Elizabeth Flores, USA TODAY Fri, October 23, 2026 at 12:05 PM UTC · 1 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Championship Night , the New York Knicks were honored at Madison Square Garden and received their long-awaited championship rings . However, the assistant coaches were handed empty boxes, creating the illusion that they had received their rings, The Athletic reported .
During the championship celebration, each Knicks player was individually presented with their ring in front of the crowd. The ceremony culminated with the team raising a new banner to commemorate their NBA title, which they secured by defeating the San Antonio Spurs in five games during the 2026 Finals.
This historic victory ended the franchise's 53-year championship drought.
The Athletic reported that assistant coaches were informed they would not receive their rings during the public ceremony, but instead at an unspecified later date.
A general view as the New York Knicks World Champions banner is raised during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. The NBA picked the right game to headline an opening night slate with the New York Knicks welcoming the Philadelphia 76ers to Madison Square Garden.LeBron James begins a new era as he suits up for a Sixers squad with high aspirations. Leaving behind Hollywood for the bright lights of Philadelphia also means a great big spotlight on championship expectations.The Knicks come in rare form, as the defending champions. While Tuesday will be a celebration of last year's triumph, the first game will go a long way to answer if they are ready to go back-to-back since the Golden State Warriors did so in 2017 and 2018. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks speaks with Josh Hart #3 during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) Jose Alvarado of the New York Knicks reacts after receiving his ring during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks speaks with Rick Brunson during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) Head coach Mike Brown of the New York Knicks looks on with Chris Jent and Rick Brunson during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) The New York Knicks react during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks inspects his ring during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on October 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) A detailed view of the New York Knicks Champions Night t-shirts prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) Fans gather outside of Madison Square Garden for the NBA season opener between the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks in New York City on Oct. 20, 2026. (David Dee Delgado, REUTERS) Fans inside Madison Square Garden look at the Knicks travel bus prior to the NBA season opener between the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks in New York City on Oct. 20, 2026. The game features LeBron James' first regular-season appearance with the 76ers and includes a championship banner-raising ceremony honoring the Knicks' previous season title. (David Dee Delgado, REUTERS) 1 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony A general view as the New York Knicks World Champions banner is raised during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. The NBA picked the right game to headline an opening night slate with the New York Knicks welcoming the Philadelphia 76ers to Madison Square Garden.LeBron James begins a new era as he suits up for a Sixers squad with high aspirations. Leaving behind Hollywood for the bright lights of Philadelphia also means a great big spotlight on championship expectations.The Knicks come in rare form, as the defending champions. While Tuesday will be a celebration of last year's triumph, the first game will go a long way to answer if they are ready to go back-to-back since the Golden State Warriors did so in 2017 and 2018. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) 1 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony A general view as the New York Knicks World Champions banner is raised during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. The NBA picked the right game to headline an opening night slate with the New York Knicks welcoming the Philadelphia 76ers to Madison Square Garden.LeBron James begins a new era as he suits up for a Sixers squad with high aspirations. Leaving behind Hollywood for the bright lights of Philadelphia also means a great big spotlight on championship expectations.The Knicks come in rare form, as the defending champions. While Tuesday will be a celebration of last year's triumph, the first game will go a long way to answer if they are ready to go back-to-back since the Golden State Warriors did so in 2017 and 2018. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) 2 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks speaks with Josh Hart #3 during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) 3 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony Jose Alvarado of the New York Knicks reacts after receiving his ring during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) 4 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks speaks with Rick Brunson during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) 5 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony Head coach Mike Brown of the New York Knicks looks on with Chris Jent and Rick Brunson during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) 6 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony The New York Knicks react during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) 7 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks inspects his ring during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on October 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) 8 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony A detailed view of the New York Knicks Champions Night t-shirts prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) 9 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony Fans gather outside of Madison Square Garden for the NBA season opener between the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks in New York City on Oct. 20, 2026. (David Dee Delgado, REUTERS) 10 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony Fans inside Madison Square Garden look at the Knicks travel bus prior to the NBA season opener between the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks in New York City on Oct. 20, 2026. The game features LeBron James' first regular-season appearance with the 76ers and includes a championship banner-raising ceremony honoring the Knicks' previous season title. (David Dee Delgado, REUTERS) Additionally, according to the report, many longtime Madison Square Garden employees would not be receiving rings, despite having previously received an email that asked them to select a "complimentary employee championship ring" design from a provided list.
These emails were part of a phishing test orchestrated by MSG to evaluate employees' cybersecurity awareness, according to the report, and those who clicked the links or responded to the email were subsequently required to attend a mandatory cybersecurity training session.
"We are not disclosing anything about the rings," an MSG Sports spokesperson said in a statement to The Athletic.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Knicks assistants didn't get rings (yet), just empty boxes on opening night: Report
Source: Sports
0 Comments