Attending as a guest of Knicks president James Dolan, Trump stood in a luxury box at Madison Square Garden, the self-styled "World's Most Famous Arena," smiling as the sell-out crowd jeered and booed when he appeared on the Jumbotron during the national anthem.
"I thought it was amazing, actually," Trump told reporters as he prepared to depart from JFK airport in New York.
"You mean, when they had the camera on me? I thought it was very good."
The incident marked the latest chapter in Trump's complicated relationship with his former hometown, where fuming fans waited in lines that snarled around the sidewalks of Midtown Manhattan with extraordinary security measures in place for the presidential visit.
With New York commanding a 2-0 head start in the best-of-seven series against the San Antonio Spurs, the Knicks' first home Finals game in 27 years was the hottest ticket in the five boroughs, with fans shelling out thousands of dollars to enter the American sports cathedral.
But a formidable security presence slowed entry to the arena for ticket-holders, as commuters and tourists navigated a maze of black metal fencing that restricted pedestrian traffic around the venue.
"I wish he wasn't here. He's not a real fan, and he's just making things awful," said Errol Ismail, a Brooklyn resident and owner of a fitness company, who tried multiple entrances to get into the venue. "We've waited a lifetime for this, and he's made it about himself, like everything else."
Trump's approval rate held near the lowest levels of his political career, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday, with some 35% of respondents saying they approved of Trump's performance.
The Spurs beat the Knicks 115-111 to cut New York's series lead to 2-1.
Celebrities pour in
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told reporters ahead of Monday's game that he purchased a ticket directly from Madison Square Garden for nearly $1,000.
Mamdani and Trump have been critical of each other's policy positions, but their meetings have been friendly.
The game attracted the Knicks' usual roster of A-list fans to "Celebrity Row," with filmmaker Spike Lee, Yankees legend Derek Jeter and comedian Ben Stiller all in attendance.
Queens-born Trump has a difficult relationship with the heavily Democratic-voting city he once called home and was a vocal critic of activism within the NBA, accusing the league of becoming a "political organisation" as many players protested racial injustice in the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.
He faced cheers and boos when he attended the US Open tennis men's final in Flushing, Queens, last year. Many ticket-holders missed the start of the match when security checks related to his attendance caused confusion and slowed entry.
Trump's planned attendance on Monday ratcheted up security plans over the weekend.
A watch party for fans that is traditionally held outside the arena for playoff games did not take place on Monday due to security concerns, the New York Police Department said.
Several attendees told Reuters they welcomed the president as a fellow Knicks fan, but they declined to provide their names.
Other fans said they were taking a night off from politics.
“I was at the Garden in 1999 to watch the Knicks lose to the Spurs in Game 5. I'm not gonna let the president get in the way of my ecstasy tonight,” said Ben Wizner, deputy legal director at the ACLU, an organisation that has filed dozens of lawsuits against the Trump administration’s actions.
