Commissioner Adam Silver announced today that the NBA All-Star Game MVP Award has been permanently named for the late Kobe Bryant, an 18-time All-Star who won a record-tying four All-Star Game MVP awards.
The first All-Star Game Kobe Bryant MVP Award will be presented after the game at United Center in Chicago, where the league is celebrating the lives of Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people who passed away in a helicopter crash Jan. 26.
"Kobe Bryant is synonymous with NBA All-Star and embodies the spirit of this global celebration of our game," Silver said.