Showing posts with label Chuck Cooper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chuck Cooper. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

NBA unveils new trophies for division winners named after African American legends

The NBA unveiled six new trophies for the league’s division winners, each named after an NBA legend and African-American pioneer. The trophies, which will now be awarded to the division winners at the end of every season, celebrate the teams’ season success and honor the pioneers who helped pave the way for the NBA players that have followed.

The trophies are named after African-American pioneers Nat Clifton, Wayne Embry, Earl Lloyd, Willis Reed, Sam Jones and Chuck Cooper.

The trophies, designed by Victor Solomon, each suspend at its center a 200mm crystal ball, comprised of six segments representing each of the NBA’s divisions. One unique segment in each trophy is rendered in gold, representing its respective NBA division. The design of the trophy base is inspired by the division’s conference championship trophy. Each trophy is inscribed with its namesake, along with the name of the team recipient; the division standings are inscribed on the back of the trophy.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Bill Russell accepts Hall of Fame ring 44 years after induction

Bill Russell an 11-time NBA champion, five-time MVP, Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA champ tweeted on Friday that he was presented with his Hall of Fame ring in a private ceremony with friends and family that came four decades after he was first selected for the shrine in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Russell didn't attend his induction ceremony in 1975 because he didn't believe that he deserved to be the first black player inducted. He felt that Chuck Cooper, who in 1950 was the first African American player drafted by should have been in the Hall of Fame before him. Cooper was finally inducted in 2019.

Congrats to both Bill Russell and Chuck Cooper