In a spectacular collision of sports, politics, and wounded pride, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith invoked the ancient and terrifying curse of the Presidential Jinx before Game 3 of the NBA Finals — and the basketball gods, apparently fans of chaos, delivered immediately.
Smith, a man who has spent the better part of a year hinting that he might run for president while simultaneously insisting he doesn't want to give up his salary, made his position crystal clear on Monday's "First Take": if the New York Knicks lost Game 3, President Trump — who became the first sitting U.S. president to attend an NBA Finals game — would be personally responsible. The San Antonio Spurs then won 115-111, snapping the Knicks' historic 13-game postseason winning streak and cutting the series lead to 2-1. Victor Wembanyama was not apparently moved by Smith's grievance against the Commander in Chief.
"I think he's a nice guy, but you need a certain aptitude to run for president. You need a high IQ. I'm not sure that Stephen has that. I don't think he does, actually." — President Donald Trump, boarding Air Force One
Trump, who reportedly received a chorus of both boos and cheers during the national anthem and was seated in Knicks owner James Dolan's suite, did not acknowledge responsibility for the loss. Instead, when a reporter relayed Smith's pregame prediction, the president pivoted smoothly to a review of Smith's 2028 presidential qualifications — and found them wanting. It was a surgical response from a man who once publicly praised Smith as "a smart guy" and said he'd "love" to see him run. That was, of course, before the Knicks lost.
For his part, Smith had argued that Trump had "no business" attending the game and that his presence was an act of "narcissism" that disrupted the Knicks' playoff vibes. Smith also noted, in what may be the most self-aware moment of his career, that he would feel the same way if Obama, Bush, or Reagan had shown up. This is a testable claim, since a President Stephen A. Smith would obviously never attend a Knicks Finals game under any circumstances whatsoever and would instead watch calmly from the Oval Office while delivering measured, low-volume commentary to no one in particular.
Game 4 of the NBA Finals returns to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. President Trump has not confirmed whether he plans to attend, though sources close to the San Antonio Spurs coaching staff report that the team has issued no formal objections. Stephen A. Smith has not yet identified the next person to blame should the Knicks lose again.
In fairness to Smith, no one in the history of American sports media has made a more airtight pregame prediction — and been more immediately vindicated by the universe — than blaming the sitting president for a loss before tipoff. The Knicks still lead the series 2-1. Whether Trump's presence summoned the curse, or whether Victor Wembanyama scoring 32 points had something to do with it, remains under active investigation by ESPN's analytics department.