• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Kobe Bryant didn't hesitate when asked whether he would accept Donald Trump's White House invitation after NBA finals win

Home> NBA

Updated 12:21 23 Mar 2025 GMTPublished 12:17 23 Mar 2025 GMT

Kobe Bryant didn't hesitate when asked whether he would accept Donald Trump's White House invitation after NBA finals win

Kobe Bryant once opened up about whether he would accept an invitation from Donald Trump to visit the White House.

Chris Byfield

Chris Byfield

Featured Image Credit: Getty

Topics: Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Steph Curry

Chris Byfield
Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Kobe Bryant once opened up about whether he would accept an invitation from Donald Trump to visit the White House.

Back in 2018 Trump caused controversy when he announced that he would not invite either the Cleveland Cavaliers or Golden State Warriors to visit the White House following the conclusion of that year’s NBA Finals.

His remarks came in the wake of Cavaliers forward Lebron James and Warriors guard Steph Curry having said they had no interest in visiting the White House, following the President’s decision to uninvite 2018 Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles from a visit.

Advert

"I didn't invite LeBron James, and I didn't invite Steph Curry. We're not going to invite either team," Trump told reporters at the time. "But we have other teams that are coming.

“If you look, we had Alabama — national champion. We had Clemson, national champion. We had the New England Patriots. We had the Pittsburgh Penguins last year."

James, who had previously labelled Trump as a “bum”, was unwilling to visit the White House after the President had criticised the Eagles’ players of taking a knee in protest during the national anthem. No Eagles players had done so that season.

The White House subsequently tied the rescinded invite to the Eagles allegedly turning their invitation into a “political stunt”.

Advert

Amid the controversy, Bryant told Politico he “probably” would visit the White House if he were to be invited.

"I probably would go," he said. "That visit is more than how you feel about the current administration. It's about the guys next to you, about the flag, about the kids out there who look up to you and the United States. But, honestly, it's a tough call."

Bryant met Obama on several occasions (Getty)
Bryant met Obama on several occasions (Getty)

Bryant had previously visited former US president Barack Obama in 2015 upon announcing his retirement from basketball.

Advert

"In sports, you get better by working in the gym," Bryant noted. "I wanted to know how [Obama] got better, from managing his schedule to what he reads. And because he gets sports, and we can talk about that, too, it makes it easier to have that connection."

Bryant added: "Obama didn’t inspire someone like Colin Kaepernick (the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who knelt during the national anthem last season). But he did help athletes progress beyond just asking questions or just being angry, and asking why something is the way it is. Like what’s the constitutional reason behind something and what can be changed.

"He made locker rooms more politically aware. Conversations changed. Obviously, now with the violence we’re seeing across the country, that’s something athletes are understanding more and more. He was rare. We all miss him to a certain extent."

Choose your content:

4 days ago
5 days ago
6 days ago
7 days ago
  • 4 days ago

    LeBron James answers retirement rumours without even saying a word

    LeBron James' retirement rumours have bee making rounds ever since the Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

    NBA
  • 5 days ago

    Steph Curry could surpass Michael Jordan record as revealing comment reignites NBA GOAT debate

    Steph Curry is currently on four NBA championships, but he could possibly win more with the Golden State Warriors.

    NBA
  • 6 days ago

    NBA champion slams LeBron James over ring culture comment that would have 'Kobe Bryant rolling in his grave'

    Who is the NBA's GOAT? It's got nothing to do with rings, so says LeBron James

    NBA
  • 7 days ago

    Viral Kobe Bryant response after injury blow offers inspiration to Tyrese Haliburton after brutal setback

    Kobe Bryant's message after his Achilles injury was inspirational

    NBA
  • NBA champion didn't hesitate when asked if Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant get the ball to secure game seven bucket
  • Steph Curry didn't hesitate when picking between LeBron James and Kobe Bryant for best-ever NBA forward
  • NBA champion slams LeBron James over ring culture comment that would have 'Kobe Bryant rolling in his grave'
  • Kobe Bryant didn't hesitate when asked whether he was better than Michael Jordan in NBA GOAT debate