Winning an NBA championship means not only a trophy but also a championship ring. These rings can be worth millions. As a result, people will attempt to make fake rings to make some money.
The New York Knicks have sought to cease this trend and use it as a teaching tool for cyber security.
The New York Knicks were presented with their championship rings in special jewelry boxes on Tuesday, 20 October, ahead of their season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers. However, the coaches' boxes were reportedly empty.
While the players — who won the 2026 NBA championship — and team president, Leon Rose, all got rings boasting sapphires and 22 carats of diamonds designed by Jason of Beverly Hills, the assistant coaches hadn't even been fitted for theirs yet; multiple sources told The Athletic in a story published Thursday, 22 October.
It was unclear if head coach Mike Brown had even gotten one, per The Athletic, with a Madison Square Garden spokesperson telling the outlet, "We are not disclosing anything about the rings."
While some coaches are frustrated and angry about not receiving their rings; The Athletic reported the same thing happened to some assistants and executives at the Oklahoma City Thunder's celebration last year.
Some people who work at MSG won't get one at all; even though support staff for NBA teams usually do, the outlet added.
According to The Athletic, employees received an e-mail in September showing an image of two different rings, which read, "Congratulations, your Employee Championship Ring is here."
"(Employee name), this one is on the house. MSG is issuing a complimentary employee championship ring. The same jeweler, the same craftsmanship, personalized with your name. No cost to you," the e-mail read, per the outlet. "There are two designs to choose from: Championship Gold and Garden Classic. Reserve the one you want below."
However, sources told The Athletic the e-mail was actually a phishing test. Those who clicked were ordered to attend a cybersecurity class.
There are surprisingly few constants when it comes to sports teams handing out championship rings.
We know a championship ring is going to be gaudy. We know the players who won that championship will get one. We know there will be some sort of ceremony. Beyond that, it's really up to the team how far they want to go with it, especially when it comes to the number of employees who actually get one.
That uncertainty has become relevant thanks to the New York Knicks' breakthrough.
Making that situation even more bizarre is that many longtime Madison Square Garden employees, including some who work in the Knicks' business operations, reportedly won't be receiving rings at all.
There are surprisingly few constants when it comes to sports teams handing out championship rings.
Again, there is no set rule for which employees receive championship rings but owners are often generous in that regard though most employees receive toned-down rings in comparison to the diamond-encrusted monsters the players get. The employees who don't get them usually aren't psychologically haunted by fake ring offers from their own company.
The coaching staff pretty much always get rings as well but the Knicks reportedly differed from the norm as well in one respect.
The Knicks assistant coaches were all handed boxes clearly meant to hold the rings as stirring music played in Madison Square Garden. According to The Athletic, those boxes were empty.
The assistant coaches are expected to eventually receive those rings but they weren't available last Tuesday as the team is still reportedly going through the process of measuring ring sizes and placing orders.
The Athletic notes the assistants of the Oklahoma City Thunder didn't get their rings on opening night last year either. The Thunder just didn't pretend they had them during the ceremony.
Another difference between the Knicks' ring night and the Thunder's ring night was the presence of NBA commissioner, Adam Silver — or lack thereof, in the Knicks' case. The NBA commissioner is usually on hand to address the crowd and present players with their rings but Knicks great Walt Frazier was the one handing out rings on Tuesday.
Silver was relegated to a chair on the other side of the court while the likes of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Jon Bon Jovi stood behind presenter Mike Breen. Dolan and Silver are well-known to be at odds and Silver's placement appears to be another way Dolan's presence was felt on a celebratory occasion for the Knicks.
How much are the Knicks' 2026 championship rings?
That's the question after renowned luxury jeweler, Jason of Beverly Hills, who designed the ring with input from Knicks leadership, revealed it contains 22 carats of diamonds and sapphires; over 180 grams of gold and nearly 800 individually set stones.
"I'd estimate the New York Knicks' championship rings could be worth up to $250 000 each," Neil Dutta, managing director at jeweler Angelic Diamonds with over 20 years of jewelry design experience told The Post.
"The designer, Jason of Beverly Hills, also made the Golden State Warriors' championship rings in 2022, which reportedly had a manufacturer's price of $108 000 each. Those featured around 16 carats of diamonds, so they're a useful comparison.
"Given the greater combined gemstone weight and the complexity of the Knicks' design, I think a valuation approaching $250 000 is plausible, although the quality of the individual stones would ultimately influence that figure."
The Knicks' ring features a miniature recreation of Madison Square Garden's exterior that rises with a turn of the ring — and the underside of the removable part of the ring recreates the Garden's ceiling, while the top showcases the arena's lower bowl.
A .16-carat round diamond signifies the team's 16-point comeback in the clinching Game 5. There are 16 emerald-cut diamonds that line the inner part of the ring for every playoff victory.
The shank of the ring is engraved with the phrase "Knicks in Five," for the team's NBA Finals victory over the favoured San Antonio Spurs.
"Sourcing that many stones to work together takes considerable care, particularly when you're trying to achieve a consistent colour and finish," Dutta said. "Then there's the setting work itself. With hundreds of stones sitting so closely together, each one has to be positioned precisely; with enough metal to hold it securely.
"The miniature Madison Square Garden is even more impressive. The ring opens to reveal a detailed model of the arena, and adding a moving mechanism to a piece already covered in gemstones makes manufacturing considerably more complicated. Every component has to fit precisely, and the settings need to remain secure when the ring is opened and closed."
James Dolan and the MSG organisation faced renewed criticism online after The Athletic published its report.
NBC Montana’s Josh Margolis wrote on X, "Disguising a phishing test as a championship ring order is really, really gross. The players need to get these employees some rings."
"Only James Dolan can squander the goodwill of a NYK title this fast,” added the Cleveland Cavaliers-focused Fear the Fro’ podcast account. “Rug-pulling his employees with the false promise of a championship ring as a phishing test is tone deaf supervillain stuff."
SB Nation writer James Dator criticised the phishing test; characterising the fake ring offer as a scam and describing it as “beyond disgusting.”
Even a Knicks fan account, The Knicks Recap, criticised the move, posting, "Even if you’re worried about cybersecurity in general, to use championship rings as the lure is nasty work."
Another Knicks fan account pushed back on the criticism, writing, "In every real corporate job in America, companies run phishing emails tests to stop employees from clicking random BS that hackers use to breach systems and potentially bankrupt the company. It’s called cybersecurity. But it’s Dolan and the Knicks, so suddenly it’s a scandal.”
So, the disagreement is not simply about whether companies should conduct phishing tests. It is about whether a test’s design and follow-up measures help employees become more secure or merely punish them for clicking.
The criticism also raises questions about how organizations should design phishing simulations. The U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre says punishing staff for clicking a test e-mail can start to look like "entrapment" and warns organisations to check with HR before running anything that could upset employees.
According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s guidance on phishing exercises, "These activities should not be punitive, nor should any employee be called out for their response. When viewed as learning opportunities, the phishing exercises can provide important data on vulnerabilities and which employees may need additional learning support."
This isn't the first time a company has used a high-emotion reward as a phishing lure and then faced blowback. In December 2020, GoDaddy sent employees an e-mail promising a $650 one-time holiday bonus. Recipients who wanted the money were told to click a link and fill out a form with personal details by a set deadline.
Roughly 500 employees did so, and two days later, those who clicked received a follow-up from the company’s chief security officer informing them they had failed a phishing test and would need to retake security awareness training. GoDaddy later apologised, saying it understood "some employees were upset by the phishing attempt and felt it was insensitive."
At the same time, the organisation did choose a lure that makes sense from a technical perspective. In a recent report, Kaspersky found that a FIFA-themed phishing simulation promoting prizes for wearing a national team jersey achieved a 66% click rate. So yes, a fake ring offer was plausible enough to catch people. The problem is that the best click-through bait should be balanced with the need to keep the overall work environment positive.
MSG’s Broader History of Aggressive Security Measures
The phishing test also landed in a context where Dolan and his companies have already drawn criticism for aggressive security measures. During the Knicks’ 2026 NBA Finals run, security around Madison Square Garden was significantly tightened for Game 3 because President Donald Trump was attending. ABC7 New York described an extensive security perimeter, multiple checkpoints, TSA-style screening, a no-bag policy, and instructions for fans to arrive two hours early.
Still, there have been plenty of concerns around MSG’s security tech when Trump isn’t attending too. Madison Square Garden has operated for years with a facial-recognition system that is designed to scan every person who walks through its doors. The technology first became public in 2018. In 2023, reporting described how MSG Entertainment used facial-recognition technology to identify lawyers affiliated with firms involved in litigation against the company and deny them entry to its venues, including in cases where the individual lawyers were not personally handling the relevant disputes.
MSG’s use of facial-recognition technology has also drawn criticism over its treatment of people who have publicly criticized Dolan. In March 2025, Seattle resident Frank Miller was turned away from a show at Radio City Music Hall, another MSG Entertainment venue. Miller had previously designed a T-shirt critical of Dolan but said he had never worn it. MSG, however, stated that Miller had made threats against an MSG executive on social media and had produced and sold merchandise it considered offensive.
In July, further reporting from Wired revealed a leaked MSG database that assigned risk scores to celebrities and their guests, with well-known Knicks fans like Ben Stiller marked “low risk” and certain rappers marked “high risk.”
Jason Arasheben did not disclose the exact price of the Knicks' championship ring.
"It's like asking how much the Mona Lisa is. It's priceless," Arasheben said during an appearance on "CBS Mornings" on Wednesday, adding that he had seven months to create it.
"The ring was designed to capture the team's identity and the defining moments of its title run," Arasheben told Page Six Style exclusively. "What makes this ring unique from others I've created is how every detail — from the combination of round brilliant and emerald-cut diamonds with radially set blue sapphires to the individual player tributes and championship milestones — tells a story that is distinctly New York Knicks."
Jason of Beverly Hills made 200 premier rings for purchase, which cost $19 995. Each ring is individually numbered. Another championship ring style, consisting of nickel alloy and cubic zirconia is valued at $299.
The fan collection, which includes a necklace, pendant, bracelet and paperweight, ranges from $299 to $15 995.
Jason of Beverly Hills has made eight of the last 10 NBA title rings, as well as the 2026 Stanley Cup championship rings for the Carolina Hurricanes and the Seattle Seahawks' 2026 Super Bowl rings.
The Knicks went on to lose their opener 106-100 to the Philadelphia 76ers.
I'm mixed on this issue. While it's a cruel joke to perform a sudden and unexpected phishing test; it's vital that people don't click on suspicious links. While it's common thought that people don't do this; we still need education on the matter.
On this matter, guidlines and rules should be established so that it's crystal clear as to who receive rings and those who don't.