The New York Knicks will make history as the first NBA Championship team to visit the White House under President Donald Trump.
James Dolan, owner of the Knicks, confirmed in an interview with WFAN on Wednesday that the team will be visiting the White House – the first NBA Champion to visit Trump in both his terms.
“We just did receive an invitation from the White House, which we accepted,” Dolan said. “We still have to figure out the details, et cetera, 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.”
A White House official also told Vanity Fair that rumors of the Knicks declining the visit were “fake news.”
“This is fake news,” an official told the outlet. “The White House congratulates the Knicks on their championship win and looks forward to discussing a visit in the near future.”
The president also made history by attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden to root for the Knicks. In May, Trump told the New York Post that he had been invited to the Eastern Conference Finals.
“I was invited to. I was going to go on Wednesday, but they closed it out very quickly. They’re great, and Jim Dolan’s a great guy — he’s, as you know, owns and in charge of Madison Square Garden. He’s having a good year,” Trump said.
“Boy, what a team! They win all their games. They really have some great players. I think I’ll be going to one of the games, yeah. I was invited by numerous people, and Jim, and I think it’s great. Great to see it. The Knicks have really, they’ve really suffered for years and they’re doing right now very well,” he added.
In 2025, Trump became the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
The Celtics were the last team to visit the White House in 2024 under President Joe Biden.