The New York Knicks are headed to the NBA Finals, and one would-be guest is already drawing a chorus of objections before a single ticket is confirmed.
As per a new report, President Donald Trump is considering an appearance at Madison Square Garden for the championship round, and the reception online has been frosty at best.
Knicks supporters flooded social media with a clear message about who they want courtside, and it is not the POTUS.
Knicks Fans Are Pushing Back on Donald Trump’s Possible NBA Finals Appearance
Trump has expressed interest in attending the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks in action.
The report came from Tyler Pager. “Trump, a longtime Knicks fan, planned to attend Game 5 at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday,” Pager wrote on X, adding that “After the Knicks swept, he is eyeing going to the NBA finals.”
According to this report, the original plan was for a surprise appearance if Cleveland had forced a Game 5. The sweep took that option off the table, so the Finals became the new target.
That was all it took to set the fanbase off, and the response leaned hard into one running theme: whether Trump had ever actually followed this team.
“‘Longtime Knicks fan’ has never mentioned the Knicks once,” one user fired back.
Someone else piled on with, “Long time fan? He probably can’t spell Knicks.”
A third went straight at his grasp of the roster, asking, “Do you think Trump knows who Jalen Brunson is?”
This user just wanted Trump to stay away from MSG and the Knicks. “Please. I pray he stay away. We do not want or need him at the game!”
A user framed it differently, writing, “So he couldn’t go to his own son’s wedding but he was going to go ruin a game in NY for Knicks fans. Very on brand. Does he know the Knicks, if they win, probably won’t go to the White House?”
Plenty of others seemed to relish the idea of him sitting courtside in a hostile crowd. “At MSG? You can’t hide from the boo birds in an arena,” one user posted. “Have at it, this will be fun to watch.”
Another didn’t bother softening it, hoping any boos would “be thunderous and haunt him endlessly.”
A different account questioned why Trump gravitates toward these events at all, arguing he “only goes to events he would get applauses,” then taking a pointed shot at the kind of crowds he tends to draw.
A cameo at the NBA Finals would fit a pattern for Trump. He’s shown up at various sporting events, including the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500, the U.S. Open men’s final, and a Yankees game.
He’s treated the biggest events on the sporting calendar as a natural backdrop, leaning into the circles, building relationships with figures like UFC boss Dana White, and he is reportedly putting up an octagonal cage on the White House South Lawn for a UFC card in June.
His Knicks fandom surfaced earlier in the playoffs, and on 77 WABC, where Trump heaped praise on owner James Dolan and the team’s run. “I really like Jim Dolan a lot,” he said. “I’m really happy for him and the team. I think it’s great.”
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Despite negative reactions online, Trump heading to MSG for the Finals will be a historic moment in itself, just as the one New York created by reaching the Finals for the first time since 1999. They’re chasing a championship they haven’t claimed since 1973.
Jalen Brunson, named conference finals MVP, has shouldered the offense, while Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges have found their best form at exactly the right time.
The Knicks now wait on the Western Conference finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, with the NBA Finals set to tip off June 3.
