Monday night in New York City is going to be a movie, and now it has its villain. Madison Square Garden is about to host its first NBA Finals game in three decades, with the Knicks set to square off against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the series.
Earlier this week, Shams Charania confirmed that Donald Trump will be in attendance, which will bring what’s expected to be a star-stacked crowd to a whole different level.
Trump’s decision to attend the game is a bold one, considering New York is traditionally a Democrat-leaning city. How the Knicks faithful will greet the president has become a point of fascination, with the prospect of boos raining down a likely scenario.
But former Knick Amar’e Stoudemire predicts a different outcome. “Oh, man, he's going to get a standing ovation,” Stoudemire told TMZ Sports. That's the United States president. He deserves all the respect that we can give him.”
Stoudemire explained that being POTUS is a “tough job to take on,” and he deserves “all the respect.”
“So I think the Knicks fans will show respect Monday night to the president if he does come to the game,” he added.
Perhaps Stoudemire didn’t take into account all the different ways that Trump’s presence will impact the fan experience. Security will definitely be much tighter, and there were reports that the watch parties outside MSG have been canceled. And with ticket prices soaring, the optics of a billionaire getting to go to the game while normal Knicks fans can’t aren’t the best.
When Karl-Anthony Towns was asked about Trump’s attendance, he steered the question elsewhere.
"Hope has been brought back to the city,” he said. “But the word success hasn't been seen. We have to fight to bring that word back to fruition."
Despite all that, the vibes in New York are so strong right now, not even Trump can put a damper on it. And oh yeah, Knicks in four.
