Despite The Fanfare Surrounding Their NBA Title, History Won’t Be Kind To Knicks Players Who Visit Trump

Talent isn’t why the New York Knicks are NBA Champions — heart is. But, in the coming weeks, we’re going to find out just how tough this group of players really is.

Will an almost all-Black team led by a Black coach show up at the residence of a man who leads arguably the most racist administration this country has ever endured, just because their white owner accepted the invite, or nah?

We’ll know soon enough which of these Knicks are “about that life.”

“We still have to figure out the details, et cetera, but yes, of course,” Knicks owner James Dolan said earlier this week on WFAN New York, confirming his team’s acceptance of Trump’s White House invitation. “Look, I invited the president to come down for the game. He is a friend. I’ve known him for 30 years, and I’m very proud to bring the team to the White House.”

This is the part where I remind you that the only game the Knicks lost in the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs was the one Trump attended at Madison Square Garden. The loss was one of only three the team suffered throughout its unforgettable postseason run.

In addition to the problematic nature that Dolan’s acceptance of his friend’s invitation presents for the Knicks roster, there’s also the timing of it, which couldn’t have come at a worse time. Dolan’s decision came days after Trump sat on his hands when UFC fighter Josh Hokit disgustingly claimed that Michelle Obama “is a man” at the Freedom 250 event on the South Lawn, and occurred days before the grand opening of the Obama Center in Chicago and Juneteenth.

At a time in which Black Americans are celebrating the legacy of this country’s first Black president and a holiday that is connected to the commemoration of our freedom, the repulsive words of a white man and the inaction of another have attempted to hijack the moment, due to Dolan’s willful disregard for the predicament he’s put his players in.

Right now, the Knicks are like the heroes in a cheesy Disney movie. Jalen Brunson is “David,” and Victor Wembanyama is “Goliath.” However, this Pixar-esque film might not have a happy ending. The biggest story in sports, aside from the World Cup, has expanded beyond FS1 and ESPN to CNN and MSNOW following Dolan’s acceptance of the invitation. Now, we’re all waiting to see if the Knicks are going to end a league-wide silent boycott.

No NBA team has gone to visit Trump while he’s been president. The 2017 and 2018 Golden State Warriors, the 2019 Toronto Raptors, the 2020 Los Angeles Lakers, and the 2025 Oklahoma City Thunder all had convenient “scheduling conflicts” that wouldn’t allow them to go, or simply declined the invite. However, the 2021 Milwaukee Bucks, the 2022 Warriors, and the 2024 Boston Celtics made sure to visit Joe Biden when he was in office.

For as much as Trump wants to appeal to the sports world, every time he inserts himself into it, it winds up blowing up in his face. Last year, he compiled a list of people who have no business giving counsel to his Presidential Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. And earlier this year, his College Sports Roundtable was the ultimate meeting that could have been an email, as it didn’t include a single college athlete who could speak to the multitude of issues they’re facing. He also had the USA men’s Olympic hockey team in the middle of some misogynistic mess when he made disparaging remarks about the women’s gold medal-winning team.

“He’s using you to do something else, which isn’t just celebrating your moment. He’s always going to co-opt,” former U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe previously warned of Trump.

In terms of the NBA, Trump’s words are often contradictory. “The game has changed. It’s gotten rougher,” he claimed after his MSG visit, while also deeming it a “tougher game.” He then used coded language to describe the majority Black league as “a little left wing…but it’s great entertainment,” he added.

Ironically, Trump is right. According to a report from VoteHub, what makes the difference in determining a “Black sport” from a “white sport” is linked to the racial breakdown of our two-party political system and the historical voting bases of those parties. Given the data, basketball is for Democrats. In the NBA, 45.9% of players are Independents, while 42.9% of them vote Democratic. Republicans only make up 10% of the league. The numbers are even more drastic in the WNBA, as 67.5% are Democrats compared to only 2.3% siding with the GOP. The data connected to how WNBA players vote provides even more context to the predicament Dolan has put the Knicks in, given that the New York Liberty were not extended a White House visit after winning a championship in 2024. Instead, their team owner arranged an intimate dinner with the Obamas for their trip to the nation’s capital.

“It was amazing,” Liberty star forward Breanna Stewart said about the experience. “I’ve been to the White House when I won in college and stuff like that, but this was way more intimate.”

During the Knicks’ championship parade on Thursday, Jalen Brunson took to the mic to chirp back at his doubters. “There’s a lot of people who have a lot of negative stuff to say,” he said. “There’s a lot of people who have their own opinions. But when you prove them wrong, you don’t have to say sh*t to them. They don’t deserve it.”

The words from the team leader and Finals MVP were about responding to adversity and skepticism. They also highlighted why the Knicks should reconsider taking Dolan up on that trip to the White House.

Prove these white men wrong for believing they can dictate where you go and with whom you must pose for pictures — specifically those who don’t deserve to be in your presence.

Carron J. Phillips is an award-winning journalist who writes on race, culture, social issues, politics, and sports. He hails from Saginaw, Michigan, and is a graduate of Morehouse College and Syracuse University. Follow his Substack to keep up with more of his work.

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