NBA champs make decision on visiting Trump at – Sports News
Donald Trump will not be getting a go to from the Oklahoma City Thunder this 12 months (Image: Nathan Howard, Getty Images)
The Oklahoma City Thunder have turned down President Donald Trump’s invitation to have a good time their NBA championship win at the White House.
It has long been a custom for U.S. sports activities groups to commemorate their championship victories with a go to to the White House. Recently, Trump hosted Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in D.C., honoring their MLS Cup championship from the earlier season.
Trump has prolonged his hospitality to quite a few sports activities figures at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, together with Super Bowl victors, College Football Playoff National Champions, and World Series winners, amongst others. However, the 2024-25 NBA champions won’t be making an look.
The Boston Celtics initiated this esteemed custom after they visited the White House after their 1963 NBA championship. The reigning champions sometimes schedule the go to during the next common season when they’re on the town to play towards the Washington Wizards.
However, the Thunder have adopted within the footsteps of Steph Curry, Steve Kerr, and the 2017 Golden State Warriors by declining Trump’s invitation. In a assertion shared with The Athletic, the Thunder stated: “We have been in touch with the White House and we are appreciative and grateful for the communication we have had, but the timing just didn’t work out.”
Chet Holmgren, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Lu Dort have been key to OKC’s title (Image: Jesse D. Garrabrant, NBAE by way of Getty Images)
The Warriors opted out of visiting during Trump’s initial presidency. Following their 2018 championship victory, Trump didn’t lengthen an invitation to the crew, although they later celebrated their 2022 title at the White House underneath President Joe Biden.
With the Thunder in Washington D.C. for Saturday’s matchup towards the Wizards, there was a potential window for a White House go to with Trump. However, a “timing issue” has prevented this from occurring, occurring towards the context of U.S. involvement within the Iran-Israel state of affairs.
The Celtics have been the most recent NBA champions to make a White House look, doing so in November 2024 after their Finals victory over the Dallas Mavericks earlier that 12 months, with Biden nonetheless in workplace.
Last 12 months’s Thunder crew received the franchise’s first NBA title (Image: Joe Murphy, NBAE by way of Getty Images)
This Thunder decision arrives because the Seattle Seahawks – who claimed the Super Bowl title by defeating the New England Patriots in San Francisco final month – haven’t but introduced plans concerning a White House go to. The earlier 12 months’s victors, the Philadelphia Eagles, made the journey 12 months in the past, although quarterback Jalen Hurts was absent.
The Eagles had beforehand mirrored the Warriors’ strategy by turning down the 2018 invitation after their Super Bowl LII conquer the Patriots. Similarly, the 2017 North Carolina males’s faculty basketball squad selected to not attend the White House. During Trump’s second time period, quite a few sports activities personalities have acquired invites to the White House. Shohei Ohtani alongside the Los Angeles Dodgers made the journey to commemorate their World Series victory, with Ohio State equally visiting to honor its national championship success.
In a historic first final week, the 2025 World Champions from each the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association have been welcomed to the White House to obtain recognition for his or her achievements.
The Thunder, boasting a 55-15 report, are pursuing back-to-back championships and at the moment lead the Western Conference. Their upcoming matchup towards the Wizards is scheduled for Saturday.
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