Stephen A. Smith told you so. Before Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals, he went on record saying he’d blame Donald Trump if the New York Knicks lost after the president showed up to Madison Square Garden.
Well, Trump attended the game, the Knicks lost 115-111, and then the president questioned Smith’s IQ while addressing reporters after the game. The Knicks had won 13 straight playoff games before Trump set foot in the building, and Smith doesn’t think that’s a coincidence.
Stephen A. Smith Blames Knicks’ Game 3 Loss Directly on President Donald Trump
Now, Smith is doubling down and blaming Trump for New York’s loss.
“I do blame Trump for the loss because as far as I’m concerned, it disrupted the momentum. The New York Knicks won 13 straight playoff games and it got ruined the moment Donald Trump showed up. Damn right I blame him,” Smith said.
Trump’s visit was not low-key. He arrived roughly an hour before tipoff, got loudly booed when introduced on the Jumbotron, and sat in a glass-enclosed suite with Knicks owner James Dolan, several cabinet members, and his granddaughter, Kai.
The first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game, Trump gave a salute during the national anthem. MSG tightened security, asking fans to arrive two hours early for TSA-like screenings. The watch party outside the arena was scrapped.
“This man comes along and you got to have security details, shops got to be closed, watch parties got to be canceled,” Smith said. “All of this stuff that was going on just because Trump wanted to be selfish and show up and disrupt their mojo.”
On the court, the Spurs gave the Knicks plenty to worry about, regardless of who was in a suite. Victor Wembanyama scored 32 points on 11-of-18 shooting and hit two 3-pointers. Stephon Castle added 23.
New York put up just 47 second-half points, and a team that had looked untouchable over 13 straight wins gave the Spurs life in the series. San Antonio, staring down what could have been a 3-0 hole, now has confidence and is one win away from tying things up.
For the Knicks, this was their first playoff loss in nearly seven weeks. After the loss, Jalen Brunson sounded unbothered.
“Win, we learn. Lose, we learn,” Brunson said. “We understand what we have to do to be better. Giving our team a chance to have the ball and not turn it over. Stop fouling.”
Smith had one more thing to say.
“Well, if he’s not going to show up to Game 4, thank you very much for not being hard headed this time and listening, because you disrupted the mojo that the New York Knicks fan base was building for this team,” Smith said. “He should have been ashamed of himself for disrupting that and showing up to the game.”
