President Donald Trump has a checkered history with the NBA that stretches back decades to when he was a real estate mogul and reality TV star living in New York and rooting for the Knicks. He was a frequent patron of “celebrity row” at the Garden, where the stars sit on the court or near it and are shown on the video boards, and went to at least one 1994 NBA Finals game between the Knicks and the Houston Rockets. He also attended the NBA Draft at the Garden in 2003 when LeBron James went No. 1 overall to the Cavaliers.
Trump made a cameo in a 2004 “I Love This Game” spot for the NBA in which he said “I love this game, and if you don’t, you’re fired” — his catch phrase from his TV show “The Apprentice.” Trump’s spot was filmed on the baseline at the Garden while current NBA commissioner Adam Silver oversaw NBA Entertainment. Silver also has a friendly relationship with Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner.
“Before he ever ran for office he was a big Knicks fan,” Silver said last week. “I’ve been with the league for a long time, I was there at many Knicks games with him in the old days. … I think President Trump is very much a New Yorker and I’m thrilled that yet another New Yorker wants to participate in the enthusiasm and the joy around this Knick team.”
