President Donald J. Trump is in his sixth year in office, and, to date, no NBA champion has visited the White House during his administrations.
Based on the results of The Athletic’s 2026 anonymous player poll, the league’s players are split on visiting the White House generally, with a slight majority of respondents saying they would want to accept an offer to appear at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. if their team wins it all.
From late February through the start of April, our writers fanned out across North America and asked the league’s players a wide range of questions about subjects, including individual awards, player movement, league issues and other topics. Our writers surveyed 161 players, a record high for this project. That number represents approximately one-third of the league’s player base.
Many of the interviews were done in locker rooms and under tight time constraints, making it impossible for every reporter to ask every question of the full sampling of players. Some of the players declined to answer certain questions, just as they might at a news conference or in another setting. For all the interviews, we granted the athletes anonymity to give them the freedom to answer questions as candidly as possible, without fear of reprisals from rival players, teammates, fans or others.
The question about the White House received responses from 118 players. Of those respondents, 63 (53.4 percent) said “yes,” they would visit the White House if their team won the NBA Finals. Another 55 players (46.6 percent) said “no.” An additional 18 players were asked but declined to answer the question.
“I would want to because I think it’s an honor, regardless of who is in office,” one player said. “I still think it’s a privilege and honor to go to the White House and meet the leader of the country.”
The Athletic didn’t ask the players whether they supported Trump. But 32 of the 109 respondents who offered comments said they didn’t. None said they supported the president, and none volunteered that they supported any specific politician.
“I don’t get into politics,” said one player, whose answer was similar to many who said they would want to go to the White House. “Hell yeah, I’m going. You don’t get to step foot in the White House too many times.”
Another player said: “I’ve been (to the White House) one time and I’d like to go again because that means I’ve won again. Plus, I got some stuff I’d want to say to Trump.” That player ended his comment with a chuckle.
A number of players cited the historical significance of the American presidential residence and respect for the office of the presidency as reasons to attend.
A player who said he would want to go to the White House said: “If I win a championship and I go to the White House, I’m not going to the White House in support of the president. I’m going to the White House with an opportunity to celebrate something so tough to do, and we’re going to be celebrated in the most important building in the world.”
Among the players who said they would not visit, several either cited Trump by name or made reference to the current tumultuous political climate in the United States.
“I personally wouldn’t (visit),” one player said. “I can’t agree with Trump. I don’t like what he does in office. I don’t think it’s conducive to the whole of America. So I don’t think I’d visit.”
Said another player who stated he would not want to visit the White House: “I don’t (mess) with Trump.”
The Athletic did not ask players for their political affiliations, nor did it record other biographical information such as the players’ nations of citizenship when tabulating answers. There are roughly 550 players in the NBA, all of them male, between the ages of 19 and 41. Also, on opening night for the 2025-26 season, there were 135 players on NBA rosters who were born outside the United States, including 71 from Europe.
Several foreign-born players said they would visit the White House, and a few said they would not.
One player indicated that he felt the question, along with any debate about whether a championship team should visit the White House during Trump’s presidency, did not allow for nuance. The player suggested that constructive, bipartisan discussions would be helpful in what, from his point of view, has become a more polarized political climate.
“There should be a common ground conversation outside of just what the typical is, like, ‘No, we’re not going,’” the player said. “I think a team who wins, you should try to bridge that gap, or at least explore what that may look like.”
As The Athletic asked NBA players about their views, another controversy was playing out about White House invites and visits for prominent sports teams. After the U.S. men’s hockey team beat Canada in overtime to win Olympic gold, the team was on a congratulatory phone call with Trump, who said to the players: “I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team. You do know that. I do believe I’d probably be impeached (if the women’s team wasn’t invited).”
The U.S. women’s hockey team had already won a gold medal at the same Milan Games and the men’s players were criticized for laughing nervously at Trump’s comments. The criticism continued as many of the men’s players attended the State of the Union address and visited the White House, while the women’s team declined their invitation, citing previous commitments for players rather than politics.
About a month later, the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, while in Washington for a game, were in discussion with the White House for a visit but they ultimately didn’t go, citing “timing” instead of any political issues.
The Golden State Warriors won the finals during Trump’s first year, in 2017, and during training camp that September Stephen Curry said he would vote “no” if the team got an invitation to visit. Trump, on seeing Curry’s comments, said on social media that the “invitation is withdrawn.” LeBron James, at the time a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers and a frequent Trump critic, responded by calling Trump a “bum” and saying Curry “already said he ain’t going! So therefore ain’t no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!” The Warriors won again in 2018 and did not visit the White House.
James and the Cavaliers won the title in 2016 and visited the White House on Nov. 10, less than two days after news outlets declared that Trump had won his first election. Trump gave a news conference in front of the residence on the same day the Cavs met with then-President Barack Obama in the Oval Office and stood with him in a ceremony on the lawn.
Though players were split on actually visiting, there isn’t a player in the NBA who would balk at the prospect of accepting or declining a White House invitation.
That’s because it would mean he was a champion.
“Yes, just give me a ring,” a player said.