NBA Finals Larry O’Brien Trophy: Origin, Height, Weight, Design and Other Details of the Championship Title

For several months, we saw NBA teams hustling to get to the NBA Finals and bag a championship for themselves. Although, did you ever stop to think about what the winner will take home when they achieve that feat? It is the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

Holding that trophy in their hands is the most honorable thing an NBA Player can ever feel. That is exactly what the Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder are hoping to get their hands on this year.

Both OKC and the Pacers are tied 3-3. The decision on who will be awarded the championship trophy will be decided in a Game 7 NBA Finals for the first time since 2016. The battle will be interesting. For now, however, let’s focus on getting to know more about the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Who is the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy named after?

Although this trophy holds great significance in the NBA’s landscape, only a handful of people know who Larry O’Brien is.

Born back in July 1917, Lawrence Francis O’Brien Jr. first found fame in US Politics. His father, who himself was a local leader of the Democratic Party, recruited him when O’Brien was just 11 years old. Over the years, he climbed the political ladder, going on to serve as the director of John F. Kennedy’s 1952 U.S. Senate election campaign and his 1958 re-election campaign. When Kennedy became President, Larry O’Brien was appointed the White House Director of Legislative Affairs. He served in the role until November 1965, after which President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him the 60th United States Postmaster General!

Larry O’Brien continued to serve in other political roles in the upcoming years. Then, in  1975, he was announced as the 3rd Commissioner of the NBA. The basketball league drastically changed under his leadership.

In his role as commissioner, O’Brien oversaw the ABA–NBA merger. The merger resulted in 4 new teams, aka the San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, and New York Nets joining the league. O’Brien also reportedly negotiated a broadcast agreement with CBS Television to address the low popularity of basketball games. Access to NBA games was given to cable TV (USA and ESPN) thanks to his rulings. O’Brien was also responsible for pushing for an anti-drug agreement with the NBA Players Association.

His work on the settlement of the Oscar Robertson lawsuit led to the creation of a new free agency system. This introduced concepts like the salary cap, a modified NBA draft, and the three-point field goal.

Larry O’Brien eventually stepped down as NBA commissioner on November 10, 1983. A few more years, and he would have been overseeing the NBA during its ‘Michael Jordan’ era. Nevertheless, his decade-long contribution to improving the league did not go unnoticed. In 1984, the NBA championship trophy was officially renamed as ‘The Larry O’Brien Trophy’. 

According to Sports Casting, the trophy, which was first awarded in the 1977 season, was initially named after Walter A. Brown, the founder and original owner of the Boston Celtics. Before that, it was simply called the NBA Finals Trophy.

What is the size of the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy? What is it made of?

From afar, you would think that the Larry O’Brien trophy is made of pure gold, right? Well, that is not the case. According to reports, the award contains over 15.5 pounds of sterling silver and 14-karat gold vermeil. It is the 24-karat gold overlay that gives it the shine.

The newly redesigned trophy is reported to stand at 25.5 inches in height and weigh 29 pounds.

Who is the designer of the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy?

According to ‘The Oklahoman’, the trophy is handcrafted by Tiffany & Co., at the brand’s hollowware workshop located in Cumberland, Rhode Island. The brand has been manufacturing the championship trophy since 1977. Gold and silversmithing techniques are involved in the creation process, which also includes engraving, casting, and etching.

Tiffany & Co. is also responsible for producing the Larry Bird Eastern Conference MVP Trophy and the Earvin “Magic” Johnson Western Conference MVP Trophy. The NBA Bill Russell Trophy has also been coming from their warehouses since 2005. When the In-Season Tournament was introduced, the NBA once again went to Tiffany & Co.

The brand’s work does not stop with the NBA, as it is also responsible for making the WNBA Finals Championship Trophy, and the WNBA MVP Trophy.

What are the features of the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy?

Overall, a typical Larry O’Brien trophy takes over 6 months to complete, with approximately 65 hours of labor spent on it. Along with the regulation-size basketball connected to its base, the trophy also contains a two-tier cylindrical base. It is engraved with the names of all past champions. Additional space is left for the next 25 years of title winners.

Back in May 2022, the Larry O’Brien Trophy was slightly redesigned. As highlighted by ‘Sky Sports’, amongst the most visible changes was the ball tilting in a different direction, the netting being much more visible, and the base being made round. The two discs, bearing the names of past champions and future champions, respectively, were introduced as part of this redesign.

The $13,500 trophy may sound expensive, but it still falls way below the NFL trophy that will set you back by approximately $50,000.

This exquisite piece holds more value than its price tag states. Only an NBA player knows the true worth of acquiring this prestigious trophy.

Who do you think will take this priceless possession home this year? Will it be the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Indiana Pacers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below.