While admitting to the ‘unfortunate mistake’ of tricking employees with promises of an NBA championship ring, the New York Knicks have now announced plans to spend nearly $4 million so that 275 rings will be distributed to staff.
A Madison Square Garden spokesperson told the New York Post about the plan following widespread uproar over the team’s limited distribution of the rings and an internal cybersecurity email that fooled employees into thinking they were about to receive the keepsake.
The problem emerged at Tuesday’s season opener when the Knicks players and team president Leon Rose received their championship rings for beating the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 NBA Finals.
Two sources told The Athletic that assistants were informed they would not be receiving rings that night. Additionally, The Athletic reported that MSG sent an internal email to staff promising employees their championship rings. Those who clicked on the link were then required to attend a mandatory cybersecurity class.
‘The company had previously sent out an email to its corporate team as a simulation of a phishing attack designed to strengthen our security against hackers,’ a company spokesperson said in a Friday statement.
‘MSG was recently hacked and extorted using an employee login and password obtained through a similar phishing attack. Using the rings as a lure to gain employees’ attention was an unfortunate mistake.
Jalen Brunson checks out his new ring during Tuesday’s ceremony at Madison Square Garden
The Knicks championship ring led to a wave of bad PR for the reigning NBA champions
A general view as theKnicks World Champions banner is raised during the Ring Ceremony
‘The company is gifting more than 275 championship rings and jewelry to players, coaches, employees and other members of the Knicks family, worth more than $3.7 million, in recognition of their contributions and celebrating this achievement.’
Before the statement was released, the Knicks had been widely slammed online for the ‘cruel’ ploy.
Adding fuel to the fire was an Athletic report claiming many MSG employees would not be receiving rings at all. It’s common for most employees of NBA teams to receive rings, however, they are usually not the same quality as the ones received by players and coaches.
One fan wrote: ‘This is kind of breaking my heart what a cruel thing to do in the face of joy’, while another said: ‘You have to be a truly terrible person to do this.’
A further post read: ‘I get phishing emails all the time. Teasing them with rings is just f***ing cruel’ and ‘All of this is legitimately insane. What an incredibly cruel and humiliating thing to do.’
