Spike Lee details his most beloved Knicks collectibles

Director owns 1970 Knicks banner, Red Holzman's ring, rare Willis Reed photo

Cover Image for Spike Lee details his most beloved Knicks collectibles
Filmmaker Spike Lee, pictured with actor Timothee Chalamet, is often seen wearing Red Holtzman's Knicks championship ring around his neck. (Credit: Getty Images)

Spike Lee’s New York Knicks fandom is well-documented.

The World’s Most Famous Arena simply wouldn’t look right without Lee courtside, decked out in orange and blue.

Sometimes, if you look closely, attached to a necklace hanging down on Lee's chest, you will see an NBA championship ring.

That ring, which Lee purchased from SCP Auctions in 2019, is among his prized Knicks collectibles. It belonged to Red Holzman and was awarded to the legendary Knicks coach after the 1970 NBA Finals.

The "Do the Right Thing" director paid more than $100,000 for the ring, as well as nearly $70,000 for the net from Game 7 of the Knicks' dramatic victory over the Lakers.

“I’ve been to Olympics, Super Bowls, World Series, everything, World Cup. I’ve never heard a noise as loud in my life as when Willis Reed dragged that right leg to the court,” Lee told cllct's Darren Rovell at Fanatics Fest. “Both teams were in their layup line, and (when) Willis came out the entire Laker team froze. Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, they literally froze. I saw with my own eyes, and I heard it.”

Lee wasn't always a high-roller when it comes to memorabilia, however.

Just like everyone else, his collecting days started with baseball cards and comic books.

“She got rid of my comic books,” Lee said, referencing his mother. When asked if he once owned Spider-Man No. 1, a comic which, in great condition, could be worth millions, Lee quipped, “Is the pope Catholic?”

Lee says as a kid growing up in Brooklyn, he would wait outside the hotel to get Willie Mays’ autograph when the Giants were in town. Same for Roberto Clemente.

Of course, he could also be found waiting outside MSG for the Knicks to come out and give him their signatures — long before he became one of his generation’s most celebrated filmmakers.

These memories are why, Lee says, he signs autographs for kids today, often various models of Jordan sneakers due to his role as Mars Blackmon and association with Michael Jordan in an Air Jordan marketing campaign.

But people ask him to sign all kinds of things. “I don’t sign bras,” Lee said when asked about the oddest items he has been presented. “The bras are still being worn!”

His items from the Red Holzman collection clearly spark joy for the lifelong Knicks fan. In addition to the ring and net, which Lee proudly says nobody else could ever have, he also has a photo of Willis Reed being injected with a painkilling shot prior to his now-iconic return to the court prior to Game 7.

Last year, Lee also revealed he had acquired the original Knicks championship banner for the 1970 title team, which hung from the rafters at Madison Square Garden.

In an Instagram post, Lee said it was removed during renovation and stored in a closet for decades collecting dust. “The Banner Hanging Now Is Not Da ORIGINAL,” Lee writes. “I GOT DAT.”

Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible content.