CHICAGO, Ill. — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced the NBA All-Star Game MVP Award will be permanently renamed the Kobe Bryant MVP Award in honor of NBA legend Kobe Bryant.
Bryant was an 18-time all-star, the second-most in NBA history behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19). Bryant won the All-Star MVP Award four times, tying the record with Bob Pettit.
Bryant, his daughter Gianna Bryant and 7 others where tragically killed earlier this year in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26.
The NBA will also honor Bryant in other ways this year.
The team led by Lebron James will wear number two to honor Gianna and the team led by Giannis Antetokounmpo will wear number 24 for Kobe, who wore the number 24 for 10 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. Each jersey will also have a patch that honors all the victims of the crash.
The NBA also added a rule change to honor Kobe. At the end of the third quarter, the league will set a target score which is 24 points higher than the leading team's score. The first team to reach the target score will win the game.
The All-Star Game will take place Sunday night at 7 p.m.
