Steve Kerr is not surprised that the NBA renamed the MVP trophy after Michael Jordan

Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan's influence is still being felt in the NBA today.

© Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Steve Kerr had been around the great Michael Jordan long enough to know that if the NBA's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award were going to receive rebranding, it would be named in his honor. 

The Golden State Warriors head coach said he was not surprised to learn that the most prestigious individual award in basketball has been rechristened as the "Michael Jordan MVP Award."

Obvious choice

Kerr recently sat down with NBC Sports Bay Area and said that of all the iconic players the league has had in its long history, Jordan was the obvious choice for the new name. 

The Warriors coach also understands better than most the gravity of what Jordan accomplished during his career. He was a teammate of His Airness with the Chicago Bulls from 1993 to 1998 and won three championships.

"This is a guy who went to the Finals six times, won all six times, and won Finals MVP all six times," Kerr said. "He was the obvious choice if you were going to name the trophy after someone."

Aside from the titles, Jordan racked up every imaginable individual accolade the Association has to offer, including five regular-season MVPs—second only behind the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The Michael Jordan Trophy 🐐

The NBA's MVP will now be awarded with The Michael Jordan Trophy, bearing the name of the greatest player of all time.

MJ was a 5x MVP in his career 🏆 pic.twitter.com/D16mCU2Uez

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 13, 2022

A long list of accolades

Jordan was named to the All-NBA team 11 times and the All-Star team 14 times. He won All-Star MVP thrice, the league's scoring title 10 times, and the Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year once across 15 seasons.

MJ's accomplishments have been the standard for any player who hopes to achieve greatness in the league, and Kerr believes putting his name on the award is only fitting.

"It's an incredible honor to have your name attached to something like that," the Warriors' head coach said.

The #KiaMVP will now be awarded with the Michael Jordan Trophy, named for the 5x MVP winner who is considered one of the greatest players of all-time!pic.twitter.com/LynjQrK2WM

— NBA History (@NBAHistory) December 13, 2022