HOOP, there it is!
What’s bigger than a T. rex, at least according to New Yorkers at the American Museum of Natural History? The New York Knicks‘ NBA Championship trophy, a 29-pound hunk of hard-won metal that will soon go on display at the Upper West Side landmark.
Starting this Monday, July 27, the NBA’s famous Larry O’Brien Trophy will hit the ground floor at the AMNH, giving hoops-hungry New Yorkers a chance to bask in the team’s hard-won victory.
The Tiffany & Co.-crafted trophy, a roughly 30-pound tower of sterling silver and gold vermeil shaped like a basketball dropping through a net, will stay parked at the museum through January 3, part of the AMNH’s blockbuster “For the Win: Objects of Sports Excellence” exhibit.
For Knicks die-hards who’ve waited more than half a century for this moment, it’s a chance to extend the glory of the June 13 triumph, and to see the thrilling win in a more historic light.
Housed in the museum’s Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals, the show also hosts the New York Liberty’s 2024 WNBA championship trophy, a Babe Ruth Crown honoring Yankees great Yogi Berra, and Giants legend Justin Tuck’s diamond-studded 2008 Super Bowl ring.
Also among the 70 display pieces: One of track star Jesse Owens’ historic 1936 Olympic gold medals, the NFL’s Vince Lombardi Trophy and the championship belt of boxer and MMA fighter Claressa Shields.
“Excellence is rare,” said exhibit curator Vikki Tobak. “The objects in this exhibition are a celebration of the culture of winning—tangible reminders of the great athletes and champions who made greatness something the rest of us could see.”
And, in the case of the Knicks, something the rest of us could use as an excuse to climb the streetlights on lower Broadway in celebration.
The sports memorabilia might be priceless, but the viewing is a bargain: Entry into the “For the Win” exhibit is included with general museum admission, meaning New Yorkers can knock out dinosaur bones, whale statues, and brand-new basketball bragging rights in a single trip to West 79th Street.
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