Trump did attend Game 3 between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden, turning what had first been a planned visit into one of the main stories around the game. The Knicks were back in the Finals for the first time since 1999, but Trump’s arrival brought another layer of attention to an already high-profile night in New York.
For Kimmel, the whole thing was ready-made material, a president with a long history in New York, a well-known affection for the Knicks, and a habit of becoming the center of attention wherever he goes.
According to Anthony Orrico’s HuffPost article, Kimmel had already mocked Trump’s plan to attend the Finals, joking about his Knicks fandom, his legal troubles in New York and the San Antonio Spurs’ name.
Kimmel saw the joke before the game began
Before Game 3, Kimmel used his monologue to point out that Trump’s appearance was never going to be just another celebrity sighting at Madison Square Garden.
He joked that Trump would be the biggest name in the building, then quickly tied the visit to the president’s legal history in New York. Kimmel said it would be Trump’s first appearance at a court in the city since he was convicted of 34 felonies.
He also took aim at an AI-generated image Trump had shared of himself wearing a Knicks jersey and dunking over New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. Kimmel joked that Trump wanted to support his hometown team in person, and, if needed, “overturn the results of the game.”
It was a typical Kimmel line, simple, political and built around the idea that even a basketball game could become part of the Trump show.
Game 3 gave the story a new angle
Once Trump actually showed up, the jokes felt less theoretical.
His attendance meant tighter security, earlier arrival times for fans and more attention on everything happening around the game. The night was still about the Knicks and Spurs, but Trump’s presence made it bigger, louder and more political than a normal Finals matchup.
The Spurs went on to beat the Knicks 115-111. Trump’s appearance did not decide the result, of course, but it became part of the story around the game, especially because he had arrived as a public Knicks supporter and left after a New York loss.
According to JD Knapp’s report for TheWrap, Kimmel’s Game 3 monologue was taped before the final score was known, but he still focused on the disruption caused by Trump’s visit. Fans had been told to arrive early, security was increased, and Trump was not expected to sit courtside because of safety concerns.
The Spurs joke aged well
One of Kimmel’s sharpest jokes came from the Knicks’ opponent.
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He said Trump might be better off rooting for the Spurs, because “spurs” were what got him out of Vietnam. The line referred to Trump’s medical exemption from the Vietnam War draft, which was attributed to bone spurs.
After Game 3, the joke had a cleaner ending than Kimmel could have known in advance. Trump came to support the Knicks, but the Spurs won.
That made the moment even easier for late-night television. Kimmel had already turned the matchup into a political punchline. The final score simply helped the joke along.
Kimmel had more to work with the next night
Trump’s appearance also gave Kimmel new material after the game.
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Entertainment Weekly’s Derek Lawrence described Kimmel’s follow-up monologue as a response to footage that appeared to show Trump dozing off during Game 3. Kimmel joked that Trump had made history by becoming the first sitting U.S. president to shut down a major American city so he could take a nap in front of a sold-out NBA Finals crowd.
It was a harsh joke, but it captured why the story had moved beyond basketball. Trump’s visit was not just about a president attending a game. It became a mix of sports, politics, security, celebrity and late-night comedy.
The Finals became part of the Trump spectacle
The NBA had reason to treat Trump’s attendance as a historic moment. A sitting U.S. president at the NBA Finals is unusual, and Commissioner Adam Silver had spoken positively about Trump’s long connection to the Knicks and Madison Square Garden.
Kimmel, however, saw the moment differently. To him, Trump’s visit was less about basketball history and more about the way politics keeps finding its way into American entertainment.
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In the end, Trump’s Game 3 appearance made Kimmel’s original jokes stronger. The president showed up, the city adjusted around him, the Knicks lost, and Kimmel had more material the next night.
What started as a joke about Trump possibly attending the NBA Finals became a better story once he actually did.
