The origin of the NBA championship trophy
What the NBA championship trophy is, who it is named after, what it looks like, and why each winning team gets to keep its own.
The prize for winning it all
The trophy handed to the champions at the end of the NBA season is the ultimate prize in professional basketball. Every team spends an entire year chasing it, and lifting it is the crowning moment of a title-winning campaign. Unlike the awards given to individual players, this is the trophy that represents a whole team's success, presented in the celebrations immediately after the final game of the season is won.
A name that changed
The trophy has not always carried the same name. For years it was known by a different title, before being renamed in the 1980s in honour of a former commissioner of the league, Larry O'Brien, who had led the NBA through an important period of growth. Naming the sport's biggest prize after him recognised his contribution, and the trophy has carried his name ever since, becoming instantly associated with basketball's champions.
What it looks like
The trophy is a striking design in gold and silver, shaped to depict a basketball about to drop through the hoop and net. Crafted by a famous jeweller, it stands as a bright, instantly recognisable symbol of victory. Its clean, simple image, a ball meeting the net, captures the single goal that the entire sport is built around, and it makes for one of the most photographed objects in the game each year.
A trophy to keep
Unlike some competitions where a single trophy is passed from one winner to the next, each NBA champion receives its own trophy to keep permanently. A brand new one is made and awarded every year, so a title-winning team holds on to a lasting, physical reminder of its achievement. For the players and the franchise, it becomes a permanent piece of history, a symbol of a season that will never be taken back.