President Donald Trump will be in attendance for Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Monday night. With Trump’s impending arrival, there were a number of security measures that were put in place.
Knicks fans who showed up, before they could get into Madison Square Garden, had to go through a bunch of hoops because of the security around Trump. Will this cause a delay in Monday night’s tipoff?
Knicks Fans Deal With Security Issues Before Donald Trump Arrives
While the fans were inconvenienced, so were some players. They had to arrive early and go through the same TSA-style screenings as fans. Even Spurs star Victor Wembanyama had to go through that stuff, too.
The game itself probably will not be delayed, yet having to go through so much to get into the arena put a wrench in their usual gameday routines. There is a chance, though, that all the fans and media members might not get there before tip off.
For some perspective, Darren Rovell, founder of Clict, shared what one fan went through on Monday in a post on X.
These people have been waiting an hour to get into Madison Square Garden.
Here is a first person account:
“They routed everyone down to 34th and 8th.
Police barracade.
Through metal detectors to a point about 200 feet from MSG.
Then they came and apologized and said… pic.twitter.com/7Ol3m1gWX2
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 8, 2026
“These people have been waiting an hour to get into Madison Square Garden,” Rovell wrote. Here is a first person account: ‘They routed everyone down to 34th and 8th. Police barracade. Through metal detectors to a point about 200 feet from MSG,'” Rovell shared.
“‘Then they came and apologized and said they were confused and instead we needed to exit the barracade and go to 34th and 7th,'” Rovell shared about the first-person account.
“‘We walked there and then a different set of police told us to go to 32nd and 6th. There are hundreds, if not a thousand people, wandering around in giant herds not knowing where to go or how to get in. The police keep saying they don’t know the protocol.'”
Matt Guzman, who is the lead Spurs writer for San Antonio Spurs On SI, also had a reflection on the security measures ahead of Trump arriving at Madison Square Garden.
Can confirm the security is crazy here at Madison Square Garden ahead of Game 3 between the #Spurs and Knicks.
Secret Service is handling entry for fans and media. My iPad died, and they made me plug it in to prove it turned on. Opened my Airpods cases and even flipped through… pic.twitter.com/udCzVbaS1f
— Matt Guzman (@mattgzman) June 8, 2026
“Can confirm the security is crazy here at Madison Square Garden ahead of Game 3 between the #Spurs and Knicks,” Guzman wrote on X. “Secret Service is handling entry for fans and media.
“My iPad died, and they made me plug it in to prove it turned on,” Guzman continued. “Opened my Airpods cases and even flipped through my book to see what was in between the pages. Glad I got here this morning for shootaround. Don’t want to deal with entry over these next few hours.”
Even media members were being routed outside the Garden, too. Stefan Bondy, who covers the Knicks for the New York Post, posted on X, “Media line to get thru the TSA screening four hours before the game.”
Media line to get thru the TSA screening four hours before the game. pic.twitter.com/guKxa4k8aa
— Stefan Bondy (@SbondyNBA) June 8, 2026
Now, once all of these people get into the arena, some will go to work while others get ready to cheer on their favorite basketball teams.
