A former star with the Edmonton Stingers has served as the inspiration for the redesign of the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s trophy awarded to the league’s most valuable player.
“The trophy marked by an ‘X’ mounted on a maple hardwood base was inspired by CEBL’s three-time MVP Xavier Moon (2019, 2020 and 2021) who currently holds a contract with the Los Angeles Clippers,” the league posted on its website on Wednesday.
“The trophy was designed by Montreal-based trophy maker, Protocole, who also designed the CEBL Championship Trophy.”
READ MORE: Edmonton Stingers’ Xavier Moon parlays championship season into second-straight CEBL MVP award
During the 2021 season, Moon averaged more than 23 points per game for the Stingers.
Moon, a 27-year-old guard who originally hails from Alabama, helped the Stingers capture two CEBL championships with his dominant play before joining the NBA’s Clippers organization during the 2021-22 season.
The CEBL tweeted a photo of its new MVP award on Wednesday night with the caption: “Presenting the new #CEBL #MVP Trophy inspired by 3x MVP @xavier_moon.”
On Wednesday, the CEBL announced that the Niagara River Lions’ Khalil Ahmad has been named the 2022 season’s league MVP.
He averaged a league-high 20.7 points and team-high 4.5 assists per game in leading the River Lions to a 13-7 record.
The Hamilton Honey Badgers’ Ryan Schmidt was named coach of the year after guiding his team to a league-high 14-6 regular-season record.
Hamilton guard Caleb Agada captured Canadian player of the year honours while Niagara’s EJ Onu earned the year’s best defensive player honours.
Thomas Kennedy, a forward for the Fraser Valley Bandits and the University of Windsor, was named the CEBL’s top U Sports player.
READ MORE: League commissioner says CEBL’s championship weekend caps another successful season
The award were voted on by the CEBL’s general managers, head coaches and assistant coaches as well as select league broadcasters and internal media personnel.
The awards were announced as the CEBL prepares for its championship weekend which takes place in Ottawa this weekend. Hamilton, Niagara, Scarborough and Ottawa are competing for the league championship.
–With files from The Canadian Press