GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — The New York Knicks are still deciding if they will become the first NBA champions to visit the White House under President Donald Trump, coach Mike Brown said Tuesday.
The president has traditionally invited the reigning champions, but that has not been the case under Trump. No team went during his first term or after he was elected again in 2024.
But Trump and Knicks owner James Dolan are close. They sat together when Trump attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden, and Dolan indicated after the Knicks won the championship that an offer would be accepted.
The Knicks held their first practice of the new season Tuesday and Brown was asked if there was a determination about a White House visit.
“No, it’s still something that our guys, or the organization, is internally discussing and, you know, whatever we decide to do, we’ll all do together,” Brown said.
The Boston Celtics made the first trip by a champion in 1963, and President Barack Obama, who is a basketball fan, hosted the winner every year he was in office.
But Trump has feuded with some NBA players, saying during the 2018 NBA Finals that he wouldn’t invite whichever team won, after Golden State’s Stephen Curry and LeBron James, then with the Cleveland Cavaliers, said their teams had no interest in a visit.
The 2025 champion Oklahoma City Thunder didn't visit the White House last season, saying the timing did not work out.
Teams often try to arrange their visit when they are in Washington to play the Wizards. The Knicks are scheduled for those games on Dec. 18 and March 16.
See AP’s full NBA coverage here
President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday Sept. 29, 2026, during a meeting with top executives of AI firms. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
FILE - New York Knicks guard Landry Shamet (44) brings the ball up the court against San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series, June 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)
PUERTO SAN CARLOS, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Polo pummeled the Mexican state of Baja California Sur with powerful winds and rain as it made landfall Tuesday, leaving coastal areas flooded and streets littered with fallen trees.
The Category 2 hurricane struck land just south of Las Barrancas, Mexico, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Cabo San Lazaro with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph).
About 700 people remained in shelters Tuesday. But they were expected to return to their homes, and no serious damage or deaths were immediately reported, according to authorities.
After the hurricane passed over the small fishing town of Puerto San Carlos on the Baja California peninsula, residents waded among downed trees through ankle-high water that flooded some homes. Seeing their roughened community largely intact brought relief to those who had prepared for the worst.
Shopkeeper Elbia María Bachomo, 40, picked through furniture strewn through her home. She and her three children had gathered their clothes quickly and left for a shelter Monday as water began flooding into their home.
Her husband was out on the water fishing for sardines when Polo hit. Bachomo said he was fortunate to escape alive.
“I thought, ‘Oh no, what are we going to come back to? We will be left with nothing.’ But we were lucky,” she said.
Polo was expected to produce 6 to 12 inches (about 15 to 30 centimeters) of rain across parts of Baja California Sur. By late Tuesday morning, a weakened Polo made a second landfall and moved inland in the Mexican state of Sonora after crossing the Gulf of California.
Forecasters predicted Polo would hit the Mexican mainland with life-threatening winds and flash floods. Sonora officials suspended all “nonessential” activities, including school, sports and nonessential work in the state capital and more than a dozen municipalities.
Meanwhile, the hurricane center reported Tropical Storm Rachel was moving parallel to Mexico's coast early Tuesday. The storm was about 265 miles (425 kilometers) southwest of Lazaro Cardenos with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (105 kph). It was moving west-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph).
Bands of rain continued to sweep across the U.S. Southwest on Tuesday, causing desert rivers to surge and usually dry arroyos to rage with floodwater. Nearly all of the region was under flood watches as the complex system of tropical weather — with Polo the main event — spread northeast from Mexico.
Forecasters warned north-central New Mexico including Albuquerque and Santa Fe could feel the brunt, with as much as 3 to 4 inches (about 8 to 10 centimeters) of rain through Wednesday and possibly more.
“Definitely looking at the chances for urban flooding,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Carter Greulich in Albuquerque. “Don’t drive through flooded roadways. Remain out of the arroyos, especially in our urban areas.”
The system made a brisk pass through Phoenix early Tuesday, dumping up to 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain before tapering. North of the city, a truck was swept away in a wash in the New River area. The driver got out safely, Maricopa County sheriff’s officials said.
The rocky, desert area typically gets less than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain annually with little vegetation to soak it up, making flash flooding a perpetual risk.
Near Zion National Park in Utah, the East Fork of the Virgin River raged with chocolate floodwater seen carrying a shipping container downstream.
In the small town of Orderville, Utah, where flooding began Monday night, Sabrina Dubay was driving home when her partner called and told her to stay away.
“The river came in and swept around the entirety of our house,” Dubay said, adding that her partner told her, “We’re about to lose everything.”
A camper, snowmobile trailer, and other items from Dubay’s yard were swept away by the river. Neighbors and friends arrived to dig a trench around the house as the water rose around their home.
“It was coming in through our front doors,” she said.
Flooding also was reported in southern New Mexico. An unusually soggy September across the region set the stage: When the ground is saturated, rainfall has nowhere to go but run off.
“Runoff is likely going to start much quicker and lead to those flooding impacts quicker,” Greulich said.
Forecasters said the flood risk would move into parts of the central U.S. beginning late Tuesday and into Wednesday. Starting late Wednesday, widespread heavy rain was expected to hit the Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio areas. Life-threatening flash flooding was possible, with low-lying areas especially vulnerable.
Parts of west Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa were under flood watch through Thursday, with some areas expecting up to 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain.
In the central Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Nolo remained a dangerous Category 3 hurricane on Tuesday as it edged away from Hawaii after drenching parts of the Big Island over the weekend.
Pacific storm activity has been above average during what is already the peak of hurricane season. That pattern is consistent with El Niño years, when the Pacific often sees more tropical storms and hurricanes.
Nolo was about 270 miles (435 kilometers) south-southeast of French Frigate Shoals with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph) moving north, at 9 mph (15 kph).
The hurricane was approaching Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a marine conservation area, according to the hurricane center.
Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Eduardo Verdugo in Puerto San Carlos, Mexico, Julie Walker in New York, Mead Gruver in Fort Collins, Colorado, Mikella Schuettler in Phoenix, Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Eugene Garcia and Gregory Bull in Hilo, Hawaii, contributed to this report.
Workers pull a boat to shore as Hurricane Polo approaches Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
People evacuate their homes as Hurricane Polo approaches Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Residents are evacuated by the Army as Hurricane Polo approaches Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
People evacuate their homes as Hurricane Polo approaches Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Workers pull a boat to shore as Hurricane Polo approaches Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
