CLEVELAND — When the NBA All-Star Game is in Cleveland on Feb. 20, the game’s MVP will be presented with a trophy honoring Kobe Bryant. 

What You Need To Know

  • The NBA will award the All-Star Game MVP with a redesigned trophy honoring Kobe Bryant

  • The NBA decided after Bryant’s death in 2020 to award the game’s MVP a trophy named after the 18-time All-Star

  • The NBA All-Star Game will be in Cleveland on Feb. 20

  • Fans can get a photo with the Kobe Bryant Trophy on Feb. 18 and 19 at Cleveland Public Auditorium

On Thursday, the league said it partnered with artist Victor Solomon in designing the Kobe Bryant Trophy. Bryant participated in a record 18 NBA All-Star Games before his 2016 retirement. 

The NBA named the All-Star Game MVP trophy after Bryant following his death in a helicopter crash in 2020. 

The new Kobe Bryant Trophy further celebrates its namesake, with intricate details holding dual meanings, both for NBA All-Star and Bryant’s legendary career, the league said.

The league noted the following features on the trophy: 

Base Dimension: The eight-sided base represents the eight decades of NBA All-Star Games and is a nod to Bryant’s No. 8 jersey number.  The 18 stars around the trophy represent his 18 All-Star selections.  The base height of 2 inches is a nod to Bryant’s 2002 Kia NBA All-Star MVP.

Level 1: The 24 stars represent each All-Star in the game and Bryant’s No. 24 jersey number. The 7-inch height is a nod to Bryant’s 2007 Kia NBA All-Star MVP.

Level 2: The 10 stars represent the All-Star Game starters and Bryant’s USA Basketball No. 10 jersey.  The 9-inch height is a nod to Bryant’s 2009 Kia NBA All-Star MVP.

Level 3: The five stars represent the unity of an NBA team and Bryant’s five NBA championships.  The 11-inch height is a nod to his 2011 Kia NBA All-Star MVP.

Level 4: A single star represents the star of stars and Bryant winning The Maurice Podoloff Trophy for the 2007-08 Kia NBA MVP.  The 2-inch height of the final star represents Bryant’s two Bill Russell Trophies as the NBA Finals MVP (2009-2010).

Fans can see and take photos with the Kobe Bryant Trophy at the NBA Crossover event on Friday, Feb. 18 and Saturday, Feb. 19 at the Cleveland Public Auditorium. 

“For the past few years, the NBA and I have proudly and tirelessly worked to reconsider what a trophy is, has been and could be,” said Victor Solomon. “Redesigning the All-Star trophies gave us a special opportunity to create event awards worthy of the energy and excitement the moment creates, while introducing the full collection’s visual, aesthetic language. 

“The occasion also gave us the privilege and responsibility to develop an entirely new silhouette worthy of being named ‘The Kobe Bryant Trophy’ for the Kia NBA All-Star MVP for which, in the spirit of its namesake, we threw out all conventions and challenged ourselves to reorient how we thought about ‘the game.’”

The All-Star Game reserves will be announced Thursday evening by the NBA.