Thunder Skip White House Visit

The Oklahoma City Thunder, the current NBA champions, will not make a visit to the White House following their triumph over the Pacers in last season’s Finals.

They have a game scheduled against the Wizards in Washington, D.C., this Saturday at 5 p.m., which seems like a perfect opportunity for a visit. However, as stated to The Athletic, the team mentioned a “timing issue” as the reason for not attending.

“While we have been in contact with the White House and appreciate the communication thus far, the timing was not right,” the Thunder remarked.

This decision aligns the Thunder with several other teams and players who have opted out of White House visits during President Trump’s time in office.

For instance, after their Super Bowl win in 2017, numerous New England Patriots players, including Devin McCourty and Martellus Bennett, skipped their visit. Tom Brady cited “personal family circumstances” as the reason.

In 2018, the Philadelphia Eagles were invited to the White House, but President Trump ultimately withdrew the invitation, likely because multiple players hesitated to attend, with Torrey Smith commenting that “a lot of players were going to do it.”

After their Super Bowl win in 2025, the Eagles accepted their invitation, yet 12 players did not attend.

Interestingly, while many athletes from the U.S. men’s hockey team attended the White House and State of the Union address following the 2026 Winter Olympics, the women’s gold medal-winning team decided to skip, mentioning scheduling conflicts.

This season, despite facing various injuries, the Thunder are favorites to reclaim the NBA championship. One of their key players, Jaylen Williams, has only played in 26 games due to significant injuries.

Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named both the regular-season and Finals MVP last year, seems set on repeating his success as the Thunder hold the best record in the league at 55-15 through 70 games.