How do you take a classic and make it better? It seems that Victor Solomon has done that by subtly redesigning the NBA’s top honors. Having already rolled out a number of new trophies, including the awards for the NBA All-Star weekend and the D-League, the Los Angeles-based artist has crafted a suite of new trophies, from the Conference Championship to the new-look Larry O’Brien trophy.
Starting with the Conference finals, the silhouette has been evolved conceptually through a quartered ball with each segment representing one step in the journey. The NBA is also introducing for the first time, two new honors for Conference finals MVPs named after Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
Following up to the the NBA Finals, the prestigious Larry O’Brien trophy is re-orientated to be pitched forward – speaking literally to the progressiveness of the league and looking forward to the next era of basketball. Solomon and the league have replaced the column net seams with more literal interpretations, along with contrast plating on ball and net seams to give an added pop. Additional changes include a two-tiered cylindrical column instead of the traditional rectangular base with the top surface carrying the names and dates of all previous champions, along with a blank second cylinder that is meant to carry the next 25 champions all the way to the league’s 100th anniversary.
Similar to NFL’s Lombardi Trophy, Tiffany & Co. has hand-crafted the NBA’s top honors in sterling silver and 24k gold vermeil in the jeweler’s hollowware workshop in Cumberland, Rhode Island.
If the final two minutes of the last Bucks-Celtics game or the resilience of the Grizzlies is any indication, we can expect the remainder of the NBA postseason to be historic. Stay tuned.
In related news, HypeArt recently visited Victor Solomon at his DTLA studio.
Tagged: Sports