The Oklahoma City Thunder will not be doing the traditional annual NBA champions trip to the White House.
OKC is traveling to Washington, DC this weekend to take on the Wizards. It’s long been a tradition that the reigning NBA champions are honored by the President whenever they are in town.
But a team spokesperson says that a ‘timing issue’ is preventing them from making the trip to be honored by President Trump.
‘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,’ the Thunder said in a statement shared with The Athletic.
The annual White House visit has been a tradition dating back to 1963, when the reigning champion Boston Celtics went to the national landmark after winning it all the season before.
It was the Celtics who were the last team that visited the White House, who took the trip in November 2024 while President Joe Biden was living in the President’s Mansion after winning the title a few months earlier.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will not visit the White House, citing a ‘timing issue’
NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and the Thunder won the NBA title last season
In both of Trump’s terms, championship teams’ visits were often a controversial affair
Throughout Trump’s first term, visits to the White House were often a contentious issue.
The Golden State Warriors chose not to visit after winning the 2017 NBA title, with Trump later tweeting that the invitation was withdrawn.
When Golden State won the 2018 title, they did not receive an invitation at all. In 2022, when the Warriors were crowned champions, they ultimately did visit President Biden.
Other championship teams like the 2018 Philadelphia Eagles or the 2017 University of North Carolina men’s basketball team either declined invitations or had them revoked after winning titles in Trump’s first term.
The University of Georgia’s football team declined an invitation from Biden in 2023.
Recently, the US men’s hockey team made a quick stop to the White House before being paraded out during the State of the Union after winning the gold at the Winter Olympics in Milan.
The women’s team, which also won gold, declined an invitation citing ‘the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments.’
That decision came after Trump was heard joking about the women’s hockey team, saying ‘I guess’ he’d invite them as well or else he’d ‘probably be impeached.’
