SAN ANTONIO — NBA commissioner Adam Silver said “of course” the president of the United States is “welcome” to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals, particularly this one.Silver, a New York City resident, vouched for Donald Trump’s New York and NBA credentials on Thursday in response to questions about Trump’s planned attendance at Game 3 between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs on Monday.If he is in the crowd, Trump will be the first sitting president to attend a finals game. The last sitting president to attend any NBA game was Barack Obama in 2015.“Before he ever ran for office, he was a big Knicks fan,” Silver said of Trump. “I’ve been with the league for a long time. I was there at many Knicks games with him in the old days. He attended many of our drafts when they used to take place at Madison Square Garden, and he actually appeared in one of our ‘I love this Game’ spots when I was running NBA entertainment years ago.”
Silver took over as commissioner in 2014. Before serving as deputy to former commissioner David Stern, he was chief operating officer of NBA Entertainment in the 2000s. As Silver said, Trump made a cameo in a 2004 “I love this Game” spot for the NBA. In the ad, the future president and, at the time, a reality TV star said, “I love this game, and if you don’t, you’re fired,” in a nod to the catch phrase from his show “The Apprentice.” Trump’s spot was filmed on the baseline at Madison Square Garden.“I think sports in particular is something where we can emphasize what we have in common, not what pulls us apart,” Silver said. “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 Knick team.”Donald Trump is pictured sitting next to his future wife Melania Knauss during a game between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers in the 1999 NBA Eastern Conference finals at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. (Jeff Haynes / AFP via Getty Images)Trump has attended several high-profile sporting events in the past, including the 2025 Super Bowl, the 2025 U.S. Open tennis tournament and the 2026 College Football Playoff championship game. The bombastic Republican also never won New York, a largely Democratic state, in any of the three presidential elections he ran in, and there are likely to be at least a mixture of boos when or if he is shown on the MSG video boards.Silver said Trump’s expected presence wouldn’t take away from the magnitude of the finals on the court and said the only distraction would be the extra security at MSG for the president.“I am sure there will be announcements about coming early,” Silver said, “but I think fans are very understanding of that. They recognize that it adds to the bigness of the event.”Silver said the extra security “may be more of an inconvenience,” but “at the end of the day, I don’t think New Yorkers will mind that at all.”Jun 4, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms
