Knicks fans launched GardenDAO, a Solana-based collective raising funds to acquire iconic 2026 National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals memorabilia. The Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)’s first target is the game-used ball from Game 4 (where OG Anunoby’s tip-in sealed the largest Finals comeback and ended a 53-year championship drought), appraised at $2.5 to 4.5 million. The DAO aims to bid across Sotheby’s three NBA Finals sales running from June 30 to July 20.
What GardenDAO is all about
GardenDAO is a fan-owned collective built to bring “the Garden’s grails home.” The DAO is raising $2 million to activate, but that’s just the floor. The ball alone is appraised at $2.5 to 4.5 million, so $2 million turns the DAO on, not the war chest that wins.
The more raised, the more the DAO can bring home: around $3 million secures the ball; $4 to 5 million adds OG Anunoby’s Game 4 game-worn jersey as a paired set; more than $6 million delivers championship-core jerseys, the net, and court panels.
The DAO is governed by futarchy, a market-based governance model where proposals pass or fail based on token price impact, not a multisig vote. This prevents the “mob rule” that sank ConstitutionDAO in 2021.
Structure and how it works
GardenDAO was co-founded by Rob Petrozzo (co-founder of Rally, which pioneered fractional ownership of blue-chip collectibles like Michael Jordan game-worn pieces) and Tzvi Wiesel (co-founder of BAXUS, which tokenized rare collectibles on Solana).
The DAO’s legal structure is a Cayman Islands Segregated Portfolio Company (SPC) formed via MetaLeX, governed entirely by onchain futarchy. Decisions are made by trading conditional outcome tokens on proposal markets, no multisig, no council, no centralized admin.
If a proposal passes, funds unlock for bidding. If the DAO wins a lot, the relics are authenticated, insured, and vaulted to museum standard, then put on public display, not locked in a private safe.
What Knicks fans are trying to achieve
The objective is simple: own history, they say. “The moment belonged to the players and the fans. The artifact is about to belong to whoever writes the biggest check. We’re the check,” the DAO’s pitch reads.
In contrast to ConstitutionDAO (which raised $47 million to buy a rare U.S. Constitution copy but lost to a hedge fund and left token holders with no artifact), GardenDAO is built to avoid that outcome. The team has real experience sourcing, authenticating, and custodizing seven-figure collectibles. For instance, if the DAO wins, the relics go on public display, not into a private vault. If it loses, the treasury persists and governance decides the next target.
Community reactions and investors
The DAO’s raise on Futardio have already attracted quite significant interest, with multiple contributions of $5,000 to $15,000 in the first hours. The community backing reflects the emotional resonance of the 2026 Finals (the first Knicks championship in 53 years).
The DAO’s futarchy model has also drawn attention from several governance enthusiasts, who see it as a more robust alternative to traditional DAO structures. “It’s time to make history,” posted 6MV’s Mike Dudas.
In the end, for Knicks fans, GardenDAO is a chance to own a piece of history, not just watch it from the stands.
