Everyone knows the face. The puffy, red-eyed, streaming-tears visage of the greatest basketball player to ever lace up a pair of Nikes. It’s the "Crying Jordan" face. For years, it was the internet’s universal shorthand for losing. If your team blew a lead, you got Jordan-ed. If you failed a test, Jordan-ed. But things took a weird, meta turn recently. The NBA didn't just ignore the internet's obsession with MJ's emotions; they basically leaned into the legacy by redesigning their hardware. Now, when people talk about the Michael Jordan meme trophy, they aren’t just talking about a Photoshopped image. They’re talking about the actual, physical Michael Jordan Trophy—the MVP award—and how its design reflects the relentless, sometimes painful pursuit of perfection that the meme captured in the first place.
Why the NBA Finally Named the MVP After MJ
For decades, the NBA MVP trophy was named after Maurice Podoloff, the league’s first commissioner. It was fine. It was a guy in shorts dribbling a ball on a wooden base. But it didn't scream "greatness." In late 2022, the league decided to overhaul its entire trophy lineup. They tapped Mark Smith, the Jordan Brand Creative Director Emeritus and a guy who has spent more time with MJ than almost anyone in the design world, to craft something new.
The result? The Michael Jordan Trophy.
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It’s a bronze statue of a player breaking out of a rock, reaching for a crystal basketball. It’s heavy. It’s symbolic. It’s also incredibly intentional in its measurements. The trophy is 23.6 inches tall and weighs 23.6 pounds. Get it? 23 for his jersey number, 6 for his championships. The base has five sides because Jordan won five MVPs. The nameplate is a six-sided shape. Again, the championships. Even the angle of the player’s reach is 15 degrees—a nod to his 15-season career. It is a masterpiece of branding, yet for many fans, it remains inextricably linked to the "Crying Jordan" era of digital culture.
The Crying Jordan Origin Story
To understand why people keep searching for a Michael Jordan meme trophy, you have to go back to 2009. That was the year Jordan was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Most people expected a polished, corporate speech. Instead, MJ gave one of the most raw, competitive, and—honestly—petty speeches in sports history. He called out the guy who made the varsity team over him in high school. He poked at Bryon Russell. And, most importantly, he cried.
Stephan Savoia, an Associated Press photographer, snapped the shot. It sat in the archives for a while. Then, around 2014 and 2015, it exploded. It became the "L" personified.
The irony is thick here. Jordan, a man who spent his entire life building an image of invincibility and "The Black Cat" coolness, became the face of vulnerability and failure for the social media generation. When the NBA announced the new trophy design, the internet did what it does best: it started asking when we were getting a trophy version of the meme.
Is there a literal Michael Jordan meme trophy?
If you go to a trophy shop or look on Etsy, the answer is "kind of." While the NBA’s official MVP award is a serious, sleek bronze sculpture, the secondary market for the Michael Jordan meme trophy is booming. You can find 3D-printed versions of the Crying Jordan face mounted on a gold pedestal. People buy them for fantasy football losers or as gag gifts for friends who talk too much trash.
There is a strange tension here. On one hand, you have the official Michael Jordan Trophy, which represents the pinnacle of professional achievement. On the other, you have the meme trophy, which represents the hilarity of public defeat.
- Official Trophy: Bronze, 23.6 lbs, signifies the Most Valuable Player.
- Meme Trophy: Plastic, usually 3D-printed, signifies you just got roasted in the group chat.
Interestingly, Mark Smith and Jordan himself wanted the official trophy to be "anonymous." They didn't want it to be a literal likeness of Michael Jordan. They wanted it to represent the spirit of the player. By not putting Jordan’s actual face on the MVP award, they arguably saved it from being immediately meme-ified. If the trophy had MJ’s actual face, you know someone would have Photoshopped the tears onto it within seconds of the unveiling.
The Design Logic Behind the Real Michael Jordan Trophy
The creation of the official trophy wasn't just a marketing gimmick. It was a deep dive into the psychology of the man. Smith has mentioned in various interviews that Jordan was involved in every step. MJ didn't want a statue of himself. He felt that the award should be something the winner sees themselves in, not a monument to the guy the award is named after.
The "reaching" pose is key. It’s not a jump shot. It’s not a dunk. It’s a reach. It signifies the constant hunt for more. In a way, that’s exactly what the meme captured—the high emotional cost of that hunt. You don't get to the Hall of Fame without some tears. You don't win six rings without being "kinda" obsessed to a point that most people find uncomfortable.
Technical Specs of the NBA’s MJ Trophy
- Height: 23.6 inches (Jersey # + Championships)
- Weight: 23.6 lbs
- Base: Five-sided (5 MVP titles)
- Angle: 15 degrees (15 seasons)
- Ball: 23-sided crystal ball
Why the Meme Persists in 2026
You’d think a meme from 2009 would be dead by now. Harambe is gone. Dat Boi is a memory. But Crying Jordan persists. Why? Because it’s functional. It serves a specific purpose in the "Sports Twitter" (now X) ecosystem. It’s the ultimate equalizer. No matter how rich, successful, or legendary you are, you can still look like a mess when things go wrong.
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When the Michael Jordan Trophy was first awarded to Joel Embiid in 2023, the conversation immediately shifted back to Jordan’s legacy. Every time the MVP race heats up, the Michael Jordan meme trophy searches spike. People want to see the intersection of high art (the bronze statue) and low-brow humor (the meme).
Honestly, the meme actually humanized Jordan for a generation that never saw him play for the Bulls. To a 15-year-old today, Jordan isn't the guy from "The Last Dance" first; he’s the guy on the trophy and the guy in the meme. It’s a dual legacy. One of gold and one of pixels.
How to Get Your Hands on a Michael Jordan Meme Trophy
If you're looking for the actual NBA MVP award, you’ll need to average about 30 points, 10 rebounds, and lead your team to a top-three seed. Good luck with that.
However, if you want the "meme" version, the process is a lot easier.
- Check 3D Printing Repositories: Sites like Thingiverse often have "Crying Jordan" STL files. If you have a printer, you can make your own for about three dollars in filament.
- Custom Trophy Shops: Many online retailers allow you to upload an image to be placed on a "participation" style trophy.
- The "Loser" Award: Several fantasy sports platforms now offer integrated "Meme Trophies" that you can digitally send to the person who finished in last place.
The Cultural Impact of Jordan’s Image
We have to acknowledge the limitations of these icons. The real Michael Jordan apparently isn't the biggest fan of the meme, though he has a sense of humor about his brand. His representatives have famously stayed quiet about the "Crying Jordan" phenomenon, only occasionally surfacing to remind people that the image shouldn't be used for commercial purposes without permission.
Yet, the Michael Jordan meme trophy has become a sort of folk-art object. It represents the "democratization" of celebrity. We took the most powerful figure in sports and turned his most vulnerable moment into a tool for our own jokes. Then, the NBA took that same man and turned his "spirit" into a literal piece of gold-standard hardware.
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It’s a weird circle.
The trophy stands for excellence. The meme stands for the failure that precedes excellence. Together, they tell the full story of Michael Jordan. You can't have the 23.6-pound bronze statue without the Hall of Fame speech that gave us the tears. They are two sides of the same coin.
Next Steps for Enthusiasts and Collectors
If you are a sports memorabilia collector or just someone who loves basketball history, keep an eye on the secondary market for "Jordan Era" memorabilia. The introduction of the new Michael Jordan Trophy has actually increased the value of older "Podoloff" trophies and related MJ ephemera. For those interested in the digital side, look into how NBA Top Shot or other NFT platforms have handled the "Crying Jordan" era—though be careful, as the copyright on that specific AP photo is strictly guarded.
If you're looking to buy a gag gift, search for "GOAT Loser Trophy" rather than the trademarked "Michael Jordan" name to find the best variety of 3D-printed meme awards. It’s a great way to keep the tradition alive in your own local leagues.