Larry O'Brien championship trophy - wikipedia Larry O'Brien championship trophy For other similarly named awards, see O'Brien Trophy ( disambiguation ). Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy Award details Sport Basketball Competition NBA Playoffs Given for Winning the NBA Finals History First award 1977 Most recent Golden State Warriors Website NBA.com The Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy is the championship trophy awarded annually by the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) to the winner of the NBA Finals. The name of the trophy was the Walter A. Brown Trophy until 1984. The current design, depicting a basketball over a hoop and basket, was first awarded in 1977 still under its original name, which was changed in honor of former NBA commissioner Larry O'Brien who served from 1975 to 1984. Before joining the NBA, O'Brien was the United States Postmaster General under President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1965 to 1968. Description The trophy is two feet tall and is made of 14.5 pounds of sterling silver and vermeil with a 24 karat gold overlay. The trophy is manufactured by the Tiffany & Co. The championship team maintains permanent possession of the trophy. The year and winning team names are engraved on the trophies, and are often prominently displayed in the winning team 's arena. Promotion The O'Brien trophy displayed for the 2005 NBA Legends Tour in the New City Gas NBA Store Although the Larry O'Brien Trophy has been compared with the National Hockey League 's ( NHL ) Stanley Cup, it has never been as prominent as the NHL trophy. To reduce this discrepancy, the NBA has been actively promoting the O'Brien Trophy in recent years to generate more recognition and an iconic status for the trophy. After the Detroit Pistons won the NBA Finals in 2004, the trophy was toured around the state of Michigan, marking the first time the trophy toured around the state of the winning team. In 2005, the NBA Legends Tour was launched in New York City. As part of the tour, the O'Brien Trophy was showcased in various cities -- including those that were hosting the playoffs -- for fans ' autograph and photo sessions. It was escorted by many former players, including Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul - Jabbar and Bill Russell. In May 2007, the NBA unveiled the NBA Headquarters on Second Life, an Internet - based virtual reality environment. With this launch, fans could take pictures with the championship trophy in the virtual Toyota Larry O'Brien Trophy Room. In August, the trophy traveled to Hong Kong for the first time as part of the NBA Madness Asia Tour. References Jump up ^ `` O'Brien acknowledges problem ''. The Star - News. May 16, 1977. Retrieved June 17, 2009. Jump up ^ `` December 2004 : Picture This ''. National Archives and Records Administration. Archived from the original on September 29, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2008. Jump up ^ `` The trophies ''. St. Petersburg Times. April 10, 2003. Archived from the original on January 11, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy ''. NBA.com/Lakers. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved July 26, 2008. ^ Jump up to : `` NBA Legends Launch 2005 NBA Legends Tour : Destination Finals ''. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved July 26, 2008. Jump up ^ Sandomir, Richard ( June 9, 2004 ). `` This Trophy Is Fickle, And Her Name Is Larry ''. The New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2008. ^ Jump up to : `` NBA championship trophy going on tour ''. The China Daily. April 15, 2004. Retrieved October 17, 2008. Jump up ^ Bremmer, Daniel ( September 27, 2004 ). `` The Trophy Tour ''. The Michigan Daily. Retrieved October 17, 2008. Jump up ^ `` NBA Headquarters Unveiled in Second Life ''. Business Wire. May 1, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2008. Jump up ^ `` DHL delivers the NBA Championship Trophy to `` NBA Madness '' in Hong Kong ``. DHL. August 17, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2008. National Basketball Association awards and honors Championship O'Brien Trophy Brown Trophy ( defunct ) Individual awards All - Star Game MVP Most Improved Player Bill Russell Finals MVP Most Valuable Player Coach of the Year Rookie of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Sixth Man of the Year Executive of the Year Sportsmanship Award J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Twyman -- Stokes Teammate of the Year Community Assist Award Lifetime Achievement Award Honors All - NBA Team All - Defensive Team All - Rookie Team NBA Finals Champions O'Brien Trophy Most Valuable Player Award Brown Trophy Championship ring Broadcasters Game sevens Droughts Streaks TV ratings 1940s 1947 1948 1949 1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980s 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 1990s 2000s 2010s 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 National Basketball Association Eastern Conference Atlantic Boston Celtics Brooklyn Nets New York Knicks Philadelphia 76ers Toronto Raptors Central Chicago Bulls Cleveland Cavaliers Detroit Pistons Indiana Pacers Milwaukee Bucks Southeast Atlanta Hawks Charlotte Hornets Miami Heat Orlando Magic Washington Wizards Western Conference Northwest Denver Nuggets Minnesota Timberwolves Oklahoma City Thunder Portland Trail Blazers Utah Jazz Pacific Golden State Warriors Los Angeles Clippers Los Angeles Lakers Phoenix Suns Sacramento Kings Southwest Dallas Mavericks Houston Rockets Memphis Grizzlies New Orleans Pelicans San Antonio Spurs Annual events Draft Summer League Christmas Day All - Star Weekend Game MVP Playoffs List Finals Champions MVP Others NBA Silver Anniversary Team NBA 35th Anniversary Team 50 Greatest Players ABA Merger Arenas Awards BAA Cheerleading Collective bargaining agreement Criticisms and controversies 2007 Tim Donaghy betting scandal G League Dress code Draft eligibility Global Games Africa 2015, Africa 2017 First overall draft picks Hall of Fame Members Head coaches Current Player - coaches Champions Foreign coaches Lockouts Larry O'Brien Trophy Mascots Midwest Division NBA champions NBA Store Media TV NBA TV NBL NBPA Owners Players Current rosters Foreign players Race and ethnicity Retired numbers Banned or suspended Highest paid Records regular season post-season All - Star Game Win - loss records Rivalries Salary cap Seasons Teams Defunct Expansion Relocated Timeline WNBA Basketball in the United States Portal 2017 -- 18 season Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Larry_O%27Brien_Championship_Trophy&oldid=798592867 '' Categories : National Basketball Association awards National Basketball Association Finals Awards established in 1977 Hidden categories : Good articles Talk About Wikipedia Deutsch Español فارسی 한국어 Hrvatski Italiano עברית ქართული Latviešu 日本 語 Polski Português Русский Türkçe Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 2 September 2017, at 20 : 14. 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Question: who was the nba championship trophy named after
Answer: Larry O'Brien