Stephen A. Smith Shelves Trump Feud After Knicks End 53-Year Title Drought

Q: Will Stephen A. Smith’s truce with the President last beyond the Knicks' championship parade?

Probably not for long. What happened after the Knicks’ title was less a formal truce than a pause. Smith made clear that, in the immediate aftermath of New York’s first championship in 53 years, he did not want politics to intrude on a moment he had “waited all my life for.” That suggests his silence was driven by celebration, not by any reconciliation with President Trump. The broader record points the same way. Their exchange during the Finals was openly combative: Smith criticized Trump’s Game 3 appearance as disruptive and blamed it for breaking the Knicks’ momentum, while Trump responded with personal insults about Smith’s intelligence and fitness for office. Smith then answered by challenging Trump to a debate. Nothing in the reporting indicates either side has walked back those remarks. There is also no evidence of a negotiated peace. Trump did congratulate the Knicks and owner Jim Dolan after the championship, but that was directed at the team, not at Smith. Smith, meanwhile, has only said he wanted to keep the focus on the championship itself. So the most evidence-based reading is that Smith’s restraint is temporary and tied to the title celebration and parade. Once the Knicks’ festivities pass and normal media rhythms resume, there is little in the public record to suggest the feud is over.

Q: Why did a 53-year sports drought silence a top commentator’s feud with the President?

The Knicks’ title was simply bigger, in that moment, than Stephen A. Smith’s dispute with President Donald Trump. Smith had spent part of the Finals in a public exchange with Trump after Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, criticizing the disruption around the president’s visit and blaming the atmosphere for the Knicks’ only loss of the series. Trump answered with personal insults, and Smith fired back. But once New York closed out San Antonio 94-90 in Game 5 to win its first NBA championship since 1973, Smith said the feud no longer mattered. His explanation was direct: the Knicks had ended a 53-year drought, and as a lifelong fan he had “waited all my life for this moment.” He told OutKick/Fox News Digital he did not care about politics that night and would not let anything distract from the championship. That response reflected the scale of the event: a half-century of frustration had been replaced by a historic win, a citywide celebration, and a defining sports moment for New York. The broader context supports that shift. The Knicks’ run was dramatic and memorable, from Jalen Brunson’s Finals MVP performance to the team’s record comeback in Game 4. With fans flooding the streets and a ticker-tape parade planned, the dominant story became the championship itself. For Smith, the emotional payoff of seeing the Knicks finally win outweighed any incentive to continue a high-profile public quarrel.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 14

After New York’s 94-90 Game 5 win over San Antonio, Stephen A. Smith said he would not answer Donald Trump, insisting the Knicks’ first championship since 1973 was "the furthest thing from my mind."
The ESPN host had spent days attacking Trump’s presence at Game 3 in Madison Square Garden and even said he would blame him if the Knicks lost that game.
Trump answered after the Knicks’ Game 3 defeat by questioning Smith’s IQ and fitness to run for president, and Smith fired back on ESPN before Trump escalated again on Truth Social.
Jalen Brunson’s 45 points — a Knicks Finals record — became the night’s defining story, pushing aside at least temporarily a sports-politics feud that had dominated part of the series.