WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House was tinted green on Thursday, when President Joe Biden — Secret Service code name: Celtic — welcomed “Coach Joe” Mazzulla and the Boston Celtics to the South Lawn to celebrate the franchise’s unprecedented 18th NBA championship.
In a tradition believed to have begun when Bill Russell’s 1963 Celtics met with President John F. Kennedy, Biden welcomed the NBA’s 2024 champions and gave them a tour of the Oval Office. In all, the league’s most-decorated franchise has won at least one title in eight of the last 13 presidential administrations.
“The Celtics aren’t just a basketball team. They’re a way of life,” Biden told the crowd, quoting Celtics patriarch Red Auerbach before receiving a No. 46 jersey from All-Star Jayson Tatum and guard Derrick White.
In a tradition believed to have begun when Bill Russell’s 1963 Celtics met with President John F. Kennedy, Biden welcomed the NBA’s 2024 champions and gave them a tour of the Oval Office. In all, the league’s most-decorated franchise has won at least one title in eight of the last 13 presidential administrations.
“The Celtics aren’t just a basketball team. They’re a way of life,” Biden told the crowd, quoting Celtics patriarch Red Auerbach before receiving a No. 46 jersey from All-Star Jayson Tatum and guard Derrick White.
President Biden welcomes 2024 NBA champion Boston Celtics to White House
President Joe Biden welcomed “Coach Joe” Mazzulla and the Boston Celtics to the White House to celebrate the franchise’s unprecedented 18th NBA championship.
apnews.com