San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox was amongst those critical of President Donald Trump’s decision to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday, June 8, stating the logistical headaches the presidential visit created for players and fans alike.
“I feel the president being here just makes it inconvenient on everybody else,” Fox, 28, told reporters before the sport. “We got, obviously, more security. We gotta, like, send stuff early. I feel our buses are a little bit earlier.”
He added, “We’re getting screened prefer it’s TSA. It’s a little bit inconvenient for the people who’s got to play, but it surely is what it’s.”
Despite the additional hassle, Madison Square Garden was packed on Monday night because the Spurs got back into the series, defeating the Recent York Knicks, 115-111, to drag to inside 2-1 within the best-of-seven series.
MSG showed Trump, 79, on the jumbotron throughout the national anthem, which also got here across on ABC’s TV broadcast. Though he appeared to be loudly booed on the published and in multiple videos shared via social media later, Trump insisted the gang received him positively.
“It was, I feel, mostly cheers,” he told reporters before boarding Air Force One after the sport. “It was loud and it was very enthusiastic.”
De’aaron Fox Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Along with the increased security, Trump’s presence at MSG also prevented Knicks fans from congregating outside the sector for a watch party, which that they had been doing all postseason. In response, Recent York City mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Monday that 5,000 Knicks fans can be welcome to observe in Bryant Park, while hundreds more flocked to Central Park.
Kai Trump (L), US President Donald Trump (C) and Knicks owner James Dolan stand throughout the National Anthem as they attend Game Three of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Recent York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in Recent York on June 8, 2026. SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images
“Of all of the selfish, narcissistic things Trump has done, attending MSG to see the Knicks play in person Monday night is absolutely the worst,” conservative pundit Ann Coulter wrote via X on Sunday, June 7. “20,000 attendees can be MASSIVELY inconvenienced for all the additional security, the Knicks Watch Party at Garden Is canceled, hundreds of additional law enforcement officers can be required (paid for by taxpayers), traffic can be a disaster — all so he can sit within the Garden relatively than watch the sport on TV.”
Recent York Knicks player Jose Alvarado nearly knocked out former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg during Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals. The Knicks point guard, 28, collided with the politician, 84, in a scary moment throughout the fourth quarter of the all-important game at Madison Square Garden in Recent York City on Monday, June […]
But not everyone opposed Trump’s presence. NBA commissioner Adam Silver pointed to the moment for example of sports bringing together people from different walks of life.
“I came upon because Jim Dolan invited him to the sport and he said yes,” Silver, 64, explained during ESPN’s Contained in the NBA pregame show. “He’s welcome to be here. I feel what makes sports so special, especially when there’s a lot that divides people, is it’s something that we have now in common. We must always search for those things that we have now in common and construct off that.”
Comedian Whoopi Goldberg, who has feuded with Trump multiple times up to now, also defended him on Monday’s episode of The View.
“I feel anybody who’s a Knicks fan must be there,” she said. “You earned the appropriate as a Knicks fan. I don’t need to such as you.”