One Piece Luffy Joins NBA Champions, New York Knicks
The figure's pre-order window closed before the Knicks won the championship, meaning the product was a speculative bet on a team that had not won a title in over five decades.
Reporting from 3 sources: Anime News Network, Dengeki Hobby Web, Inside.
Bandai's Tamashii Nations announced a New York Knicks-themed S.H.Figuarts figure of One Piece protagonist Monkey D. Luffy, timed to the Knicks' 2026 NBA championship win. The figure, priced at 9,900 yen (about US$62), is set to ship in October. Pre-orders opened and closed in April, before the Knicks clinched the title. Tamashii Nations also produced variants in Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Boston Celtics colors. The Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in five games to win their first NBA Finals in 53 years. The One Piece x NBA collaboration began in February 2025 with an animated short featuring the Straw Hat Pirates in Lakers uniforms, and expanded in November 2025 with a static figure collection. The new S.H.Figuarts figures are poseable, unlike the earlier static releases.
Tamashii Nations announced the Knicks Luffy figure on the same night the team clinched the title, posting on social media minutes after the final buzzer. The pre-order window ran from April 3 to April 26, meaning customers had to place orders months before the NBA Finals even began. The company produced similar S.H.Figuarts variants for the Lakers, Warriors, Bulls, Thunder, and Celtics, but did not make a version for the Spurs, the Knicks' actual Finals opponent.
The Knicks defeated the Spurs in five games. Game scores were 105-95, 105-104, a 115-111 Spurs win in Game 3, 107-106, and a 94-90 clincher. The championship is the Knicks' first in 53 years.
The broader One Piece x NBA collaboration began in February 2025 with an animated short showing the Straw Hat Pirates in Lakers uniforms. In November 2025, the collaboration expanded to a static figure collection covering all NBA teams. The new S.H.Figuarts figures are poseable, unlike those earlier releases.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.