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09/29/26 02:15:00
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09/29 14:13 CDT Knicks coach says the NBA champions are still discussing if
they will visit the White House
Knicks coach says the NBA champions are still discussing if they will visit the
White House
By BRIAN MAHONEY
AP Basketball Writer
GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) --- The New York Knicks are still deciding if they will
become the first NBA champions to visit the White House under President Donald
Trump, coach Mike Brown said Tuesday.
The president has traditionally invited the reigning champions, but that has
not been the case under Trump. No team went during his first term or after he
was elected again in 2024.
But Trump and Knicks owner James Dolan are close. They sat together when Trump
attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden, and Dolan indicated
after the Knicks won the championship that an offer would be accepted.
The Knicks held their first practice of the new season Tuesday and Brown was
asked if there was a determination about a White House visit.
"No, it's still something that our guys, or the organization, is internally
discussing and, you know, whatever we decide to do, we'll all do together,"
Brown said.
The Boston Celtics made the first trip by a champion in 1963, and President
Barack Obama, who is a basketball fan, hosted the winner every year he was in
office.
But Trump has feuded with some NBA players, saying during the 2018 NBA Finals
that he wouldn't invite whichever team won, after Golden State's Stephen Curry
and LeBron James, then with the Cleveland Cavaliers, said their teams had no
interest in a visit.
The 2025 champion Oklahoma City Thunder didn't visit the White House last
season, saying the timing did not work out.
Teams often try to arrange their visit when they are in Washington to play the
Wizards. The Knicks are scheduled for those games on Dec. 18 and March 16.
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