In one of his last acts as President of the United States – at least in a sporting sense – Joe Biden welcomed the 2024 NBA champion Boston Celtics to the White House to celebrate their achievements.
The Celtics gathered in Washington, D.C. for an annual traditional celebration of the league champion’s achievements.
Members of the championship-winning team gathered behind Biden outside the White House as the outgoing president congratulated them on the title. The Celtics also gave Biden a jersey of theirs with his name and the number 46 on the back.
However, the 82-year-old was met with a mixture of awkward chuckling and stunned silence when he tried to make a bizarre joke on stage.
He appeared to mockingly confuse the Celtics with a fictional franchise from Baltimore — the Maryland city does not have an NBA team — before clarifying Boston’s name.
“I don’t know any of these guys behind me, but they just showed up,” he began. ‘I don’t know where they came from.
Joe Biden welcomed the 2024 NBA champion Boston Celtics to the White House on Thursday
Biden poses with Boston Celtics Governor Wyc Grousbeck and the Larry O’Brien Trophy
He then seemed to stumble over his words as he joked, “The 2024 NBA Champions: the Bals-…you’re the Celtics, right?”
The champion players gathered behind him looked extremely uncomfortable, as a bunch were seemingly unable to distinguish the outgoing president’s joke from yet another blunder.
A few hoop stars nodded in agreement, while a handful chuckled anxiously.
Biden then quoted legendary NBA head coach Arnold “Red” Auerbach, who led the Celtics to nine NBA championships from 1950 to 1966.
“As Red Auerbach always said, the Celtics are not just a basketball team, they are a way of life,” the 46th president said.
Those in attendance at the White House included the players and coaching staff who won the title. Even Oshae Brissett, a member of the title-winning team and currently an unsigned free agent, was able to join his former teammates in the celebration.
Conversely, Baylor Scheierman – a rookie who was drafted after the Celtics won the title – was in the White House but was not honored with the team.
Boston won an NBA-record 18th championship this summer when the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in five games.
During the ceremony, Biden appeared to stumble over his words, mockingly confusing the Celtics
After finishing the regular season as the best team in the league, the Celtics found their way to the finals with ease.
They defeated the Miami Heat and then the Cleveland Cavaliers, defeating both teams in five games. They then defeated the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals to make their second NBA Finals appearance in three years.
The Celtics defeated the Mavericks by 18 points in Game 1 of the Finals, and then by seven points in Game 2 before the series went to Dallas.
Boston also won Game 3 by seven points, leading many to believe that a clean sweep might be in order again.
But thanks to an inspired performance by Dallas in Game 4, Luka Doncic led the Mavericks to a 38-point victory – the third-biggest win in NBA Finals history.
But when the series returned to Boston for Game 5, the Celtics were able to recover. Sixteen years after winning their last NBA title in 2008, the Celtics defeated Dallas by 18 points to win banner 18.