TMZ Sports asked Jose Alvarado about a possible Knicks White House visit after New York’s NBA Finals win, and the guard did not exactly sound like a man preparing a constitutional seminar.
The 28-year-old, fresh off the Knicks’ championship victory over the San Antonio Spurs, said he would follow the team’s lead if an invitation comes from President Donald Trump.
“If there’s a chance, I’m going wherever my teammate goes,” Alvarado told the outlet.
What Alvarado Said About A Possible Visit
TMZ Sports caught up with Alvarado as he was leaving the iHeart studios in New York City, just days after the Knicks secured the title. The outlet asked him about the long-running tradition of championship teams visiting the White House, which in calmer times was treated as a routine photo opportunity with better lighting than most team media days.
Alvarado kept his answer simple. He did not announce a political position, issue a demand, or try to turn the sidewalk into a cable-news panel. His message was that if the Knicks decide to go, he plans to be with them.
That matters because White House trips have become less automatic during Trump’s presidencies. Several championship teams have either attended with smaller groups, skipped the visit, or ended up in public disputes around the invitation itself.
The most famous recent example remains the Golden State Warriors, whose White House visit became a political flashpoint during Trump’s first term. The team was ultimately uninvited after political disagreement went public, because apparently even ceremonial sports invitations now require crisis communications.
Why The Knicks May Get An Invitation
There’s no reported White House invitation for the Knicks yet. Still, one wouldn’t be surprising.
Trump attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden after receiving a personal invitation from Knicks owner James Dolan. That appearance came before New York finished off its Finals win over San Antonio, putting the franchise in position for the kind of presidential invite that typically follows a major championship.
For now, though, the team’s next public event is not in Washington. It is in Manhattan.
The Knicks are set for a championship parade down Broadway on Thursday, and Alvarado told TMZ Sports the celebration is expected to be loud. His description: they are going to “party like rockstars.”
Subtle? No. But after an NBA title, subtle is usually the first thing loaded onto the equipment truck and forgotten until training camp.
