President Barack Obama holds up a Lakers jersey presented to him by team captains Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant Monday during White House ceremonies commemorating the Lakers' NBA championship last year.
WASHINGTON — The Los Angeles Lakers were honored at the White House Monday for winning last year’s NBA championship, with President Barack Obama saying the team “never lost its focus last season, from its first tip-off to the final buzzer.”
Nobody exemplifies excellence in basketball better than the Los Angeles Lakers last year,” Obama said during the ceremony in the Palm Room.
Obama, a former Illinois senator, said he was particularly excited to meet head coach Phil Jackson, who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles.
“I was hoping, coach, that you were going to bring books for Republicans and Democrats in Congress maybe to get them to start playing like a team together,” the president said. “Coach is famous for passing out books and helping people get the job done.”
He congratulated Kobe Bryant, whom Obama called “one of the most competitive players I’ve ever seen.”
“He’s playing with a broken finger,'' Obama said. “If I had a broken finger I would have trouble getting out of bed, and he’s still leading the team day in and day out.
Obama also gave special praise to Lakers Hall-of-Famer Magic Johnson.
“Part of what makes Magic special wasn’t just how he played on the court but also just the infectious enthusiasm about life and what he’s now doing with businesses in minority communities,” Obama said. “He’s just been an outstanding leader in our country for a long time.”
The Lakers’ visit came one day before the team faces the Washington Wizards in the fourth game of an eight-game, 12-day road trip.
The visit was the Lakers’ first at the White House since January 2002, their only visit during their three-peat tenure.
Obama called Jackson in June to congratulate him on winning his record-setting 10th championship as a head coach. They also discussed the keys to the Lakers’ success and Obama’s interest in the Lakers’ triangle offense, according to the White House.
Jackson donated $2,300 to Obama’s primary campaign in 2007, the maximum amount allowable under federal law, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Obama had predicted that the Lakers would defeat the Orlando Magic in six games in last season’s best-of-seven NBA finals, one more game than they actually needed.
Obama played on Hawaii’s high school state championship team in 1979 and still plays basketball with cabinet members, other government officials and friends.
Johnson told KCAL9 that he liked Obama because “he’s real and he’s in tune with what’s going on, not just here but around the world.”
“It makes him a president that you can love to have a Coke and a smile with, you know what I’m saying?” Johnson told the station. “He’s not a president that you’re not familiar with. You feel like you know him already.”
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