{"id":1441,"date":"2026-06-07T10:37:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T10:37:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1441"},"modified":"2026-06-07T10:37:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T10:37:52","slug":"stephen-a-smith-begs-donald-trump-to-not-show-up-for-nba-finals-at-msg-stay-at-the-white-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1441","title":{"rendered":"Stephen A. Smith begs Donald Trump to not show up for NBA Finals at MSG: \u2018Stay at the White House\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Stephen A. Smith doesn\u2019t want to see President Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden for the NBA Finals. <\/p>\n

Read more One dead, 6 wounded in central Israel shooting<\/a><\/p>\n

The scene there is already expected to be crazy enough with the Knicks two wins away from winning their first NBA championship since 1973. <\/p>\n

The ESPN star believes the presence of the Commander-in-Chief will only unnecessarily add to it on Monday night, with Trump planning to attend at least Game 3 against the Spurs.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want him there,\u201d Smith said on his SiriusXM radio show Friday.<\/p>\n

He insisted it has \u201cnothing to do with politics,\u201d but believes that Trump\u2019s being there could only make an already circus-like atmosphere worse. Knicks have been filling the city streets with wild postgame celebrations outside the Garden, in Times Square and other places during the run.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has everything to do with him disrupting and contributing at the same time to the chaos that\u2019s going to be existing at Madison Square Garden,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIf it were Barack Obama coming to the Garden, I would say, \u2018Stay home. Stay at the White House.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been covering sports for over 30 years. And I\u2019m telling you right now, come Monday, for Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden, I expect to see an environment I have never seen in my entire career covering sports. You don\u2019t understand. You don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Exclusive | NYC Councilwoman and congressional candidate Julie Won \u2018squatted\u2019 in luxury Queens condo: landlord<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump, like Smith, is a native New Yorker and has a long history of attending high-profile Knicks games long before his political aspirations. He has become a regular at UFC events at MSG and Prudential Center and attended the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans and U.S. Open men\u2019s tennis final that same year.<\/p>\n

Trump planned on attending Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, but the Knicks swept away the Cavaliers.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI was invited to. I was going to go on Wednesday [Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals], but they closed it out very quickly. They\u2019re great, and Jim Dolan\u2019s a great guy \u2014 he\u2019s, as you know, owns and in charge of Madison Square Garden. He\u2019s having a good year,\u201d Trump told The Post\u2019s Emily Goodin on May 27.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoy, what a team! They win all their games. They really have some great players. I think I\u2019ll be going to one of the games, yeah. I was invited by numerous people, and Jim, and I think it\u2019s great. Great to see it. The Knicks have really, they\u2019ve really suffered for years and they\u2019re doing right now very well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Knicks hold a 2-0 lead over the Spurs in the series after a nail-biting 105-104 win in Game 2 on Friday night. The team has won 13 straight playoff games and needs just two more wins to claim its first championship in 53 years.<\/p>\n

Read more Chicago radio host rips Knicks fans as \u2018most obnoxious\u2019 in American sports<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stephen A. Smith doesn’t want to see President Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden for the NBA Finals. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,63,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-nba-finals","category-new-york-knicks"],"yoast_head":"\nStephen A. 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