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By Aman Sharma
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Winning an NBA title usually means jewelry for the staff behind the scenes, but some Madison Square Garden workers got a training session instead.
An email offering free championship rings to employees was a fake designed to catch anyone who clicked, according to The Athletic’s Joe Vardon. Those who bit were funneled into a required cybersecurity course, a response to New York Knicks owner James Dolan’s mounting worries about online security, team sources said.
Sent widely across MSG’s staff in late September, the message showed two ring styles and opened with an upbeat greeting.
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"Congratulations, your Employee Championship Ring is here," the email said. "(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. There are two designs to choose from: Championship Gold and Garden Classic. Reserve the one you want below.”
No ring waited on the other side of that link. Many longtime Garden employees, including some on the Knicks’ business side, won’t get one at all, per team sources.
That breaks from how most NBA franchises operate. Rank-and-file staff typically get rings after a title, even if they’re less elaborate than what players wear.
Those player rings, crafted by Jason of Beverly Hills, carry 22-carat diamonds and sapphires in Knicks blue to mark the 2026 NBA championship. Team president Leon Rose opened the first box at the season-opening banner ceremony.
Assistant coaches walked off that night with empty boxes, per seven sources around the league. They hadn’t been fitted yet and were told their rings would come later. Some were angry. Others were merely annoyed.
MSG Sports offered nothing further.
“We are not disclosing anything about the rings,” a spokesperson told The Athletic.
The assistants are still in line for their jewelry. For the staffers who clicked hoping to choose between Championship Gold and Garden Classic, the only thing they earned was mandatory training.
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