Knicks Owner James Dolan Is Forcing Players to Go to White House as Jalen Brunson & Co Take Stance

The Knicks lost only one game in the NBA Finals, Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, which Donald Trump attended at James Dolan's invitation. Spike Lee says that wasn't "just an accident."

Lee has now moved on to a new question: whether Dolan can make the champions visit the White House. Jalen Brunson said in July that the players hadn’t discussed it as a team and would decide when the time comes. When told the Knicks would be the first NBA champions to visit Trump’s White House, he responded, “Interesting.”

"Yeah. Apparently, the team owner, James Dolan, who we know is a Trump pal, is trying to force them to visit the White House but the team doesn't want to," Variety's Marlow Stern said in an interview with Lee.

Lee replied, “He can’t force them! They’re not going. I hope they don’t go!” according to the interview. He added that it has been years since an NBA team went to the White House.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Knicks and the White House for comment and did not immediately receive a response.

Dolan said in June that the team had accepted an invitation from the White House. Knicks coach Mike Brown said in September that the team remained undecided and was “discussing internally.”

The last NBA team to visit the White House was the Boston Celtics in November 2024, when Joe Biden was president. The champion Oklahoma City Thunder turned down a visit earlier this year, citing a “timing issue.” No NBA team has visited the White House while Trump has been in office.

Stephen A. Smith claimed he heard Dolan was upset with players who didn't want to attend. Smith's comment and Stern's came from sources they didn't identify.

Smith suggested Dolan could hold a grudge over it, even though the Knicks won their first title under his ownership. Neither Dolan nor the Knicks have publicly responded to the report.

Together, those comments point to a possible split between an owner who is close to Trump and players who haven’t committed, but they remain unconfirmed.

That split is easier to understand once you look at where Dolan’s money has gone.

Dolan has recently moved his political giving toward the president's allies. He, his family and his company donated $1.4 million this year to committees supporting Republican Bruce Blakeman, who ran against Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.

He also has business interests that overlap with the administration. Reports note that his properties are involved in the Trump administration's Penn Station redevelopment, for which he is expected to receive significant compensation.

Whether the Knicks go to Washington as a full team, a partial one or not at all will show who holds the stronger hand: an owner with deep ties to Trump or a championship roster with its own say.