Knicks visit – As the Knicks celebrate an NBA title, their owner James Dolan says Donald Trump has invited the team to the White House and that the Knicks have accepted. The prospect is forcing new questions: when would a trip happen, would the full roster go, and how does i
When the Knicks won the NBA championship, the celebration wasn’t supposed to be complicated. But by the time the confetti dust was barely settling, a different countdown had already started: whether the team will travel to the White House to mark the title with Donald Trump.
The idea has roots that run straight through Madison Square Garden. Trump is famously friendly with Knicks owner James Dolan. and Dolan previously invited the president to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden. Trump accepted, a decision that triggered logistical chaos around the arena. New Yorkers booed him when he appeared on-screen during the singing of the national anthem. standing in Dolan’s box alongside several members of his Cabinet. and the Knicks lost the game.
On Wednesday, Dolan said in a radio appearance that Trump had invited the team to visit the White House and that the Knicks have accepted. The open questions are now stark. It’s unclear when the visit would take place, and it’s also unclear whether the entire team would go.
For some Knicks players, the uncertainty is more than logistical—it’s personal. Guard Josh Hart had been vocal in the past about his distaste for the president. In now-deleted social media posts. Hart repeatedly referred to Trump as a “dumbass.” On the day of the 2020 election. Hart wrote. “YESSIR!!!!. GET TRUMP’S DUMBA** OUT THE WHITE HOUSE!!!!!!” The post has resurfaced after Dolan invited Trump to Game 3.
Center Karl-Anthony Towns. meanwhile. offered a subtler pushback when he was asked about the disruptions tied to Trump’s appearance—specifically including canceled watch parties outside of MSG. “Fans have earned the right and deserve the right to see Finals basketball played here. at Madison Square Garden. ” Towns said at a pre-game press conference.
The Knicks’ potential White House visit sits inside a wider record of champions refusing to celebrate with Trump—or accepting only after political pressure. The New York Liberty, the 2025 WNBA champions, did not receive an invitation. The gold medal-winning U.S. women’s hockey team received an invite only after backlash and ultimately declined. In 2018, Trump revoked his invitation to the Philadelphia Eagles after several players on the championship team publicly refused to attend.
The pattern has also played out across the NBA in recent years. The 2017 and 2018 Golden State Warriors championship teams did not go visit Trump. Trump angrily withdrew his 2017 invite amid reports that Stephen Curry—who has been described as considering skipping the proposed event—was weighing whether to attend. After their championship wins. the Toronto Raptors did not visit Trump in the White House in 2019. and the Los Angeles Lakers did not do so after winning in 2020. The 2025 NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, also declined to celebrate with Trump.
Taken together. the Knicks’ situation is likely to hinge on the same fracture line that has followed Trump’s invitations for years: who feels the cost of the visit. and who gets to decide what it means. Dolan clearly wants the moment. Trump’s access to the Knicks has already produced public backlash. cancelled watch parties. and boos that played out under the bright lights of the anthem.
And now. as the championship title adds momentum. Dolan’s history—described as historically controlling. paranoid. and vengeful—casts a shadow over how smoothly any agreement is likely to hold. Dolan has also commanded his players not to have sex for 10 weeks. a detail that underscores how far his influence has gone in the past.
So the Knicks are poised to break—or extend—a streak that has defined recent NBA titles. Whether they actually make the trip will depend on timing. attendance. and whether the team that won the season is willing to step into the same orbit that previously brought them scrutiny. disruption. and a loss on the night Trump was welcomed into their world.
New York Knicks Donald Trump James Dolan White House visit NBA championship Josh Hart Karl-Anthony Towns Madison Square Garden presidential invitation
So is Trump gonna invite every team now or what?
I mean the Knicks accepted?? That seems kinda wild. Josh Hart calling him a dumbass is gonna make this super awkward, and I’m not even a Knicks fan. Does the whole roster have to go or can they just send like one guy?
This is just politics cosplay. They already celebrated the title, so why are they chasing the White House like it’s the next round of playoffs. Also I thought Trump came to a game before and everything went bad, so… doesn’t that mean they shouldn’t go? Idk.
New Yorkers booed him at the Garden before and now they’re gonna invite him again?? James Dolan really loves the drama. I saw something about Karl-Anthony Towns being “subtle” or whatever but isn’t he from Minnesota, like wouldn’t he know better than to get involved with all that? And if Hart hates him that much they should just refuse the invite, but then why would they “accept” in the first place? Feels like a PR mess.