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If you’re still riding high from the Knicks' first NBA championship in 53 years, here's your chance to see the prize that started the citywide celebration.
The Larry O'Brien Trophy, the shiny gold hardware awarded each year to the NBA champions, is now on display at Tiffany & Co.'s Fifth Avenue flagship, giving New Yorkers a rare opportunity to get up close to basketball's most coveted trophy. The trophy will remain on view on the sixth floor of the Tiffany landmark for the rest of this week only, following the Knicks' historic Finals victory on Saturday night.
If you've watched players hoist it on television for decades, the real thing is even more impressive in person. The current version of the trophy is more than 2 feet tall, weighs roughly 30 pounds and is crafted from sterling silver with a 24-karat gold vermeil finish; the design is meant to evoke a regulation-size basketball dropping through a net. Tiffany & Co. has designed and manufactured the trophy since 1977 and unveiled a redesigned version in 2022 as part of the league's 75th anniversary celebrations.
The trophy's connection to New York runs deeper than its temporary home on Fifth Avenue. Tiffany crafts the award each year at its hollowware workshop in Cumberland, Rhode Island, where artisans spend approximately seven months and more than 60 hours of labor creating each trophy, combining traditional silversmithing techniques with modern manufacturing methods. According to Tiffany, the process includes spinning, hammer forming, casting, polishing, engraving and assembly work before the trophy is ready for its championship moment.
For anyone who spent the weekend screaming at the TV, high-fiving strangers or celebrating in the streets, this may be the closest you'll get to championship glory without signing an NBA contract.