President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday morning that "we're not going to invite either team," referring to the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, for a visit to the White House.
On Tuesday, LeBron James said neither his Cavaliers nor the Warriors would accept a visit as a winner of the NBA Finals.
"I know no matter who wins this series, no one wants an invite anyway. It won't be Cleveland or Golden State going," James said.
Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant said they agreed with James.
In remarks prior to Game 4 on Friday night, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, "Man, it's Game 4 of the Finals. We're going to focus on the game tonight. So, thank you for asking."
When asked by ESPN's Stephen A. Smith about Trump's statement before Friday's game, NBA commissioner David Silver said his "first reaction is one of sadness."
"Championship teams, not just in our sport, but in other sports aren't getting to celebrate in that way, something that has historically been apolitical in Washington, but I have to put it in the greater context of where we find our country," Silver said. "I would say though ultimately it saddens me because historically we've been able to use the NBA and all of sports to bring people together."
The president made his remarks before departing for the G7 summit in Canada.
Trump also addressed NFL players and the national anthem. "You shouldn't go in a locker room when our national anthem is playing," he said.
Trump said he would consider pardon applications submitted by players who have participated in protests during the anthem.
"I'm going to ask them to recommend to me people that were unfairly treated -- friends of theirs or people that they know about -- and I'm going to take a look at those applications," he said. "And if I find, and my committee finds, that they're unfairly treated, then we will pardon them or at least let them out."