Kelsey Plum of the Las Vegas Aces gave a phenomenal performance at the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game last weekend, finishing the contest with a record-tying 30 points that helped Team Wilson to a 134-112 win over Team Stewart. Plum was named the 2022 All-Star MVP for her offensive explosion, an award that comes with a trophy to commemorate her accomplishment.
The trophy, however, didn't really reflect the nature of the award or the greatness of Plum's performance.
Kelsey Plum is your #WNBAAllStar Game MVP ???? pic.twitter.com/WaFHv17gjz
— espnW (@espnW) July 10, 2022
That is a small trophy. Actually, it's not even a small trophy. It's a tiny trophy. It's a trophy so tiny that you wouldn't even give it to high school athletes. That's barely a Little League trophy! And yet it was the trophy the WNBA gave to Plum on live television, without a hint of irony or any awareness of how it was going to look when a fully grown adult athlete was given a trophy that's the size of a jar of mayonnaise.
For reference, here's the NBA's All-Star MVP trophy.
The NBA’s new Kobe Bryant All-Star Game MVP trophy – a four-level design honoring the late icon’s Nos. 8 and 24, 18 All-Star appearances, four ASG MVPs, USA Basketball No. 10, NBA MVP award, five titles and two-inch final star for his two Finals MVPs. pic.twitter.com/TsRJOHjLps
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 3, 2022
People definitely noticed that the 2022 WNBA All-Star MVP trophy looked like a plastic toy you could get from the dollar store. Plum's Aces teammates thought the trophy was so ridiculous that they staged a reenactment of the award ceremony using a tiny squeezable fruit pouch.
Kelsey Plum’s teammates re-enacted her All-Star MVP award ceremony ???? pic.twitter.com/x8d3i2WiqV
— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) July 12, 2022
Others took to Twitter to voice their opinion about the size of the MVP trophy.
The WNBA could have gone to Amazon and bought a better looking trophy pic.twitter.com/zfMDBSZSDh
— UrbanTakeOne (@UrbanTake_001) July 10, 2022
Pretty sure my son’s flag football trophy was bigger than this. He was six. WNBA players get NO respect. https://t.co/Nzdc0RO3Vx
— April (@ReignOfApril) July 11, 2022
A Wnba exec gotta explain to their toddler why their swimming meet participation trophy went missing.
— Johnny Pierre (@johnnypierre611) July 10, 2022
this cup stacking trophy better than the WNBA one ???????? https://t.co/Pi5fpxZKiVpic.twitter.com/XbywwBxsVo
— gunner (@gunner_stacks) July 11, 2022
Hey @WNBA do better - WNBA All Star MVP trophy vs NBA All Star MVP trophy #WNBAAllStarpic.twitter.com/M6J25d0mAa
— dawnie2424 (@dawnie2424) July 10, 2022
Pretty sure my son’s flag football trophy was bigger than this. He was six. WNBA players get NO respect. https://t.co/Nzdc0RO3Vx
— April (@ReignOfApril) July 11, 2022
The WNBA All-Star MVP trophy is smaller than a regulation WNBA basketball. It's smaller than an average meerkat. It's smaller than the metal water bottles people take to the gym. If a trophy is smaller than any of those things, it's not good enough to give to the All-Star MVP of a professional sports league.
