Trump to attend Knicks' NBA Finals game in New York

By — Michael R. Sisak, Associated Press Michael R. Sisak, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/trump-to-attend-knicks-nba-finals-game-in-new-york Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Trump to attend Knicks' NBA Finals game in New York Nation Jun 7, 2026 12:48 PM EDT NEW YORK (AP) — There was a time when Donald Trump was just another celebrity sitting courtside at New York Knicks games. He was famous, but not yet flanked by Secret Service agents or defined by the politics that have left him deeply unpopular in his hometown. Now, more than a decade after attending his last Knicks game at Madison Square Garden, Trump is making a rare trip back to New York City as president to cheer for them in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. Invited by Knicks owner James Dolan, he will be the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game. The Knicks are seeking their first championship since 1973, when Trump was 26 and a relative newcomer to the family real estate business that vaulted him to wealth and fame. Two years after that triumph, the team's owners at the time hired him as a consultant as they looked to sell the arena. READ MORE: NCAA bans basketball players for betting on their own games Trump has been to more major sporting events than any of his predecessors, including the Super Bowl and Daytona 500, golf's Ryder Cup in the New York City suburbs, where he was cheered, and last year's U.S. Open men's tennis championship in Queens, where he was booed and blamed for long security lines. On June 14, when he turns 80 while wrestling with myriad crises including the war with Iran, economic unease and court rulings blunting his agenda, he will host a UFC fight on White House grounds. Trump also has expressed interest in attending soccer's World Cup, which kicks off this week across the United States, Mexico and Canada. New Yorkers love the Knicks more than they love Trump Trump is an avid sports fan, but the affinity he professes for the Knicks is different. It speaks to the Republican president's identity as a New Yorker and harkens to a bygone era where a front-row seat at a Knicks game was a chance for him and other boldface names to see and be seen. In a city whose wealthy gatekeepers largely turned their noses at Trump's brash personality and playboy image in the 1990s and 2000s, the Garden's Celebrity Row was one club where he felt at home. "I've been a Knick fan for a long time," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last week, a day after New York rallied to win Game 1. "I watched that end of the game and they were dominant — really amazing." After another win Friday in San Antonio, the Knicks head home with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. They have won a remarkable 13 straight playoff games and last lost on April 23, uniting the city in a way unseen since the Knicks went to the NBA Finals twice in the