New York City was just about through with the Jaxson Dart controversy, a crack in the Giants’ locker room that was created when quarterback Jaxson Dart introduced President Donald Trump at a rally on May 22. His decision was publicly criticised by teammate Abdul Carter on social media. This time, the arena is not the NFL. And the stakes are higher, with a championship on the line for the first time in a generation.

President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday that New York Knicks owner James Dolan extended him a personal invitation to attend an NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden.

“Jim Dolan, he’s a great guy,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I was invited by numerous people and Jim, and I think I’ll be going.” The Knicks are scheduled to host Games 3 and 4 of the Finals on June 8 and June 10, with a potential Game 6 on June 16. The announcement landed directly in the crosshairs of a media debate about whether Dolan’s decision to publicly extend the invite was a mistake, regardless of how one feels about the president himself.

The conversation on the Joe Budden Network laid the argument out plainly. The panel did not question whether Trump could attend, only that they questioned whether the Knicks’ chairman should have been the one to extend the invitation, and do so publicly.

“You can’t invite him,” one panelist said. “I don’t think you do that. If Trump wants to show up, fine. You can even secretly bet he’ll come through, but you can’t extend an invite to him because it’s so polarising and divisive.”

Dolan and Trump have a documented history. Trump held his 2024 New York City presidential rally at Madison Square Garden and specifically thanked Dolan from the stage. He put their relationship squarely in the public record long before this moment.

The Knicks, on the other hand, are in the Finals for the first time since 1999. They carry 53 years of championship drought into what is arguably the most consequential sports moment the franchise has seen in a generation. The panel’s argument was straightforward: with that much on the line, any avoidable distraction becomes an unforced error.

Joe Budden Panel: “You Don’t Want Any Mental Distractions Pulling Away From Their Readiness”

The discussion on the Joe Budden Network was not about politics; it was about basketball preparation. The panel raised the scenario of a microphone being put in front of Karl-Anthony Towns before a Finals game and a reporter asking how he felt about Trump sitting courtside.

“You don’t even want him focused on that,” one panelist said. “You want this man basketball-ready. Reading, watching film. Making sure he’s well rested. Making sure he’s eating good. All of that stuff. Basketball s***.” The argument highlighted the invitation not as a political stance but as a team management question, one that Dolan, as owner, had the power to control.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a progressive Democrat who won his election in a city that Donald Trump also performed relatively well in, took a notably different position when asked about the potential attendance.

“If the president went to a game, I’d let him, that’s his decision to make. If I go to the game, I’ll be doing so separately.”

If Trump attends, he would become the first sitting president to witness an NBA Finals game in person, a historical footnote that adds another layer to an already loaded situation. The Joe Budden panel stopped well short of calling for the president to be banned. Their position was more specific: that publicly extending the invitation, rather than quietly arranging a suite visit, was the decision that created the problem. “I wouldn’t publicly invite him,” the panel said. “Come in the suite.”

Now, whether Dolan sees it that way is another matter entirely. Game 1 of the NBA Finals tips off on Wednesday, June 3.