Key Takeaways
- Spike Lee hopes the Knicks skip a championship visit to Donald Trump’s White House, telling Variety that team governor James Dolan “can’t force them!”
- Dolan accepted the invitation after the Knicks’ first title in 53 years, but Jalen Brunson and coach Mike Brown previously stated the team had not reached a decision.
- Stephen A. Smith claimed Dolan was upset with players who didn’t want to attend; no NBA team has visited the White House during Trump’s presidency.
Lifelong New York Knicks fan Spike Lee is hoping the players on his beloved team do not succumb to the alleged pressure from team governor James Dolan to visit Donald Trump.
On Wednesday’s episode of First Take, Stephen A. Smith claimed he heard talk about Dolan having an “attitude with players because they don’t wanna go to the White House” to celebrate their first championship in 53 years.
Spike doesn’t appreciate the pressure being placed on the team and believes players should not feel obligated to attend.
“He can’t force them!” Lee said in an interview with Variety. “It’s been years since the last NBA team has gone. They’re not going. I hope they don’t go! I hope they don’t go.”
Days after winning the NBA title, Dolan confirmed in an appearance on WFAN radio that he already accepted an invite to the White House on behalf of the team, adding, “We still have to figure out the details.” The announcement came after Dolan personally invited Trump to attend Game 3 of 2026 NBA Finals in Madison Square Garden, the only San Antonio Spurs’ victory in the series which snapped the Knicks’ 13-game playoff winning streak.
In an interview with Variety the following month, Jalen Brunson said a decision had not been reached yet as a team.
“That’s something that we actually haven’t discussed as a team,” Brunson said. “And so obviously, people are making assumptions and saying everything, but together we haven’t discussed it yet. And so we’ll cross our bridge when we get to it.”
Knicks head coach Mike Brown said in September that the team remained undecided about the White House visit and were still “discussing internally.”
No NBA team has visited the White House while Trump has been in office.
