There are plenty of ways to celebrate an NBA championship. Apparently, the New York Knicks have discovered a new one: Tricking their own employees into believing they’re getting championship rings.
As CBS Sports reported Friday, Madison Square Garden employees received an email in September offering them complimentary championship rings to commemorate the Knicks’ first NBA title in 53 years. There was just one problem: The rings didn’t exist.
According to The Athletic, the email began with a tantalizing message: “Congratulations, your Employee Championship Ring is here.”
The message promised employees a personalized ring at no cost, with two designs to choose from: “Championship Gold” and “Garden Classic.”
All employees had to do was click a link to reserve their preferred design. Sounds like a pretty sweet perk for helping bring a championship back to New York, right?
Wrong. The email was actually a cybersecurity phishing test, and employees who clicked the link were instead required to attend mandatory cybersecurity training.
Now, to be abundantly clear, there’s nothing wrong with testing employees’ cybersecurity awareness. In 2026, when phishing scams and cyberattacks can cripple entire organizations, such precautions aren’t just reasonable — they’re necessary.
Do you think using a fake championship ring email for training was appropriate?
Yes, it’s a smart test
9% (1 vote)
No, it’s misleading
91% (10 votes)
In fact, an MSG spokesperson told the New York Post that the company had recently been hacked and extorted after an employee’s login credentials were compromised through a similar phishing attack.
But there’s a difference between testing employees’ vigilance and dangling a once-in-a-lifetime reward in front of them, only to pull the rug out from under their feet.
To MSG’s credit, the organization appears to recognize that distinction. The spokesperson said using championship rings as bait was “an unfortunate mistake.”
Unfortunately for Knicks owner James Dolan, that wasn’t the only championship-ring controversy making headlines this week.
The Athletic also reported that Knicks assistant coaches were handed black boxes during Tuesday’s championship celebration, but those boxes apparently didn’t contain the promised jewelry.
Seven league sources confirmed that the assistants didn’t receive rings that evening, with their reported reactions ranging from annoyance to genuine anger.
To be fair, delayed championship rings aren’t unprecedented. The Athletic noted that some Oklahoma City Thunder coaches and executives didn’t receive their rings during last season’s opening-night festivities, either.
The Knicks’ assistants have also reportedly been assured that their rings are coming eventually.
However, when The Athletic sought clarification, an MSG Sports spokesperson offered this rather unhelpful response: “We are not disclosing anything about the rings.”
Meanwhile, numerous longtime MSG employees, including some working in the Knicks’ business operations, reportedly won’t receive rings at all. That’s particularly unfortunate, given that championship organizations commonly distribute less expensive commemorative rings to employees who contributed behind the scenes.
Look, none of this means Dolan personally devised the phishing test or ordered empty boxes handed to the coaches. And nobody should confuse a cybersecurity training exercise with some unforgivable organizational scandal.
But Dolan, who has hardly enjoyed universal affection among Knicks fans, is ultimately responsible for the culture surrounding his organization.
Between the misleading emails, the awkward ring ceremony, and the evasive responses, these are remarkably avoidable headaches for a franchise that should still be basking in championship glory.
After 53 years of waiting, the Knicks finally gave New York something to celebrate. It’s a shame that, barely a week into their title defense, the organization seems so determined to make the people who helped deliver that championship feel like they’re the ones being played.
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