New York has been electric since the Knicks completed their storybook playoff run on Saturday to deliver long-suffering fans throughout not only the city but the entire tri-state area their first NBA title in 53 years.

On Thursday, millions of fans gathered in lower Manhattan for the traditional ticker-tape parade down the aptly named “Canyon of Heroes,” with jubilant revelers chanting, cheering, and coming together to celebrate the team that finally won it all.

Usually it takes tragedy to bring New Yorkers together. After the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, New Yorkers united to help the families who lost loved ones and the first responders who helped rebuild the city.

Usually it takes tragedy to bring New Yorkers together. After the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, New Yorkers united to help the families who lost loved ones and the first responders who helped rebuild the city.

And six years ago at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, New Yorkers would open their windows and bang pots and pans to honor the frontline healthcare workers trying to heal the sick and dying.

Now, we’re witnessing that a happy moment can unite a region, too.

And so, and I say this in the most sincere way possible: Knicks players, please don’t ruin this moment with a visit to Donald Trump’s White House.

The Knicks owner, James Dolan—whose meddling in the team is a large reason why the Knicks stunk so badly for so many years—said Wednesday that the Knicks organization will visit Trump.

“We just did receive an invitation from the White House, which we accepted,” Dolan said on local sports radio station WFAN. “We still have to figure out the details, etc., but yes, of course. Look, I invited the president to come down for the game. He is a friend, I’ve known him for 30 years and I’m very proud to bring the team to the White House.”

But you know who wouldn’t be proud of witnessing the Knicks at the White House? The Knicks fans who loathe Trump and everything he stands for. And if the team goes, it will put a damper on the celebratory mood.

Already, Dolan’s support and friendship with Trump nearly jinxed the Knicks’ playoff run. Dolan greatly inconvenienced fans when he brought Trump to Game 3 of the finals between the Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs. And Trump brought so much negative energy and distraction that the game he attended broke the team’s historic 13-game playoff win streak.

Knicks fans told Dolan how they felt about his decision to bring the wannabe dictator to the game, loudly booing Trump the one and only time his sweaty, orange-makeup-smeared face appeared on the jumbotron.

Forcing players to go to the White House would just be another slap in the face to the fans who have remained loyal to the Knicks despite decades of sadness and mediocrity.

Knicks players need to know: While Dolan wants to visit, you do not have to go. The fans support you, not the team owner.

The players hold the cards in this situation, as Dolan would be vilified as an utter disgrace if he punished the stars who finally won a championship for his franchise for not visiting Dolan’s fellow prick who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

We already know at least two star players hate Trump. Guard Josh Hart, for example, fired this gem on social media when Trump lost the election to now-former President Joe Biden.

“YESSIR!!!! GET TRUMP’S DUMBASS OUT THE WHITE HOUSE!!!!!!” Hart tweeted at the time.

And Karl-Anthony Towns slammed Trump in 2018, when Trump criticized NBA star LeBron James, who had just given a CNN interview about schools he was opening in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.

“So let me get this straight: Flint, MI has dirty water still, but you worried about an interview about a man doing good for education and generations of kids in his hometown?” Towns wrote in a post on X. “Stop using them twitter fingers and get stuff done for our country with that pen.”

Ultimately, details haven’t been worked out for the Knicks visit—which would make them the first NBA team to visit the Trump White House in either of his two terms. So, hold firm Knicks players. Don’t ruin this jubilant moment with a visit to the White House.