When Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty won the franchise’s first WNBA championship in 2024, the team was presented with a sterling silver trophy crafted by Tiffany & Co. Players also received championship rings honoring the team’s history, complete with a hidden compartment containing earrings.

The pieces are among the many artifacts featured in “For the Win: Objects of Sports Excellence,” a new exhibition opening May 15 at the American Museum of Natural History.

“It really just represents the journey and the work and to know how much went into it,” said Rich Kleiman, CEO and co-founder of Boardroom and a senior adviser for the exhibition.

Kleiman, the longtime business partner and manager of Kevin Durant, helped bring two of Durant’s items to the exhibit: his 2017 NBA championship ring with the Golden State Warriors and his 2024 Olympic gold medal.

The exhibition, housed inside the museum’s Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals, features more than 70 championship rings, trophies, medals and pieces of jewelry spanning more than 150 years of sports history.

Guest curator Vikki Tobak, who also curated the “Ice Cold” hip-hop jewelry exhibition, said gathering the pieces was not easy because many belonged to athletes themselves.

“You will literally be able to see the Lombardi Trophy face to face. You will be able to see championship rings face to face,” Tobak said.

Highlights include one of Jesse Owens’ gold medals from the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where he famously challenged racial stereotypes on the world stage. The exhibit also features an 1877 NYPD Medal of Valor bearing the interlocking “NY,” believed to have inspired the New York Yankees logo.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist and undisputed boxing champion Claressa Shields and two-time Super Bowl champion Justin Tuck recently visited the exhibit to see their items on display and discuss the meaning of competition with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

“We just invent these rules and then watch members of our species ascend in those games,” Tyson said. “They’re honored, respected, glorified and, in some cases, deified. I see that as some deep part of what it is to be human.”

Shields has one of her championship belts on display, while Tuck’s two Super Bowl rings from his time with the New York Giants are also featured.

Tyson said the exhibition also highlights the science behind sports and the craftsmanship behind the objects themselves, all displayed among the museum’s collection of gems and minerals.

“To be able to make that connection between the physical science and the broader cultural meaning is something that AMNH is uniquely positioned to do,” said Sean Decatur, president of the museum.

“For the Win” launches the museum’s broader celebration of the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup with a series of programs and experiences called “World Cup — World Culture: Celebrating the Community and Science of Sport.”

The museum will also debut Goal Zone, an interactive all-ages space where visitors can test their soccer skills. Beginning May 28, the museum plans to offer hands-on activities exploring the science of sports through learning labs and a Global Sports Pavilion.

Starting June 11, the museum will host World Cup watch parties inside several of its galleries and theaters, including a special opening weekend celebration June 13 and a block party July 11.

Visitors can learn more at the American Museum of Natural History website.