s history to become an All-Star, getting the honor for the first time in 1998 when he was 19 years old.

Only Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has more All-Star Game appearances than Bryant.

Tags Adam Silver Kobe Bryant NBA NBA All-Star Game