That Jordyn Woods bag that fueled the Knicks’ title run? It’s now a museum piece
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Raptors Can Be OpportunisticNori’s Blazer ContractLakers' $185M ManThat Jordyn Woods bag that fueled the Knicks’ title run? It’s now a museum piece
Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordyn Woods with Woods' orange "Tux Clutch Mini" on display at the Guggenheim. Guggenheim Museum
By Zach PowellJune 25, 2026 5:42 pm EDT UpdatedPerhaps the most famous handbag in New York Knicks history has landed in the city’s Guggenheim Museum, where the $125 purse will be on display through the weekend.
To Knicks fans, it’s not just any purse. During the team’s historic championship run, the orange “Tux Clutch Mini” carried by Jordyn Woods, the fiancée of Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, earned a cult following among superstitious Knicks fans who believed it played a role in their team capturing its first NBA title in 53 years.
Whenever she carried the bag with her to Knicks games, the team won. The lore of the bag became a social media joke that gained even more traction after the Knicks lost Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Woods was forced to leave the bag at home due to a strict no-bag policy implemented at Madison Square Garden for President Donald Trump’s attendance.
No such policy was in place for games 4 and 5, and the purse was seen in Woods’ hands and over her shoulder.
Towns leaned into the handbag superstition after the Knicks’ historic 29-point comeback to win Game 4, and again after the Knicks won the title in San Antonio.
“The bag is undefeated. I want everyone in New York to know that bag won a championship,” Towns said after Game 5.
“The bag did its thing tonight!” Towns wrote on Instagram after Game 4. “We’ve got to put this in the Whitney or the Guggenheim!”
The Guggenheim, the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed cylindrical space on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, welcomed the bag as a cultural artifact that binds sports, high fashion and modern celebrity culture. It will be on display at the museum’s Café Rebay.
“People have always found meaning in objects that embody profound cultural moments, and they often go to great lengths to see them,” a museum spokesperson told The Athletic. “The Guggenheim was interested in celebrating this important New York moment, the cultural phenomenon that developed around the bag, and how an everyday object became a rallying point for fans and a symbol of New York pride.”
Among those who wanted a close-up look at the bag, part of Woods’ own line of accessories, Woods by Jordyn, was New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who clutched the clutch with a wide smile during the city’s ticker-tape parade honoring the Knicks.
The Guggenheim is known for showcasing modern and contemporary art, including paintings, sculptures, photography and performance art. But Woods’ bag adds an element that the museum continues to explore. The museum has Lin Yilin’s Monad (2018), a virtual reality work comprised of three separate but interconnected parts. One of those parts uses virtual reality software to simulate a series of basic basketball movements. The Tschabalala Self’s Sprewell (2020) is a painting that pays homage to Knicks icon Latrell Sprewell.
“The Guggenheim has long been interested in the ways art and sport reflect one another,” a museum spokesperson said. “The presentation of Jordyn Woods’ lucky bag builds on this and the museum’s ongoing exploration of the relationship between art, culture, and sport and continues that conversation while celebrating this special historic New York moment.”
Towns and Woods’ relationship to the museum began in April 2025, when they attended a celebration for the opening of Rashid Johnson’s exhibit, “A Poem of Deep Thinkers.” That exhibition included nearly 90 works from the American artist, spanning three decades. Towns and Woods soon became collectors of Johnson’s artwork, and the first piece of art Towns bought for his collection was from Johnson’s Anxious Men portrait series. The couple has remained connected to the Guggenheim since.
“I have no doubt in my mind that this lucky bag will go down in history as the beloved good-luck charm for a team of extraordinary athletes and humans who brought New York incomparable pride and joy,” Mariët Westermann, director and CEO of the Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, told The Athletic.
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Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
