At NBA All-Star 2009, the Finals Most Valuable Player was renamed The Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Award. Russell, elected to the Hall of Fame in 1975, played on 11 NBA Champions with the Boston Celtics and was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. Read More Kobe claims first Russell Award Gallery:Russell through the years
June 3, 1999
Karl Malone becomes the ninth player in NBA history to win the Maurice Podoloff trophy twice when he is named MVP for the 1998-99 season.
NBA moments by decade
Before he was a Bobcat executive and before he was Wizard, he was a Bull. Take a look back at MJ's days in Chicago with video, stats and expert analysis.
"The first thing I would do every morning was look at the box scores to see what Magic did. I didn't care about anything else." --Larry Bird on his greatest rival, Magic Johnson. More classic NBA quotes