Newly American-Owned Italian Hoops Team Hires Ex-Pelicans Exec as GM
NEW YORK — Liberty coach Sandy Brondello has experience with championship rings. She won her first after leading the Phoenix Mercury to a title in 2014. In May, she stepped up to receive her second as the skipper of the Liberty—the last remaining original WNBA team without a title, which finally claimed one in 2024. There was a stark difference this time around.
“Way bigger,” a grinning Brondello said before the team’s ring ceremony on opening night. “Way more diamonds.”
Every ring holds sentimental value—a coveted totem for topping the league. But there’s also major monetary value: Brondello keeps her Mercury ring in a security box at her bank. This year’s ring is worth even more: The highest-tier design—which goes to players, executives, ownership, and management—has been priced at $60,000 by its designers.
It’s the most expensive ring in WNBA history.
Renowned jeweler Jason Arasheben, owner and CEO of Jason of Beverly Hills, and Brooklyn-based designers Dynasty and Soull Ogun, of L’Enchanteur, teamed up to create the design, marked with a torch and the letters “N” and “Y” on either side. The top-tier designs include roughly 110 grams of white gold, white diamonds, black diamonds, and paraiba tourmaline—a rare gemstone similar in color to the Liberty’s signature seafoam.
In the past three years, Arasheben has been a major part of the evolution of the WNBA’s championship rings by providing the same detail and quality as he has for his clients in professional men’s sports. His first championship ring design was in 2009 for the Los Angeles Lakers; since then, he’s designed more than 20 pieces, including the past five NBA championship rings.
He also designed the Las Vegas Aces’ 2022 WNBA championship ring, the franchise’s first. It comprises 561 total diamonds set in white gold. The ring was valued at $40,000 each and was not tiered, meaning everyone within the organization received the same design.
With a price tag of $20,000 more, the Liberty’s ring value represents a big jump—one that brings its cost in line with NBA rings. The only significant difference is size: Arasheben’s men’s designs are typically 10% to 15% bigger. The increasing cost of materials is a factor driving up price and value: In the past 12 months, the cost of gold has spiked nearly 50%.
The Liberty’s extravagant design is also an indication of the league’s growth in both fandom and investment. “It was time for the women’s teams to step up to the plate and create a ring that is going to rival and potentially exceed the ones that men’s leagues receive,” Arasheben tells Front Office Sports.
The WNBA championship rings aren’t just crafted for value.
In the Liberty’s design, the jewelers added a single diamond in the trophy on one side of the ring, which symbolizes the team’s first title. On the other side is the player’s name and jersey number. The more than six carats of white diamonds mark the six years Clara Wu Tsai and Joe Tsai have owned the team. The 28 paraiba tourmaline stones represent the franchise’s 28 seasons, while 32 black diamonds represent the team’s 32 regular-season wins last year. Another 11 black diamonds are there to highlight their postseason wins. When the face of the ring is removed, it reveals a pair of gold earrings designed by Arasheben positioned between the phrase, “We all we got!”
Aces president Nikki Fargas says their 2022 ring reflects the Aces’ identity: There are 26 special-cut diamonds that represent the team’s 26 wins during the 26th season of the WNBA. “When you look at our team you get a feel of what the vibe is,” Fargas tells FOS. “It needed to have that boldness, cutting edge, and unapologetic. It needed to represent who we are, not just as the Aces but as the WNBA.”
Before Arasheben’s arrival, the two major players in the market were Baron Rings and Jostens, both of which also design for the NBA. When Las Vegas won their back-to-back title in 2023, it went with Jostens. This ring was set with white and black diamonds as well as custom-cut rubies. The face was adorned with two championship trophies to symbolize the consecutive titles. The inside of the ring was inscribed with the team’s mantra for the season: “Aces vs. Everybody.”
Typically within weeks of a team’s championship, jewelers will begin reaching out with a congratulatory message often used to open the door for a ring pitch. Teams will put together a ring committee, which is largely composed of players and front office executives. From there, jewelers will put together detailed proposals complete with concepts for the ring and plans for how it will be presented.
It’s not uncommon for teams to take several meetings before narrowing down their options to two or three designers. “Sometimes it has nothing to do with how good your ring is; it’s about a connection,” Baron Rings CEO Peter Kanis says. Baron Rings is responsible for three WNBA championship rings: the 2016 Los Angeles Sparks ring as well as the 2018 and 2020 Seattle Storm rings. It also created the 20th anniversary ring for the WNBA and the last three Olympic rings for USA Basketball.
Minnesota Lynx president of business operations Carley Knox has been in the league for 21 years, including with the now defunct Detroit Shock, where she was the director of sales and marketing. She won her first WNBA championship ring with the Shock in 2006 and another in 2008. Both are about half the size of her 2017 and 2015 championship rings with the Lynx.
When a franchise wins multiple championships, there’s an emphasis placed on outdoing the last, Knox says. In Minnesota, that emphasis was compounded by the fact that the Lynx are the only championship-winning professional basketball team in the city.
“The price went up every single year,” Knox says. “It was all about telling the story of each one of those seasons, and they grew and got bigger every season.”
Looking back to the WNBA’s very beginning, the Liberty’s meticulously crafted $60,000 ring looks even bigger—and is a definitive marker of the league’s rise. The Houston Comets, another defunct WNBA franchise, were the league’s inaugural champions. The roster was loaded with stars including Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper, and Tina Thompson. They went on to win the next three titles, becoming the WNBA’s first dynasty.
In 2016, Infinite Auctions listed a championship ring authenticated as the piece presented to Swoopes in 1997. On the face were 11 diamonds set in 14-karat yellow gold encircling the Comets logo. On one side was the league’s slogan for the first season, “We Got Next.” On the other, Swoopes’s name. It sold for $3,687.72.
