Forbes Valuation
Dolan, an heir to Cablevision founder Charles Dolan, has served as the executive chair of Madison Square Garden Sports, the holding company that owns the Knicks and the New York Rangers, since 1999. The Dolan family fortune, divided between James and five siblings’s families, Forbes estimates to be about $7 billion, and Forbes estimates the Knicks are worth about $9.75 billion, making them the third-most valuable team in the league.
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Surprising Fact
Dolan took over the business in 1999—the last year the Knicks made the NBA finals until their recent victory last week. His tenure as owner has been rocky, earning him the ire of Knicks fans for years. Chants of “sell the team” were once common—which Dolan responded to by allegedly targeting angry fans with Madison Square Garden’s controversial surveillance apparatus, Wired reported earlier this year.
Dolan’s Feud With Mamdani
Dolan previously invited the president to watch the team in the finals, and Trump attended Game Three in New York, which prompted the city to shut down foot traffic around the venue and cancel an outdoor watch party. When the city extended those restrictions around the Garden for game four, both Dolan and Mamdani blamed one another for the cancelled watch party—with Dolan taking to New York area sports radio network WFAN and issuing a press release calling the mayor and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch the city’s “biggest party poopers.”
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The First NBA Team to Visit Trump’s White House?
Few details have been announced, but Dolan confirmed the team received an invitation to visit Trump and the White House. “He is a friend, I’ve known him for 30 years, and I’m very proud to bring the team to the White House,” Dolan told WFAN on Wednesday. This would be the first NBA championship team to visit the White House while Trump is in office. Trump has frequently been at odds with the NBA during his two terms in office, with big stars like Stephen Curry and LeBron James refusing invites during his first term in office. After attending Game Three, Trump praised the league as “great entertainment,” despite calling it “a little left wing.” Dolan himself has also recently spent time at Trump’s White House. The Knicks owner was recently seen attending UFC Freedom 250, the mixed martial arts competition staged on the White House lawn on Sunday—on Trump’s 80th birthday, and the day after the Knicks won the championship.
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Further Reading
ForbesJames Dolan’s Knicks Just Won The NBA Title. Here’s How He Made His Fortune.By Hank Tucker