Key Points

• Spike Lee hopes the New York Knicks don’t visit the White House.

• Owner James Dolan said his team will be the first to celebrate their NBA championship with Donald Trump.

• Lee added that Dolan is the reason why Ben Stiller is making a Knicks documentary instead of him.

New York Knicks superfan Spike Lee doesn’t want the defending NBA champions anywhere near the White House.

It’s long been a tradition for professional and college sports teams to visit the president after winning a title, but no NBA squad has showed up to meet Donald Trump during either of his terms. And yet, owner James Dolan, a longtime Trump supporter, previously announced that the Knicks were accepting an invitation to the White House. While the players have kept mum on the issue, Lee isn’t being shy with his thoughts.

“[Dolan] wants his team to go to the White House,” Lee told Variety. “He can’t force them! It’s been years since the last NBA team has gone. They’re not going. I hope they don’t go!”

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to the White House and Knicks for comment.

Trump attended game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden, sitting — and possibly falling asleep — next to Dolan. That was the lone loss that the Knicks suffered against the San Antonio Spurs in the series, and Lee says it’s “not just an accident” that the team’s 13-game winning streak ended that night.

In June, shortly after the Knicks won their first championship in 53 years, Dolan declared that he’d already accepted an invite from the White House.

“We still have to figure out the details, et cetera, but yes, of course,” he said. “Look, I invited the president to come down for the game. He is a friend. I’ve known him for 30 years and I’m very proud to bring the team to the White House.”

In September, head coach Mike Brown walked back Dolan’s comments, insisting that the organization is still “internally discussing” whether they will make the trip. It’s fair to assume that one of the team’s most important players, Josh Hart, is not interested in meeting Trump, considering he celebrated Trump’s 2020 election defeat by tweeting, “GET TRUMP’S DUMBA-- OUT THE WHITE HOUSE!!!!!!”

Despite Lee’s constant presence at Madison Square Garden, he had a longstanding feud with Dolan that seemed to finally be resolved when they celebrated the championship together after the deciding game in San Antonio. But Lee points to Dolan as the reason why Ben Stiller has been tasked with doing a Knicks documentary for HBO instead of him.

”Dolan gave it to him,” Lee told Variety. “Look, it’s his team, he can do what he wants to do. Coulda woulda, but it’s his team.”

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly