The San Antonio Spurs took down the New York Knicks, 115-111, in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night. However, the hardwood was not the only place where drama and trash-talking occurred.
Stephen A. Smith, President Donald Trump Take Shots at Each Other
President Donald Trump made history last night at Madison Square Garden, becoming the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game. Hours before the contest, ESPN analyst and Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith didn’t mince words about Trump’s decision to attend the game.
“If it causes the Knicks to lose tonight, I’m blaming him. I’m blaming the president of the United States,” Smith said. “This is about an individual engaging in a level of narcissism that really rakes my freakin’ nerves. He’s got no business here tonight. It has nothing to do with politics. It has everything to do with the fervor that exists around the New York Knicks and he is disrupting everything the Knicks have been vibing with.”
After the Spurs won Game 3, a reporter asked Trump about Smith’s comments. Instead of responding about his impact on the game, the president took a shot at Smith and his political aspirations.
“I think he’s a nice guy, but you need a certain aptitude to run for president. You need a high IQ. I’m not sure that Stephen has that. I don’t think he does, actually,” Trump said.
This morning on “First Take,” Smith fired back at Trump while the United States flag waved behind him.
“You wanna talk about IQ? I could say I put my IQ up against yours any day of the week. I could go one better. I could ask you why you’ve been running from me for the last year, since I wanted to talk to you. I could ask you to debate me, since you think you’re that dude… I’m not gonna let you off the hook,” Smith said calmly.
Stephen A Smith responds to Donald Trump calling him a low IQ individual on First Take:
“You wanna talk about IQ, I could say I could put my IQ against yours, I got something even better I could ask you why you been running from me for the past year since I asked you to talk to… https://t.co/iI1DpLjkRb pic.twitter.com/Edon6R1fzF
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) June 9, 2026
Smith explained that Trump negatively affected the Madison Square Garden crowd, taking the spotlight away from the game itself. The extra layers of security prevented fans from gathering outside the arena for a watch party. Local businesses in the area lost customers because the U.S. Secret Service and New York Police Department blocked off nearby streets. Smith challenged Trump on these issues.
“I thought you were about making money for people? What happened to the parking garages? How much money did they make? What happened to the local restaurants? How much money did they make?” Smith asked.
Videos surfaced of Trump sleeping during Game 3, and Smith called him out about this as well.
“The brother wasn’t awake. If it was that important for you to be there, why did you look like you were asleep? Didn’t you call out former President Joe Biden, ‘Sleepy Joe’? Well, what should we call you?”
Stephen A. Smith fires back at President Trump.pic.twitter.com/9oUsZFhYXh https://t.co/LeCQOdJu6I
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 9, 2026
“The brother wasn’t awake. If it was that important for you to be there, why did you look like you were asleep? Didn’t you call our former President Joe Biden, ‘Sleepy Joe?’ Well, what should we call you?” Smith challenged Trump.
Trump had initially hinted that he may attend Game 4 of the NBA Finals as well, but ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that the president is not expected to show up at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday “due to scheduling conflicts and obligations.”
