Trump says he could be at the Garden to back the Knicks in the NBA Finals
The Knicks will play either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. Credit: Getty Images/NurPhoto
WASHINGTON — Even President Donald Trump is excited about the Knicks.
The president said Wednesday that he's likely to be at Madison Square Garden for an NBA Finals game.
Speaking to reporters after a Cabinet meeting in the White House, Trump said he initially planned to attend Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, but the Knicks' four-game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers scrapped those plans.
"I was going to go on Wednesday, but they closed it out very quickly," Trump said when asked if he planned to support the Knicks in the finals. "I think I'll be going to one of the games."
Trump said team owner James Dolan invited him to the games. Trump, a native New Yorker, touched on the team’s long journey to the finals.
"Boy, what a team," Trump said. "They have some great players. ... Great to see it. The Knicks have really suffered for years. They’re doing great now."
The Knicks will play the winner of the Western Conference finals, which is still underway between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The NBA Finals are set to begin June 3.
Trump has described himself as a longtime Knicks fan, according to the New York Times, which was the first outlet to report that Trump might go to a finals game.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, speaking to reporters in Manhattan on Wednesday, questioned Trump's bona fides.
"I ask him to name the starting lineup from the 1993 championship team and see how he does," Hochul said.
The Knicks last won the NBA championship in 1973, though they made it to the finals in 1994 and 1999.
Trump has made the rounds of marquee sporting events in his second term. Last year, he attended the Super Bowl, the U.S. Open men’s tennis final and the Daytona 500. He is also planning on hosting an Ultimate Fighting Championship Series event on the White House South Lawn on June 14, which is both Flag Day and his 80th Birthday.
Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.
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