{"id":18130,"date":"2024-11-22T05:12:06","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T05:12:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=18130"},"modified":"2024-11-22T05:12:06","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T05:12:06","slug":"president-biden-welcomes-2024-nba-champion-boston-celtics-to-white-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=18130","title":{"rendered":"President Biden welcomes 2024 NBA champion Boston Celtics to White House"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WASHINGTON \u2014 (AP) \u2014 The White House was tinted green on Thursday, when President Joe Biden \u2014 Secret Service code name: Celtic \u2014 welcomed \u201cCoach Joe\u201d Mazzulla and the Boston Celtics to the South Lawn to celebrate the franchise\u2019s unprecedented 18th NBA championship.<\/p>\n

In a tradition believed to have begun when Bill Russell\u2019s 1963 Celtics met with President John F. Kennedy, Biden welcomed the NBA\u2019s 2024 champions and gave them a tour of the Oval Office. In all, the league\u2019s most-decorated franchise has won at least one title in eight of the last 13 presidential administrations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Celtics aren\u2019t just a basketball team. They\u2019re a way of life,\u201d Biden told the crowd, quoting Celtics patriarch Red Auerbach before receiving a No. 46 jersey from All-Star Jayson Tatum and guard Derrick White.<\/p>\n

Biden noted that his Secret Service code name is \u201cCeltic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor real. Because I’m Irish,\u201d the president said. \u201cEverybody behind me is Irish in their heart. I feel a special pride in this trophy. From this old Irish Celtic, to all you Celtics, congratulations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biden, who was once one of the youngest senators in U.S. history and is now the country\u2019s oldest president ever, said he felt a kinship with Mazzulla, who was 35 when he led the Celtics to the title in his second season.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe\u2019s the youngest head coach to win a title since the great Bill Russell,\u201d Biden said. \u201cI told him I used to be the youngest and now I\u2019m the oldest. I liked being the youngest better.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Celtics were greeted with a band playing \u201cShipping up to Boston,\u201d before Biden and team owner Wyc Grousbeck joined them on the risers facing the Washington Monument; green lights shined from from the eaves of the White House behind them. Among those in attendance were Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and most of the state\u2019s congressional delegation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t really know what to expect. I walked in, I was like ‘I\u2019m more excited than I thought I was going be,\u201d White told reporters afterward. \u201cTo be in the White House, to be where all the decisions \u2014 all the cool things \u2014 are happening, that was the best part.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca said Biden’s 4-year-old grandson, Beau Jr., tried on his championship ring. (Oshae Brissett, a member of the 2024 team who is not with the Celtics this year, was at the ceremony and received his championship ring on Thursday.)<\/p>\n

Biden also received a commemorative basketball, which he tossed to Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, who was sitting in the front row, and then to Celtics center Al Horford.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting a pump fake,\u201d White told reporters. \u201cIt\u2019s harder to make a pass in a suit, so I was impressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biden was well-briefed on the Celtics history and their success last year, when they cruised to 64 wins in the regular season \u2013 their most since winning the 2008 title, and the fourth-best in franchise history. They went 16-3 in the playoffs, eliminating the Dallas Mavericks<\/a> in five games.<\/p>\n

Biden even noted that the \u201924 Celtics had the highest ratio of points per possession in NBA history \u2013 one of the wonkier stats, but one that had team vice president and stats guru Mike Zarren beaming.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe basketball stats community has come a long way: the President of the United States is talking about points per possession!\u201d Zarren posted on X after speaking to reporters at the ceremony.<\/p>\n

Members of the Celtics organization went back into the White House after the festivities to meet with administration officials on pet issues, including \u201cRaise the Age,\u201d which seeks to have 18- to 20-year-olds treated as juveniles in the criminal justice system, and \u201cCurbside Care,\u201d which provides medical aid to new mothers in underserved communities.<\/p>\n

“This was a very exciting and moving day,” Grousbeck told reporters in a video call afterwards. “We had not been focused on this. We got through the banner and opening night<\/a>, and then it was all business. Joe (Mazzulla) doesn’t want us to dwell too much on the past, he wants everyone to focus on moving forward. Having said that, everyone here, including Joe, seemed to have a great time.”<\/p>\n

Zarren said he spoke to a Secret Service agent who was a Celtics fan and had to bear with the Golden State Warriors\u2019 visit two years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told them it was a bittersweet moment because he wished his Celtics were here. And they said to him, \u2018Don\u2019t worry, they\u2019ll be here soon,\u2019\u201d Zarren said. \u201cSo for him, it was a good moment to see us show up inside there.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/nba<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n