The best part about the Knicks’ championship runs the past few seasons has been that owner James Dolan was quiet and out of the way. The maligned billionaire allowed the front office — Leon Rose (President of Basketball Operation), World Wide West (Executive Vice President / Senior Basketball Advisor) and Brock Aller (Senior VP of Basketball and Strategic Planning) — to execute their jobs without interference and came up roses.
During an appearance on WFAN’s “The Carton Show” shortly after the Knicks won the 2026 NBA Finals, Dolan used his first championship moment as a billionaire owner to guarantee that his players were going to be attending his friend Donald Trump’s White House. Apparently, Dolan spoke too soon.
Team captain Jalen Brunson stated that the team hadn’t collectively discussed it yet, and coach Mike Brown noted the organization was still talking through it internally, with many players understandably reluctant to make the trip.
Stephen A. Smith Says Dolan Is Upset With Knicks
In his world, this came as a slap in the face to the owner. Stephen A. Smith reported on ESPN’s ‘First Take’ on Wednesday that Dolan has grown increasingly upset and frustrated with the players and organization for failing to openly commit to or follow through with the visit. Smith says he hasn’t confirmed any of this with the players.
“I don’t know how much truth there is to it, because I haven’t heard from the team directly The owner James Dolan has an attitude with players because they don’t want to go to the White House,” Smith said. ”He’s the walking embodiment of petulance. This man is as petty as it comes. … I don’t trust him one bit.”
As anything related to Trump or politics goes, the Knicks’ White House decision has drawn the attention of fans who took to an X post by NBA Central to express opinions. Some suggested that Dolan go to the White House by himself since it’s so important to him.
“Nobody is stopping you from going James lmao,” one fan commented on X.
“Lmao maybe you can go alone Mr. Dolan. Maybe some private time is what you REALLY want,” another chimed in.
“Good for the Knicks players… he can go solo,” a third fan agreed.
“It’s not their fault the POTUS is a POS,” one netizen blurted in the comments.
The Knicks started the season on a three-game losing streak, prior to winning their first game of the young season against the Detroit Pistons (111-97) on Tuesday night. Some fans caution the Knicks against attending, saying it’s already a distraction. Also noting what has happened to several high profile athletes after meeting with the President.
“Knicks players are aware of the ‘Trump curse’ and don’t want to take any chances for their health to suffer like several athletes have experienced in recent years (Dart, Judge, Ohtani, Saquon..) after meeting him,” one fan suggested.
Dolan’s tact has never been a hit with the fans and it seems he’s fallen short again. As one fan mentioned: “He accepted the invite on the radio in June without asking the roster and is just now finding out he RSVP’d for one.”
When the New York Knicks won the NBA championship fans were overwhelmed with joy and passion because it was a feat they hadn’t accomplished in 53 years. And the team was able to accomplish the goal with one of the most hated owners in all of pro sports. The relationship between James Dolan and Knicks fans has always been frosty. He’s had run-ins with fans and banned legend Charles Oakley from the arena for life after security yoked him up and escorted him out. The former Knicks enforcer couldn’t even enter the Garden to celebrate the championship.
Leading up to this controversy, Trump was already on the bad side with Knicks fans after he attended Game 3 of the Finals at Madison Square Garden, causing major security disruptions for fans who anticipated celebrating near the arena and drawing criticism that Dolan was politicizing the team’s championship run.
With the Knicks back on the winning side, hopefully Dolan will not feed Stephen A. Smith or any other reporter information to use in order to force them to participate in a non basketball activity while trying to defend an NBA title that has the league coming for their heads each night. Maybe the team should just attend the White House so they can get back to business and Dolan can fade to black again.
