Days after WNBA All-Star, we’re still talking about the very tiny trophy handed to the game’s MVP, Kelsey Plum. It’s impossible not to. Look at it.

Though it looks similar to the one Arike Ogunbowale took home in 2021, it’s noticeably smaller to the point where Commissioner Cathy Engelbert trying to hold one side of it with Plum looked hilarious. There is no way it’s that heavy lmao.

Please watch as Plum’s teammates Theresa Plaisance and Dearica Hamby re-enact the ceremony:

There’s a part of me that’s sad because, well, fans and players around the league are used to … less. That includes fewer TV appearances, a smaller paycheck, and less-than-world-class travel treatment, so, when something as silly as a tiny trophy in one of the year’s biggest moments is unveiled, it only adds to that feeling of disappointment. And, with history as our guide, that’s a very valid feeling.

But another part of my very broken internet brain is starting to ironically love the idea of a tiny MVP trophy and I’m wondering if it can be even smaller for future games as a hilarious branding tool. Think NPR’s tiny desk.

The memes from this year’s tiny trophy are killing me. People said it looked like a Mario Kart Grand Prix trophy. Or a tea kettle. I woke up this morning and thought it kinda looked like my cologne.

Clearly, Plum’s trophy wasn’t designed to be a funny, viral moment. It was overall a frustrating one that led to a number of bad-faith non-women’s basketball watchers saying nasty things online. Hopefully the league takes note of this for next year’s All-Star Weekend, and finds the line between unique and cheap.




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