Knicks accept Trump's invitation, become first NBA champions to visit White House during his presidency

The New York Knicks will become the first NBA championship team to visit the White House during any of President Donald Trump's administrations, after team owner James Dolan announced Wednesday during an interview on sports radio station WFAN that they had accepted an official invitation from the Republican president. “We just did receive an invitation from the White House, which we accepted. We still have to figure out the details, etc., but yes, of course,” Dolan said.

During the interview, the Knicks owner also spoke about his longstanding relationship with Trump and noted that he was the one who personally invited the president to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden on June 8. “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,” he said.

Following Dolan’s remarks, a White House official confirmed to NBC News that discussions with the organization are already underway and that efforts are being made to finalize the visit, explaining that members of the Trump administration “have been in touch with the Knicks and look forward to hosting the team at a date to be determined in the near future.”

Trump watched the third game of the Finals from Dolan’s private box, accompanied by several senior officials from his administration, including Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy; Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum; White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino; and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin. During the game—which ended up being the Knicks’ only loss in the five-game series against the San Antonio Spurs—the Republican president was booed by some members of the crowd.

After New York won the championship, Trump celebrated the achievement in a post on Sunday morning on Truth Social, where he congratulated Dolan and several of the team’s stars.