New York City turned into Party Central as Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks delivered the city’s first NBA championship since 1973.
As they basked in the glow of their championship win, attention quickly turned to whether the team’s top dogs would visit President Donald Trump’s White House, especially after team owner James Dolan’s public commitment.
However, Brunson has now contradicted those claims, adding a new layer of intrigue to the situation.
Jalen Brunson Contradicts Knicks Owner James Dolan’s White House Assurances
Dolan is notably a good friend of President Trump and accepted an invitation to visit the White House after the Knicks won the NBA Championship last month.
However, Brunson made it clear in an interview with Variety that the roster has not yet made a final decision on the matter.
“That’s something that we actually haven’t discussed as a team. And so obviously people are making assumptions and saying everything, but together we haven’t discussed it yet. We’ll cross our bridge when we get to it,” Brunson said.
Brunson was later informed that they would become the first NBA team to visit Trump’s White House if they accepted the invitation. His response was, “Interesting… Interesting.”
The tradition of champion sports franchises visiting the White House to celebrate their triumphs is a long-standing one in the United States. However, it has become a controversial (and increasingly political) topic in recent years, prompting some teams to decline the invitation.
Brunson’s comments will certainly spark further debate on whether the Knicks will indeed visit the White House later this year. The three-time NBA All-Star is one of the most influential members of the Knicks roster and may well have a crucial say on whether the visit to the White House indeed takes place.
The Boston Celtics were the last team from the NBA to visit the White House during Joe Biden’s presidency. The Oklahoma City Thunder, who went all the way in 2025, did not visit the White House due to a “scheduling conflict.”
No NBA team visited the White House during President Trump’s first term in office.
President Trump, of course, is a longtime Knicks fan and attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden. With his appearance at Dolan’s invitation, he became the first sitting U.S. President to attend an NBA Finals game, though the franchise lost that showdown.
