“Go visit White House,” “Need Luka to lose weight”: Donald Trump’s friend Clay Travis sends powerful message urging OKC & NBA to ‘rebuild toxic brand’

Donald Trump’s friend Clay Travis posted a strong message on X urging the OKC Thunder and the NBA to ‘rebuild’ their ‘toxic brand’. Travis suggested that the Thunder should revisit the White House, which will help them gain the support of Republicans, who also buy sneakers.

He pointed towards the low viewership from this year’s NBA Finals, even though this was the first Game 7 in the Finals since 2016. Travis also said that LeBron James being toward the end of his career is also a positive, as he expects the new generation of basketball stars not to be “woke.”

“Congrats to OKC.” Travis tweeted on Sunday. “Young team, could have a long future. My advice to NBA and OKC? Go visit the White House and start to rebuild your toxic brand. Republicans buy sneakers too.”

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“Positive for league is LeBron is done. Popovich and Kerr too. New generation is likely to have come of age in manosphere online era, isn’t woke. Need Luka to lose weight and be good with Lakers & an American born star to hit big.”

Clay Travis

@ClayTravis

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Congrats to OKC. Young team, could have a long future. My advice to NBA and OKC? Go visit the White House and start to rebuild your toxic brand. Republicans buy sneakers too.

Positive for league is LeBron is done. Popovich and Kerr too. New generation is likely to have come of age in manosphere online era, isn’t woke. Need Luka to lose weight and be good with Lakers & an American born star to hit big.

No NBA team has visited the White House since Donald Trump took office. Even the 2020 NBA Champions, the LA Lakers, postponed their White House visit to 2022, during President Biden’s term in office.

Many across the league don’t agree with Donald Trump’s political philosophies and have made it a point to not visit the Oval Office while he holds power.

Will the OKC Thunder visit the White House following their 2025 NBA Finals triumph?

The OKC Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers in seven games to claim the 2025 NBA Finals. With their win, the Thunder have won the first championship in franchise history. Usually, any team that wins the Finals is expected to visit the White House.

However, this hasn’t been the case since Donald Trump took office in 2017. No NBA team has visited the White House during his presidential term, showing the league’s dissent with his politics. Some have even gone as far as to delay their visit or have opted to spend time with past presidents instead.

At the time of writing, there’s no telling whether the Thunder will break this tradition or not. For now, the team will be focused on going on a parade around the city of Oklahoma to celebrate the franchise’s first championship.

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About the author

Sameer Khan

Sameer is an esports and gaming journalist at Sportskeeda who covers a diverse range of topics. He is currently pursuing a BSc degree from BITS, but his love for video games pushed him to pursue a gaming journalism career. He relies on diligent research and fact-checking to deliver top-notch content. He has previously worked in the hospitality sector with the Oberoi Group.

Sameer’s gaming journey began with Rockstar Games’ GTA franchise, specifically
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. He strongly prefers multiplayer games, with FPS being his favorite genre, and has devoted 6K+ hours to CS:GO! However, he also dabbles in open-world, story-based games from time to time. Solo RPGs like Horizon Forbidden West hold a soft spot in his heart, and he would readily drop in it given a Jumanji-type scenario.

Sameer makes sure to follow Counter-Strike and Valorant esports tournaments, as he believes that watching a game being played at the highest level can be highly educational. He derives inspiration from Tarik's meteoric rise to become one of the biggest FPS streamers in the world following the release of Valorant.

Outside of work, you can find Sameer playing football or cheering for FC Barcelona. He also likes to read and write poetry.

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