US President Donald Trump was spotted saluting the flag at a heavily secured Madison Square Garden Monday night to watch his hometown team, the New York Knicks, take on the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Trump’s appearance at the Mecca marks the first time a sitting president has attended an NBA Finals game.
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The president, sitting in an MSG suite, was loudly booed by some of the Knicks faithful when he was shown on the jumbotron during the National Anthem, although there were a smattering of cheers.
Trump was saluting NYPD officers carrying the American flag when he was shown on camera and jeered.
He attended as a guest of Knicks owner James Dolan and was seen with EPA administrator Lee Zeldin, Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in the suite.
The game is the first NBA Finals on the Knicks’ home court in 27 years. The Knicks, up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, are attempting to secure their first NBA championship since 1973.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and a host of celebrities — including Ben Stiller, Spike Lee, Timothee Chalamet, Dave Chappelle, Larry David and Pete Davidson — were also at the game, though not sitting near Trump.
“I actually think it’s pretty remarkable that you’ve got Trump and Mamdani in the same building tonight,” Lorenzo Caradonna, a 41-year-old Knicks fan from Hoboken, NJ, told The Post. “There aren’t many places left where people from completely different political universes are all focused on the same thing.”
“For a few hours, everybody’s just a Knicks fan. That’s kind of refreshing.”
Raucous watch parties previously held outside MSG during the Knicks’ playoff run were moved to other parts of the city for Game 3, as the Secret Service and the NYPD set up a multi-block security perimeter around the arena ahead of Trump’s arrival.
A strict no-bags policy for fans attending the game was announced ahead of Trump’s visit, and Secret Service screened anyone entering the arena with TSA-style magnetometers.
Long lines wrapped around the building hours before tip-off.
“The security situation was unbelievable,” David Rosen, a 47-year-old from the Upper East Side of Manhattan, said.
“I understand why it had to be that way with Trump here, but it took forever to get inside,” Rosen continued. “Multiple checkpoints, long lines, restrictions on what you could bring in.
“I’ve been coming to games for years and I’ve never seen it quite like that. By the time I got to my seat, I felt like I’d already worked a full day.”
Trump has attended several major sporting events since the start of his second term, including Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, the College Football Playoff National Championship in Miami, the men’s US Open tennis final in Queens and the Daytona 500 auto race in Florida.
Earlier, Madison Square Garden went into virtual lockdown as police implemented a tight security cordon around the venue.
Authorities barred fans without tickets from coming within several blocks of the Manhattan venue, and banned watch parties directly outside -- a break from the first two playoff games, which drew jubilant crowds.
Officials urged ticket holders to arrive at least two hours before the 8:30pm (10.30 AEST Tuesday) tip-off to clear airport-style security screening. Bags were not permitted inside.
“The message is simple: celebrate the Knicks, but avoid the MSG area tonight if you do not have tickets for the game,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told a news conference.
Police downplayed broader security concerns after a stabbing late Sunday wounded six people at Penn Station, which sits beneath the venue. US media described the male suspect as emotionally disturbed with no terror links.
An AFP reporter on Monday saw a 10-foot (three-metre) fence around parts of Madison Square Garden and a heavy presence of Secret Service personnel charged with protecting the US president.
Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox said during San Antonio’s shoot around ahead of Game 3 that Trump’s presence was “inconvenient” given the added measures.
“I think the president being here just makes it inconvenient on everybody else,” Fox said.
“We got more security, our buses were a little early...we’re getting screened like it’s TSA. It’s a little inconvenient for the people that’s got to play, but it is what it is.”
Prominent NBA pundit Stephen A. Smith had earlier urged Trump to stay away.
“He’s coming to Game three of the Finals, and I don’t want him there. It has nothing to do with politics, policy, or anything like that. It has everything to do with him disrupting and contributing at the same time to the chaos that’s going to be existing at Madison Square Garden,” Smith said.
“If it were Barack Obama coming to the Garden, I would say, ‘Stay home.’ Stay at the White House… I have been covering sports for over 30 years. And I’m telling you right now, come Monday, for Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden, I expect to see an environment I have never seen in my entire career covering sports.”
Largely players declined the opportunity to talk about Trump’s attendance.
Knicks forward OG Anunoby tried to downplay any impact it would have on his team.
“He’ll just be there watching the game,” he said. “We’re going to go as usual, play our game, try to win the game.”
The players were able to say little else as credentialed media were denied access to the locker room for pre-game interviews for the first time this season.
Sections of this article originally appeared in the New York Post and were re-posted with permission.