NBA Commissioner Defends Donald Trump Attending Knicks Game

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver defended President Donald Trump’s presence at Game 3 of the NBA Finals-a clash between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs-after the president faced criticism from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York.

Trump’s attendance at the game sparked mixed reactions, with some fans cheering for him, and others criticizing him for being there because of the increased security measures that left fans waiting to get into the arena for hours after paying thousands of dollars for tickets. Trump, who lived in New York his entire life before changing his permanent primary residence to Florida in 2019, has called himself a lifelong Knicks fan.

Silver said ahead of the game that sports should be something that unites people, not divides them. He encouraged people to look for the things they “have in common and build off that.”

Silver said that Trump is welcome to come to the game and rejected the idea that he isn’t a real Knicks fan. "He was a fixture at Madison Square Garden,” the commissioner said. “He had courtside seats, he was here all the time. He was at drafts. He’s a genuine Knicks fan.”

Earlier in the day, in an interview with CNN, Jeffries questioned why Trump was going to the game and told him to prioritize improving Americans’ lives because the “Trump economy has been a disaster.”

"I'm not sure it's going to be a good reception for him," Jeffries told CNN. "But why does Donald Trump always have to ruin a good thing, like literally the Knicks haven't been in the finals for 27 years, the city is trying to celebrate. We're trying to embrace this and this guy has to inject himself."

Jeffries wasn’t the only one to criticize Trump’s attendance. ESPN host Stephen A. Smith said Trump has “no business” being at the game.

“It has nothing to do with politics, policy, or anything like that. It has everything to do with him disrupting and contributing at the same time to the chaos that’s going to exist at Madison Square Garden,” Smith said. “I would say the same thing if it were Obama, George W., or Clinton. I don’t give a damn if we went back to Reagan.”

In 1999, Trump attended the Finals games with first lady Melania Trump, whom he was just dating at the time. The two regularly attended games, sitting courtside.

When Trump arrived at the game, he was met with a mix of cheers and boos from fans waiting to get into the arena. During the national anthem, when Trump was shown on the screen, standing next to his granddaughter, Kai Trump, fans booed loudly.

The Knicks hadn’t made the NBA Finals since 1999 and they’ve been on an incredible playoff running, sweeping their last two series and winning 13 consecutive games, two shy of the league’s all-time high. Having won two Finals games already, both played in San Antonio, the Knicks are back in New York for the first time in the series. If they win Monday’s game, they’ll be one win away from clinching the NBA championship for the first time since 1973, with Game 4 set for Wednesday.

When asked about the elevated ticket prices, which were going for over $10,000 for Monday’s game, Trump said people who can’t afford tickets can watch it on television.

"It's sort of semi-free to watch it on television,” Trump said.

2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.

This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 9:06 PM.