Stephen A. Smith: Knicks players ‘don’t want to go’ to White House

Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith on Wednesday said the New York Knicks “don’t want to go” to the White House to celebrate their win at the 2026 NBA Finals.

“This is what I’ve been hearing and I’m going to say it,” Smith said on ESPN’s “First Take.” “Don’t know how much truth there is to it because I haven’t heard from the players directly, but one of the things that people have been talking about around New York City, and around Madison Square Garden, is that the climate was a little bit different.”

“People have been a little bit stressed because the owner, James Dolan, has an attitude with players because they don’t want to go to the White House,” he added.

Smith said he does not “give a damn” about the situation and that he doesn’t know whether the story is true or not.

“But I believe anything when it comes to James Dolan, because he’s a walking embodiment of petulance,” he continued. “This man is as petty as they come.”

Smith said he was concerned that Dolan will tout the championship win, the team’s first in 53 years, and not win more beyond that.

“This guy, Dolan, I don’t trust him. … He is petty enough to have an attitude because he’s tight with Trump and wants to go to the White House,” he said in an animated plea for the team’s future. “And some of the players, if not most of them, might not want to go.”

The Hill has reached out to the Knicks media team for comment.

The Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the championship series in June after facing a 16-point deficit. The victory ignited celebrations in the Big Apple, with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) saying he would award the team with keys to the city and hold a parade in their honor.

President Trump, invited by Dolan, attended Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, marking the first time that a sitting U.S. president attended an NBA Finals game in person. But fans at the game booed the president while he watched from Dolan’s private box during a rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner.”

No team that has won the NBA Finals has visited the White House during either of Trump’s terms, ESPN reported . The Boston Celtics were the first winning team to go to the White House, in 1963, when Brookline, Mass., native John F. Kennedy served as president. Champions visited the White House every year former President Obama was in office.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, which won in 2025, did not attend the White House last season because of timing issues.