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Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler has been awarded the 2023 Larry Bird Trophy after spearheading a stunning run to the NBA Finals.
In 2022, the NBA introduced several new trophies to celebrate the league's 75th anniversary, one of which was the Larry Bird Trophy. Named after the former Celtics great, the trophy was introduced to honor a former legend, as well as current stars who are on their way to cementing their own legendary status.
Here's everything you need to know about the relatively new trophy — and why Butler lifted it in 2023:
What is the Larry Bird Trophy?
The Larry Bird Trophy is awarded annually to the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The trophy was introduced last season as a part of the NBA's 75th-anniversary celebrations. The inaugural award, fittingly, went to Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who helped lead his team to an appearance in the 2022 NBA Finals.
Larry Bird and Earvin “Magic” Johnson helped define the modern NBA with their individual brilliance and team success in the 1980s. The two legends are honored as the namesakes for the trophies that will now be awarded each year to the Eastern and Western Conference Finals MVPs. pic.twitter.com/XW5ptAVtYX
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 12, 2022
The league also introduced the Earvin "Magic" Johnson Trophy, which is awarded annually to the MVP of the Western Conference Finals. Warriors star Stephen Curry received the honor last season.
The Bob Cousy Trophy is still awarded to the team that emerges victorious in the Eastern Conference Finals, while the Oscar Robertson Trophy will be awarded to the Western Conference champion.
MORE: What is the Magic Johnson Trophy?
Who won the Larry Bird Trophy in 2023?
After winning the trophy last year, Tatum had to watch as it was awarded to his Eastern Conference Finals opponent, Jimmy Butler, in 2023.
The Heat star dropped 28 points, seven rebounds and six assists to help lead his team to a dominant 103-84 win over the Celtics in Game 7. It punched Miami's ticket to the NBA Finals for the sixth time since 2011.
Jimmy Butler is your 2023 ECF MVP, receiving the Larry Bird trophy right on the Celtics' home floor👏pic.twitter.com/PpHQujaZp2
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 30, 2023
Butler has been sensational throughout the 2023 postseason, averaging 28.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists in the playoffs so far. He'll now add the Larry Bird Trophy to a hardware collection that also includes six All-Star selections, five All-NBA nods and the 2015 Most Improved Player Award.
Larry Bird Playoffs history
Bird dominated the Eastern Conference as a member of the Celtics in the '80s and helped lead his team to five Finals appearances. He and his teammates went head-to-head with Magic Johnson and the Lakers on three occasions.
Bird led Boston to three NBA Championships in 1981, 1984 and 1986.
- 3-time NBA champion
- 2-time Finals MVP
- 3-time Most Valuable Player
- 12-time NBA All-Star
- NBA All-Star Game MVP (1982)
- 9-time All-NBA First Team
- NBA Aniversary Team (50th and 75th)
- No. 33 jersey retired by the Celtics