That will be the case when he rolls into Madison Square Garden on Monday for Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks.However, there's at least one player who seems to be a little fired up about the prospect of playing in front of the commander in chief.ZERO BS.JUST DAKICH.
TAKE THE DON'T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD.DOWNLOAD NOW!New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson commented on a TikTok video about him playing harder in front of President Donald Trump.
(Kevin C.Cox/Getty Images)A TikTok started making the rounds, joking that Knicks center Mitchell Robinson will be playing extra hard with Trump in attendance.It's a great video, but it turns out that is what Robinson — a 2018 second-round pick out of Western Kentucky who has spent his entire career with the Knicks — has planned.He commented on the video and basically said it was on the money.Man, flag emoji and everything.He is fired up.It seems like it would be hard not to be, whether you're a fan of the president or not.You're already playing on the biggest stage the NBA has to offer (yes, it's still bigger than the in-season tournament) for one of the most popular franchises in the league in one of the most talked-about Finals matchups in years.NYPD LIFTS BAN ON KNICKS WATCH PARTIES OUTSIDE MSG FOR GAME 1 OF NBA FINALS AFTER FANS WERE TOO ROWDYAs if that isn't enough to garner some attention, let's add the President of the United States to the equation.There's a correct response in this situation, and it's to be fired up like Robinson is.What you don't want is a player who gets nervous with all of this attention or goes, "The president is here? Well, then I'm going to let him know how I feel about ICE," because you want players focused on the game and not scoring political brownie points.New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson battles for rebound against Spurs star Victor Wembanyama during Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals.
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