NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Donald Trump’s presence at Madison Square Garden was justified because the President has been a Knicks fan “all his life,” even as his comments were met with a wave of online backlash after Trump grinned through boos during th
Donald Trump sat inside Madison Square Garden last night for the third game in the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks. and the night arrived with an unusual kind of noise—tightened security. a city thrown into gridlock. and a national anthem that ended with a chorus of boos.
For Adam Silver, the commissioner’s response to the backlash was direct. He was asked about the President’s visit. a stop that forced the cancellation of a fan watch party and left spectators arriving two hours early for security. Silver pushed back on criticism. framing sport as a place that can bring people together. and he said Trump has been a Knicks fan for decades.
“I found out because [Knicks owner] Jim Dolan invited [Trump] to the game and he said yes, and he’s welcome to be here. I think that’s what makes sports so special, especially when there’s so much that divides people,” Silver told Ernie Johnson, host of the ESPN show Inside the NBA.
He then added personal detail about Trump’s familiarity with the arena: “You guys remember when you played here back in the old days. he had courtside seats. He was here all the time … He’s a genuine Knicks fan. And so, yes, there’s some inconvenience to the fans, but looking around this arena, it’s packed.”.
Silver’s defense landed during a broadcast that included former players and analysts who appeared visibly unsettled. The moment sparked an online wave of mockery and anger, with viewers insisting Barkley, O’Neal, and Kenny Smith didn’t share Silver’s assessment.
“Adam Silver is the worst commissioner in pro sports history. Look at the disgust on everyone else’s face,” one commenter wrote on X. Another said: “Please look at Shaq, Kenny and Chuck’s faces the whole time Adam Silver is talking about President Trump. This is gold.” A third condensed the reaction into a viral line: “The faces, Juan, record the faces.”.
Trump’s own evening in New York carried the tension the discussion online picked up. His face appeared on the jumbotron during the national anthem as boos echoed around the arena. and he grinned through it. Later. Trump was seen in an animated conversation with Silver in the executive suite provided by Dolan. a Republican donor and the owner of Madison Square Garden.
The NBA’s TV host Johnson—who is not known as partisan—made his own political position clear years earlier. In 2016, he said he had voted for neither Trump nor Hillary Clinton, instead backing Republican John Kasich. After Trump’s win. Johnson said he was disappointed by the tone of the campaign and framed his reaction through Christian faith. saying he was “praying for America.”.
Barkley. meanwhile. has said he has voted Democrat for most of his life and is staunchly anti-Trump. criticizing the President on issues including immigration. But he also has been hostile to liberals’ political strategy and has said in 2016 that he would not vote for Clinton. O’Neal has portrayed Trump as a friend. describing him as a “straight-up guy” and emphasizing the relationship as personal rather than political. O’Neal also teamed up with Michelle Obama in 2020 for a voter registration drive. Kenny Smith’s politics are harder to pin down. but he joined colleagues in 2020 in walking off the Inside the NBA set in solidarity with players who staged a walkout during the Black Lives Matter protests.
While politics and punditry played out on camera, the basketball result made its own kind of statement. Trump’s visit came with heightened scrutiny and movement around the Garden, but it didn’t change what happened on the court. The Knicks lost 115-111 to the San Antonio Spurs.
Cardi B performed during halftime. and the game still had plenty of star power beyond the halftime stage. including Jalen Brunson of the Knicks and Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs. New York entered the night with the series at 2-1. leading the NBA Finals. and now the teams return to the Garden for Game 4 on Wednesday.
By the time the arena emptied. Silver’s argument about togetherness had been challenged in real time—first by the boos Trump heard during the anthem. then by the stiff faces viewers said they saw around him during his defense. and finally by the scoreboard that tightened the Finals instead of easing it.
Adam Silver Donald Trump Knicks Spurs NBA Finals Madison Square Garden Ernie Johnson Inside the NBA Shaquille O'Neal Charles Barkley Kenny Smith Jalen Brunson Victor Wembanyama Cardi B