Knicks Will Be First NBA Team to Visit Trump White House

New York Knicks owner James Dolan said Wednesday that the team will be the first NBA champion to visit President Donald Trump at the White House after the team accepted an invitation.

“We just did receive an invitation from the White House, which we accepted,” Dolan said during an interview on New York’s WFAN. “We still have to figure out the details, etc., but yes, of course. Look, I invited the president to come down for the game. He is a friend. I’ve known him for 30 years, and I’m very proud to bring the team to the White House.”

Dolan, a longtime friend of the president, invited Trump to Game 3 of the NBA Finals, in which the Knicks hosted the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden. Spectators inside and outside the arena booed the president — a New Yorker and Knicks fan —when he was spotlighted during the national anthem.

The Knicks lost the game 115-111 — the team’s only defeat during the series.

When asked before Dolan’s announcement if he would accept a hypothetical invitation to visit the White House, guard Jose Alvarado told TMZ on Wednesday: “If there’s a chance, I’m going wherever my teammate goes.”

However, at least one team member doesn’t seem to be a fan of the president.

“YESSIR!!!! GET TRUMP’S DUMBASS OUT THE WHITE HOUSE!!!!!!” guard Josh Hart posted on X in November 2020.

Dolan’s acceptance of the invite would make the Knicks the first NBA team to visit the White House in either of Trump’s nonconsecutive terms.

Last March, the Oklahoma City Thunder declined an invitation due to a “timing issue.”

During Trump’s first term, back-to-back champions Golden State Warriors did not meet with the president after he rescinded his invitation because some star players spoke out against him in 2017. The Warriors also skipped out on visiting the president in 2018, instead touring the National Museum of African-American History and Culture with local D.C. students.

The Warriors did visit former President Barack Obama to celebrate their 2015 championship, as well as former President Joe Biden in 2023 in honor of their 2022 title.

The Los Angeles Lakers did not visit the White House in 2021 over COVID-19 protocols.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NOTUS, but a White House official told Vanity Fair before Dolan’s announcement that any rumors the Knicks aren’t going are not true.

“This is fake news,” the official said.