Donald Trump is reportedly planning to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals - the same night Mayor Zohran Mamdani is slated to be at Madison Square Garden. New York is back in the finals for the first time in nearly three decades, with Mike Brown's team facing the San Antonio Spurs as they chase a first championship since 1973. The series kicks off in Texas on Wednesday night before both teams head to New York for Game 3 on Monday, June 8. And, according to the New York Post, the president is expected to be at The Garden that night for the first NBA Finals game in New York for 27 years. It's claimed that staff at MSG have being stepping up security preparations ahead of Trump's potential visit. Trump has turned up to a number of major sporting events since returning to the Oval Office, including the Ryder Cup, the Super Bowl, US Open tennis and a New York Yankees game. The president - a native New Yorker - recently said he was planning to attend one of the games after receiving an invite from Knicks owner James Dolan.

'I think I'll be going to one of the games,' the president said. 'I was invited by numerous people, and [Dolan], and I think I'll be going.' He added: 'Boy, what a team! They win all their games... it's great to see it. The Knicks have really suffered for years and they're doing right now very well.' The New York Post also reports that Mamdani is hoping to be at The Garden for Game 3 but the mayor previously ruled out sitting alongside President Trump.

'If I go... I'll be doing so separately,' Mamdani said. Mamdani was among the crowd for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, sitting in the nosebleeds as the Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers en route to a series sweep. 'If the president went to a game, that's his decision to make. If I go to the game, I'll be doing so separately,' he told TMZ. Mamdani later added in a press conference: 'If the president comes to watch the Knicks, I'll leave the president to watch the Knicks as he wants to watch the Knicks.'

The Democratic mayor would not be drawn on whether Trump would receive a good reaction from the crowd at MSG, telling TMZ: 'New Yorkers, we are an unpredictable people. I think I'd make a fool of myself if I wanted to make a prediction.' He also dodged the chance to question Trump's credentials as a Knicks supporter. 'I'm not going to do any analysis of the president's fandom,' he said, per ABC.

'I will say that anyone who wants to come and watch the Knicks... should be welcome there. I can tell you that it feels like the thing that's on everybody's mind across the five boroughs and we're incredibly excited.' Trump had planned to be at Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, only for the Knicks to cruise past the Cavaliers in four games.