The reigning NBA champion New York Knicks have not decided whether to visit the White House and President Donald Trump this season, according to coach Mike Brown on Tuesday.
If the Knicks go to D.C., they would be the first NBA champions to visit the White House during Trump’s two terms.
“No, it’s still something that our guys, or the organization, is internally discussing and, you know, whatever we decide to do, we’ll all do together,” Brown told reporters at training camp.
Knicks owner James Dolan, who hosted New York City native Trump for Game 3 of last season’s NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden, said in June, after the team won the championship, that the White House had extended an invitation and the organization accepted it. The White House said it was in contact with the team and it “looked forward to hosting the team at a date to be determined in the near future.”
Trump was inaugurated in 2017 for his first four-year term and again in 2025 for his second. During that time, the Golden State Warriors (twice), Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder have won titles but have not visited the White House. Trump withdrew an invitation to the Warriors in 2017 after Stephen Curry expressed hesitation about attending, and the Lakers did not visit after their 2020 championship because of scheduling issues and COVID-19 restrictions. The Thunder said earlier this year that they could not visit because the timing did not work out.
The Milwaukee Bucks, Warriors and Boston Celtics visited the White House during Joe Biden’s presidency. The Denver Nuggets chose not to attend after their 2023 title, reportedly because of multiple scheduling conflicts and the Nuggets’ desire to focus on securing the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
