Cote: Trump at NBA Finals Game 3 intrudes on New York fans’ epic night | Opinion
President Donald Trump’s national approval ratings are historically low for any number of reasons we won’t detail here. I try very hard to “stick to sports” in this space, though Trump himself makes it difficult by constantly foisting himself into the realm of athletes and games — as he is doing right now.
What we are reminded of today is the one criticism of Trump that doesn’t get nearly enough attention: The guy is tone-deaf.
Trump is absolutely oblivious at times to what would obviously serve his best interest. We are seeing a glaring example Monday night as Trump plans to attend Game 3 of the New York Knicks-San Antonio Spurs NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Trump is especially unpopular in New York State and more so in Manhattan, where sits a very, popular, progressive mayor in Zohran Mamdani. There is quite a big chance Trump will be booed. Let’s see if that is heard on the ABC broadcast. (Better chance than if the game was on Fox News, for sure.)
It’s beyond politics that Trump should have stayed away. Here are other reasons his appearance is a big downer that complicates things all around as New Yorkers (try to) celebrate the Knicks’ first Finals home game in 9,845 days, since June 25, 1999.
▪ Secret Service involvement means a strict no-bag policy will be in effect, and that fans will undergo airport-like “TSA-style screening procedures.” Fans are being told to arrive at least two hours prior to the 8:30 p.m. tipoff — which alone might be made tougher by additional street closures all around the MSG.
▪ And, because of Trump’s attendance, the New York Police Department announced the cancellation of the watch party outside the Garden among other security precautions. So folks who can’t afford the cheapest Finals ticket of more than $7,000 now can’t even get close to the arena to watch on big screens.
Knicks fans were protesting Trump’s planned attendance outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue Monday.
All of this so the president can make an appearance, stay for a fraction of the game, then disappear — all at the expense of Knicks fans (not to mention taxpayers).
“He loves attention. He loves eyeballs on him and being at the center of everything,” presidential historian Matt Dallek told USA Today. “The Knicks being in the Finals for the first time in many decades is a chance for him to kill two birds with one stone. He can put all eyes on him, and he can bask in the reflective glory of the New York Knicks, even if he’s getting booed or heckled. Obviously, he’s going into the lion’s den. A large majority of New Yorkers, especially in Manhattan, voted against him, do not like him and think he’s been a bad president. Some fans who will be a resentful. It’s going to be a huge security issue. And fans would rather the focus be on the Knicks and have him stay away.”
The problem began when Trump was invited to Game 3 by Knicks owner James Dolan, who is James Donor in his support of the president. NBA commissioner Adam Silver claims he’s “thrilled” Trump will be the first sitting U.S. president at an NBA Finals game.
Now Trump hints he might attend Game 4 as well. (Here’s betting he won’t.)
Trump insisting on attending sporting events despite the security repercussions on fans is nothing new.
He went to Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans, to the most recent College Football Playoff championship in Miami, to the Daytona 500, U.S. Open men’s final in tennis, the last FIFA men’s World Cup final and more.
Infamously, of course, there is also Trump’s love of UFC that has seen a monstrosity of a massive octagon rise on the South Lawn of the White House for an upcoming fight.
That Trump would go to the Knicks’ biggest game in more than a quarter century isn’t a shock since he has a New York background. Then again, Trump is widely seen as anti-NBA.
No NBA champion team has ever attended the Trump White House. In 2020 after some players temporarily boycotted games because of controversial police shootings, wore Black Lives Matter messaging on the court and knelt during the national anthem, Trump said, “I think what they’re doing to the NBA in particular is going to destroy basketball.”
Evidently it has not. Game 1 TV ratings were up 90% from the year before and were the league’s best since 2018. Game 3 Monday night could top even that.
The Finals matchup is heaven-sent for the NBA: New York, the center of everything, playing for its first league championship since 1973 and with a huge chance, up 2-0 in the best-of-7. And San Antonio led by 7-4 Victor Wembanyama, who at 22 is the freaky-tall potential next face of the league as LeBron James finally nears retirement.
Imagine Wembanyama standing next to Knicks 6-1 star Jalen Brunson. A silhouette might look like a father walking his small son to school. But on a court these are the driving forces for a hugely intriguing matchup as Wemby enters what is all but a must-win game while Team Brunson tries to all but put it away.
Game 3 could only be better if the halftime show were a two-round bout between old-guard Knicks fans Spike Lee and new-wave fan Timothee Chalamet, with Ben Stiller referring.
The Game 3 focus on the magnitude of Knicks-Spurs is splintered, though, as massive security issues unfortunately make it a whole different experience for fans who’ve waited decades for this night.
“Why does Donald Trump always have to ruin a good thing?” said U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York after the watch parties were canceled. “The Knicks haven’t been in the NBA finals for 27 years. The city is trying to celebrate this. We’ve embraced this team, and this guy has to inject himself.”
This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 11:11 AM.
