Watch: NBA Commissioner Makes Hakeem Jeffries Look Silly for Knicks Cheap Shot on Trump
The article argues that Democrats have been claiming President Donald Trump is only pretending to be a fan of the New York Knicks, largely because of the team’s success in the NBA playoffs.It says this claim doesn’t hold up as Trump has attended Knicks games for decades, pointing to old footage from Madison Square Garden (including events from the 1994 NBA Finals) and also earlier public remarks and social media posts showing his longstanding interest in the team.
It then describes how House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries mocked Trump’s Knicks fandom before Game 3 of the NBA Finals, suggesting Trump was just inserting himself for attention and even making an analogy between “Karl Rove” and Knicks player “Karl-Anthony Towns.” The article counters that the NBA’s commissioner, Adam Silver, rejected that insinuation when asked about Trump’s presence-saying Trump has been a “fixture” at Knicks games, that he’s welcome at events, and that Trump is in fact a genuine Knicks fan.The piece adds that conservative commentators viewed Silver’s remarks as a broader move away from politicizing sports.
For weeks now, Democrats have been trying to convince Americans that President Donald Trump is somehow faking being a fan of the New York Knicks — simply because of the team’s run in the NBA playoffs.
The argument has not made anysense, as Trump has been attending Knicks games for decades.
There are videos of him at Madison Square Garden dating back years before he ever ran for president.
Hadn’t seen this before: President Trump at Game Three of the 1994 NBA Finals with the Knicks taking on the Rockets. pic.twitter.com/6xvVsqFONy
— Rich Luchette (@richluchette) June 9, 2026
There are also old public comments and social media posts, such as the one below from 2012, proving his interest in the team.
@JLin7 is a special player. He makes watching the Knicks fun. I think he can lead the Knicks far this season. http://t.co/yMg6pWWC @JLin7
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2012
None of that stopped House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries from taking a shot at Trump ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals in New York City on Monday night,
Jeffries — a New Yorker, like Trump — suggested the president is only showing up because he wants attention.
“It also is not clear to me that Donald Trump is a big Knicks fan,” Jeffries said.
He then mocked the president by wondering aloud whether Trump knew the difference between Karl Rove — the George W. Bush White House adviser and Republican political commentator — and Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns.
Hakeem Jeffries: “It also is not clear to me that Donald Trump is a big Knicks fan. I mean does this guy even know the difference between Karl Rove and Karl-Anthony Towns?!? I don’t think so. He’s just injecting himself into the NBA Finals because he always has to bring the MAGA… pic.twitter.com/zwcZurlflm
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 8, 2026
It was the kind of line that probably sounded clever to whoever wrote it for the high-ranking Democrat.
The problem is that reality is in the way for every Democrat who doubts Trump’s history with the game and support for his team.
Before the game Monday night, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was asked about Trump’s attendance.
Silver did not hesitate to tell the NBA tipoff crew what he thought.
“He’s welcome to be here,” Silver said. “What makes sports so special, especially when there’s so much that divides people, is it’s something that we have in common.
He added, “We should look for those things that we have in common and build off that.”
Silver then said Trump was a “fixture” at Knicks games before he was president.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Trump coming to Madison Square Garden
“He’s welcome to be here. What makes sports so special, especially when there’s so much that divides people, is it’s something that we have in common.” pic.twitter.com/1GaRv4uvur
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) June 9, 2026
Then came the statement that completely demolished the Democratic talking point.
“So he’s a genuine Knicks fan,” Silver said.
In a post on the social media platform X, sports superfan and conservative commentator Clay Travis noted that Silver’s remarks had ramifications far beyond Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
He wrote that it was moment that sports might start recovering from the political correctness that has dominated the biggest professional sports leagues for a decade.
This is a complete repudiation of the entire woke sports era, which Silver arguably started in the NBA when he pulled the all star game out of Charlotte to protest a trans bathroom bill in North Carolina. Remarkable pivot here. Good for Silver.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) June 9, 2026
“This is a complete repudiation of the entire woke sports era,” he wrote, blaming Silver at least partially for the politicization of sports for pulling the 2017 NBA All-Star Game out of North Carolina over the Tar Heel State’s efforts to protect women’s public restrooms.
“Remarkable pivot here,” he wrote. “Good for Silver.”
The funny part about this petty little saga of Democrats claiming Trump is faking basketball fandom is how revealing it has been.
Democrats in Washington are largely incapable of believing that someone they dislike could enjoy something for reasons unrelated to politics.
Everything they do is a calculated stunt or a platitude, so doubting the fact that a sports fan from New York supports New York sports teams can’t possibly register to people driven by hate and division.
Trump didn’t need a focus group to tell him to love basketball, or to support his hometown team, and it’s breaking liberals’ brains.
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