One month after New York Knicks owner James Dolan said his franchise “accepted” an invitation to the White House to celebrate their NBA championship, Finals MVP Jalen Brunson said the team had not yet talked about a potential visit.
“That’s something that we actually haven’t discussed as a team,” Brunson said in an interview with Variety published Monday. “And so obviously people are making assumptions and saying everything, but together we haven’t discussed it yet, and so we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
Dolan’s comments came during a June 17 interview with WFAN radio, in which the 71-year-old owner and longtime friend of President Donald Trump said, “We just did receive an invitation from the White House, which we accepted. We still have to figure out the details.”
If the Knicks do visit the White House, they will be the first NBA champions to make the trip while Trump is in office.
Last year’s champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, did not visit, citing a “timing issue.” The three prior champions — the Milwaukee Bucks (2021), the Golden State Warriors (2022) and the Boston Celtics (2024) — visited the White House during President Joe Biden’s administration. During Trump’s first term, the Golden State Warriors did not visit following their championship in 2017, after Stephen Curry said he wouldn’t be interested, and Trump withdrew the invitation. They were not invited after winning the next year.
In June, the White House confirmed that it had been in touch with the Knicks and that it looked forward to hosting the team “at a date to be determined in the near future.” The Athletic reached out to the White House for comment on Tuesday and did not hear back by the time of publication.
Dolan invited Trump to Game 3 of the NBA Finals, and let Trump use Madison Square Garden for a campaign rally during the 2024 presidential election cycle.
“He is a friend. I’ve known him for 30 years. And I’m very proud to bring the team to the White House,” Dolan said during the WFAN interview.
