WASHINGTON (AP) — The reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder will not visit the White House during their road trip to the nation’s capital this weekend, a team spokesperson said Friday.
The team and the White House had discussions about a celebration of the 2025 champs, but “timing” prevented it from happening.
“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.
Visiting the White House has been a long-standing tradition for NBA champions, dating back to Boston’s trip in 1963. Teams typically schedule the celebration when a regular-season game brings them to the nation’s capital. The Thunder play Washington on Saturday.
Several teams have declined invitations in recent years, most notably the NBA’s Golden State Warriors in 2017.
Last month, the gold-medal-winning U.S. men’s hockey team attended the State of the Union following an invitation from President Donald Trump. The team also attended an event in the Oval Office with Trump and had lunch at the White House.
Trump also invited the gold-medal-winning U.S. women’s hockey team to the State of the Union, but the women decided not to attend, citing “the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic, is a fas… Read moreAragon High School Theatre presents "Puffs"
Exclusive film screening in San Mateo Read moreA LITTLE FELLOW: THE LEGACY OF A.P.GIANNINI
Join us for an unforgettable evening as we set sail into the world of luxury river cruising!… Read moreLegendary Rivers & Tours Expo
Planning your dream wedding? Discover everything you need at the Wedding Fair in the Park – … Read moreWedding Fair in the Park
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.