President Donald Trump’s scheduled attendance at Game 3 of the NBA Finals in New York on Monday — at the invitation of Knicks owner and governor James Dolan — will mean added security at the venue and fans going to the game need to plan accordingly.
There will be a strict “no bag” policy, and fans should arrive two hours before the 8:30 p.m. tip-off to get through the TSA-style screening, the Knicks announced in coordination with the Secret Service.
Trump has attended a number of major sporting events while in office, including the 2025 Super Bowl, the 2025 U.S. Open tennis tournament, and the 2026 College Football Playoff championship game.
“I was at the U.S. Open when [President Trump] was there just this past September. I don’t think it took away from the play on the floor at all,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told a group of reporters at an NBA Cares event in San Antonio, referencing the U.S. Open tennis grand slam in Queens, New York. “I think, of course, for fans who will be attending the games… there’s extra security, as there should be extra security for the President of the United States to be at a game. But I think the fans are very understanding of that. I think they recognize that it adds to the bigness of the event. As far as I know, we’ve never had a sitting president of the United States at an NBA finals game.”
Silver, also a long-time proponent of the soft power of sports as a unifying force, said that Trump is another New Yorker excited to see the Knicks back at the top of the NBA.
“Donald Trump, before he ever ran for office, he was a big Knicks fan…” Silver noted, adding that he even had a spot in the “I Love This Game” series of s in the 1990s. “I think sports, in particular, is something where we can emphasize what we have in common, not what pulls us apart, that it creates a sense of belonging. We’re seeing that in New York, and I think President Trump is very much a New Yorker, and I’m thrilled that yet another New Yorker wants to participate in the enthusiasm and the joy around this Knicks team.”
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