Adam Silver Tributes Kobe Bryant

Yesterday, during the NBA All-Star media day, Commissioner Adam Silver announced that the “KIA NBA All-Star Game MVP” will be permanently renamed to the “The Kia NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant MVP Award”. Silver stated “Kobe Bryant is synonymous with NBA All-Star and embodies the spirit of this global celebration of our game… He always relished the opportunity to compete with the best of the best and perform at the highest level for millions of fans around the world.”

Bryant, along with his daughter Gianna and seven others tragically passed away due to a helicopter crash on January 26th, this tragic death did bring some light as it brought the whole sports world together. This sparked millions of tributes to Kobe around the world including, murals, millions of posts on social media, and even tattoos. But this tribute to Kobe is special because Kobe is the only player to win four All-Star Game MVP trophies. Bryant was named MVP of the All-Star Game in 2002, 2007, 2009 and 2011.

Bryant was an 18 time all star, and he was the embodiment of an MVP in all aspects of the game of basketball. This award being in his name is not only fitting because of the tragic situation, but it is deserved for his love and passion of basketball over his twenty year career in the NBA representing the Los Angeles Lakers.