Selfies, tours and Oval Office: Inside Celtics' White House visit

WASHINGTON — While there were plenty of first-timers Thursday as part of the Celtics’ contingent at the White House, there were also some members who visited in 2008 as part of the 17th championship squad in franchise history. That includes vice president of basketball operations Mike Zarren, a longtime fixture with the team.

In comparing the two visits, there were some different parts between 2008 and 2024 — namely, the sheer amount of people. The festivities took place outside Thursday at the South Lawn since so many people wanted to be part of celebrating the Celtics. In present day, there was also a nod to the journey it took to get to Banner No. 18. Zarren said he chatted up a Secret Service agent from Massachusetts who was also at the Warriors’ White House visit in 2022.

“(The agent) told them it was a bittersweet moment because he wished his Celtics were here,” Zarren said. “They said, ‘Don’t worry, they’ll be here soon.’ So for him, it was a good moment for him to see us inside there.”

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The Celtics’ visit Thursday to the White House were filled with little moments like that as they took in the art, scenery and whatever else. Former Celtics forward Oshae Brissett was also part of the crew as he got to reconnect with his teammates. President Joe Biden addressed the crowd at the South Lawn before giving way to Celtics governor Wyc Grousbeck. Afterwards, the team gave Biden a No. 46 green Celtics jersey.

Grousbeck said he chatted with Biden, who was “very warm and very engaging.” He added that he got to take a selfie with Biden alongside his wife, Emilia Fazzalari, and C’s coach Joe Mazzulla. But perhaps the best part of the tour was reserved for after the outdoor speech away from the public eye.

“We went inside and got a tour of the Oval Office,” Grousbeck said. “We hadn’t been there in 2008, it was very interesting to see it. So we all went in there and experienced the Oval Office and then we walked out to the busses.”

Derrick White admitted he wasn’t sure how he’d feel being at the White House. But once he was there in the moment, he was more excited than he anticipated. White and Jayson Tatum were the two Celtics who presented Biden with the green Celtics jersey after speaking on the South Lawn.

The Celtics will now turn the page on their 2024 championship. Mazzulla has stressed he doesn’t want his team talking about going back-to-back, instead focusing all their efforts on this season. But days like Thursday are a reminder of what the Celtics accomplished last year as they got to take in the entire experience.

“One of the Secret Service was giving (Jaylen Brown) a history lesson and I kind of walked over there and kind of listened to the stories,” White said. “Just all the different pictures and why they’re up there and how they got there. Just hearing different stories like that, that was really cool. The apple cider was unbelievable. President Biden came out there and it was cool to see him. I had never seen a president in person, so that was meaningful.”