The award is named after Maurice Podoloff, who served as the first commissioner (then president)[a] of the NBA from 1946 until 1963.
Prior to 2021, the Podoloff Trophy was given to the most valuable player of the NBA regular season.
However, this was changed in 2022 when the NBA renamed the MVP trophy after Michael Jordan, and a new Podoloff Trophy was unveiled to reward a team's regular season performance.
[2][3][4] The Milwaukee Bucks clinched the first edition of the new Podoloff Trophy on April 5, 2023, with their victory vs. the Chicago Bulls.
The Boston Celtics became the second winner of the trophy after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 3, 2024.