President Trump Says He Plans To Attend NBA Finals Game At Madison Square Garden

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he intends to attend at least one NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden, which would mark the first time a sitting U.S. president has attended an NBA Finals game.

“I think I’ll be going to one of the games,” Trump told reporters at the White House, adding that he had received invitations from “numerous people,” including Knicks owner and MSG Entertainment CEO James Dolan, a past donor to Trump’s campaigns.

“We don’t know if President Trump is coming to the finals, but the president of the United States – no matter who is in office – is always welcome at all our venues,” a MSG spokesperson said.

Trump had originally planned to attend what would have been Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday before the Knicks swept Cleveland in four games. New York will face either the San Antonio Spurs or Oklahoma City Thunder in the Finals.

A sitting president has never attended the NBA Finals, though Trump has made attending major sporting events a regular practice during his second term, including the college football national championship, a Yankees game on September 11, and the U.S. Open men’s singles final.

No NBA champion has visited the White House during Trump’s current term. Last year’s champion Oklahoma City Thunder cited a “timing issue” for not making the trip. In an anonymous player poll conducted by The Athletic in April, 53.4 percent of NBA players said they would accept a White House invitation while 46.6 percent said they would not.

Former President Barack Obama attended Game 2 of the 2019 Finals in Toronto, but that was several years after leaving office.

Posted in NBA

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