President Donald Trump has taken an interest in this year's NBA Finals, but will he actually leave the White House to watch the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs square off?
A week ago, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Tyler Pager of The New York Times reported that Trump wanted to attend Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. His plans were ultimately derailed by the Knicks' dominance.
“I was invited – I was going to go on Wednesday, but they closed it out very quickly,” Trump said. “Jim Dolan, as you know owns and is in charge of Madison Square Garden, is having a great year. What a team! I think I’ll be going to one of their games.”
Well, according to the New York Post, the current plan is for Trump to attend Game 3 at Madison Square Garden.
"MSG performed security walkthroughs in preparation for his potential visit, according to the sources," the New York Post reported. "New York City mayor and diehard Knicks fan Zohran Mamdani also plans to attend Game 3, although he is not expected to sit alongside the president, according to sources. The White House did not immediately respond to comment."
© Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images.
The president is clearly rooting for the Knicks.
Trump, a Queens native, has received plenty of criticism from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over the past year. That being said, they've put their differences aside for the NBA Finals.
“One of the few things that the president and I agree on is not just that New York City is the greatest city in the world, but that we do want the Knicks to win the championship,” Mamdani said. “I can tell you in this city the level of excitement for the five boroughs is something we haven’t seen for some time.”
The NBA Finals will shift over to New York on June 8.
