NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Says Trump Is A "Genuine Knicks Fan"

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stays mostly neutral on politics, as you might imagine. When it came to President Donald Trump attending the NBA Finals at the invitation of Knicks owner James Dolan, he said that the president is a “genuine” NBA fan.

Trump decided to become the first sitting president to attend the NBA Finals, going to Game 3 of the series, which pits the San Antonio Spurs against the New York Knicks. The Knicks held a 2-0 lead going into the game and the city was united in their excitement for a sweep. In fact, the rallying cry came from a fan who declared, “My mayor is Muslim, my bagels are Jewish, my Christian Dior, Knicks in four.”

Trump is a New York City native, so he’s no stranger to Knicks fandom. Silver says the president has had courtside seats and attended the NBA draft when it was in New York City.

“He’s welcome to be here,” Silver told the Inside the NBA crew in a pre-game interview. “What makes sports so special, especially when there’s so much that divides people, is it’s something that we have in common. We should look for those things that we have in common and build off that. I’ve been with the league for a long time. I ran NBA Entertainment, and he did a spot with us. He was a fixture at Madison Square Garden.”

“So he’s a genuine Knicks fan,” Silver said.

Trump’s appearance was met with boos, and the Knicks lost 115-111 in a game that went down to the wire. Due to the security required for Trump’s attendance, the blocks directly around the garden were blocked off, denying fans the opportunity to gather around Madison Square Garden as they had for previous games in the series.

Fans believe that Trump’s presence jinxed the team.

Even Knicks superfan Stephen A. Smith had harsh words for Trump after the team’s loss.

“Our president showed up to New York City last night … and needless to say, what I feared would happen ended up happening: The New York Knicks lost.” Smith added, “Obviously, I’m blaming him … The president disrupted our mojo. I’ve said this on many occasions over the last 24 hours, and I am saying it again, ‘The man messed things up.’”

Trump has now attended more sporting events than any other sitting president, attending the Super Bowl and Daytona 500, golf’s Ryder Cup in the New York City suburbs, and last year, the U.S. Open men’s tennis championship in Queens, N.Y.

See social media’s reaction to Trump being at the game below.