A general view of a Nike Basketball digital billboard with “This Train is Not Stopping” and an image of New York Knicks center-forward Karl-Anthony Towns on the exterior of Madison Square Garden on May 31, 2026, in New York, NY. The New York Knicks are the 2026 Eastern Conference Champions and are playing in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. The Knicks were NBA champions in 1970 and 1973.
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The New York Knicks are warning fans to bring as little as possible to Game 3 of the NBA Finals and encouraging them to arrive at least two hours before tipoff as part of enhanced security measures for President Donald Trump’s attendance.
The Knicks said Saturday that a strict no-bag policy would be in place and that there would be “TSA-style screening procedures” for fans when they enter Madison Square Garden for the game, scheduled to begin just after 8:40 p.m. EDT.
Trump is a longtime Knicks fan who confirmed Friday that he would attend the first NBA Finals game in New York since 1999. He has already attended a number of major sporting events in his second term, including the 2025 Super Bowl, the Daytona 500, and the Ryder Cup.
The Knicks said there would be no storage at MSG for prohibited items brought to the arena. A list of them is available here.
Trump’s visit also scuttled a Game 3 watch party outside MSG. The New York Police Department said in a statement the decision was made in coordination with the Secret Service.
“There will be no watch parties outside of Madison Square Garden for Game 3 only,” the statement said. “This was done fully in coordination with the Secret Service because of the presidential visit. We expect watch parties at Madison Square Garden to resume for Game 4.”
Such parties, where thousands of fans pack in to watch the game on a big screen, have been a point of contention for the city’s police department, even without the complication of a presidential visit.
More than two-dozen people were arrested as Friday’s watch party spilled into the streets surrounding the Garden after the Knicks beat the Spurs in San Antonio. One woman was accused of punching a police officer in the face, the NYPD said.
Heading into the NBA Finals, the city had moved to cancel watch parties outside the arena altogether because of rowdy behavior at unofficial gatherings but later reversed itself and granted a permit for Game 1 last Wednesday.
Team-sanctioned watch parties will go on at Wollman Rink in Central Park and Brooklyn Bowl, the Knicks website said. Both events required advanced registration and were already at capacity as of Sunday afternoon.
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