LeBron James: Whoever wins NBA championship won't want White House invite

[June 06, 2018]  On the day the Philadelphia Eagles were supposed to be visiting the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl championship, participants in the 2018 NBA Finals ripped President Donald Trump and made it clear the NBA champion won't be going to White House, either.

Speaking with the media on an off day Tuesday, members of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors sounded off on the situation between the NFL champs and the president, and leading the charge was LeBron James.

"It's typical of him," James said of Trump. "I'm not surprised. ... I know no matter who wins this series no one wants the invite, anyways. It won't be Golden State or Cleveland going (to the White House).

"It's not surprising, hearing the news today with the Eagles," James continued. "But I think more importantly we shouldn't, as Americans and especially the people in Philadelphia shouldn't let that news take away from what that unbelievable team did and accomplished.

"Winning a Super Bowl or winning a Stanley Cup or winning a World Series or winning an NBA championship or a national championship is way bigger than getting invited to the White House," James added, "especially with him in there, in my opinion."

Warriors star Stephen Curry agreed with James, alluding to what his team did last season after winning the NBA title. Warriors players indicated after winning the championship in 2017 that they would not go to the White House, then as they were set to meet as a team to formally decide, Trump rescinded the invitation.

Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) go for a loose ball during the second quarter in game one of the 2018 NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

"I'm pretty sure the way we handled things last year, (we will) kinda stay consistent with that," Curry said Tuesday when asked whether the Warriors would skip the visit should they win this time.

Trump set off a firestorm Monday when he announced there would be no customary White House visit for the Super Bowl champions, alluding to NFL players kneeling for the national anthem and the ensuing controversy last season.

Numerous people responded to Trump, including Eagles players, noting among other things that few players were going to attend, anyway, and that no Eagles player kneeled during the playing of the national anthem last season.

--Field Level Media

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.