the nba championship trophy was named after larry o'brien.
the nba championship trophy was named after larry o'brien.
who was the nba championship trophy named after?
larry o'brien
larry o'brien championship trophy









































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.
larry o'brien championship trophy
this matchup was hakeem olajuwon's second nba finals appearance, his other being in 1986, where larry bird and the boston celtics defeated the houston rockets four games to two. the series was patrick ewing's first nba finals appearance. the rockets came in with strong determination to win not only the franchise's first nba championship, but the city's first championship in a league that still existed, while the knicks were looking to add a third nba championship trophy, as the knicks' last trophy came from the 1973 nba finals. the knicks also hoped to impress their new owners viacom, who had just bought paramount communications (formerly gulf+western), their longtime owners (after the series however, viacom sold the knicks and the rest of the madison square garden properties).
1994 nba finals