NBA All-Star Game MVP award named in honor of Kobe Bryant
The Lakers legend holds the NBA record for consecutive All-Star selections with 18 straight, from 1998 through 2016.
Commissioner Adam Silver announced during his annual All-Star Saturday Night news conference that the NBA All-Star Game MVP award has been permanently named after the late Kobe Bryant.
“We were thinking about what the best way is, one of the ways to honor Kobe,” Silver said at the United Center before the league’s Saturday night festivities got underway. “It happened to be that his loss came shortly before we were moving into All-Star festivities. I think one of the things that stands out with Kobe, of course in addition to his five championships, is that he is tied for the record of four MVPs. To all of us, it seemed like the appropriate way to bring honor to him.”