The Milwaukee Bucks had a busy day with their visit to President Joe Biden. The NBA champion team visited the White House and met with students of various grades, including grade schoolers who asked questions about basketball on different levels.
The “bucks nba” is a blog post written by Joe Biden, the 44th President of the United States. The post discusses his welcome to the Milwaukee Bucks, who won an NBA championship in April of this year.
5:32 p.m. Eastern
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ESPN’s Tim Bontemps
WASHINGTON, DC – When the Milwaukee Bucks were recognized after winning the NBA championship in 2021, they were the first NBA team to visit the White House in over five years, and they expressed excitement to resume what had previously been an annual ritual.
“You grow up watching games, playoffs, and championships, and it’s just always a part of the post-season celebration to see teams travel to the White House,” Bucks center Brook Lopez said. “Being a part of that legacy is both thrilling and humbling. It’s fantastic.”
Since the Cleveland Cavaliers were honored at the White House five years ago this Wednesday, the tradition has been put on pause. Previous President Donald Trump was elected soon after the visit, while former President Barack Obama was still in office.
NBA teams did not go to Washington during Trump’s presidency, as he sparred with players over his views.
Unlike Obama, who is a basketball fanatic, Biden is a die-hard supporter of his native state of Delaware. As a result, he spent a significant chunk of his Monday speech talking about Bucks player Donte DiVincenzo, a Delaware native.
Biden smiled as he remarked, “He won two state championships there.” “As a result, he’s accustomed to it.”
During their post-ceremony press conference, DiVincenzo was amicably — but mercilessly — teased about the attention he received from teammates Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez, and he described the experience as humbling.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance,” remarked DiVincenzo. “It was humbling to have someone from Delaware in the White House, and it was even more humbling to be here with the team, win a championship, and be here to celebrate it.”
“However, being picked out and discussed like way was a really humbling experience.”
In the aftermath of the police killing of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Biden applauded the Bucks for going on a wildcat strike and refusing to play in Game 5 of their first-round series against the Orlando Magic last year, emphasizing the racial injustices they encountered in Black neighborhoods.
“In the aftermath of the Jacob Blake shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, you took a position for justice and peace, and you’ve gotten people interested,” Biden remarked.
He also gave Giannis Antetokounmpo, the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, credit for his extraordinary journey from Athens, Greece, to the peak of his sport.
“You’re just getting started at 26 years old,” Biden stated. “What makes it even more meaningful is that you won the championship alongside your brother, who is also here today. You’ll be joining another brother who already has a ring. What a dysfunctional family. Sons fulfilling the dream of an immigrant family seeking fresh opportunities in Nigeria and later Greece. They always dreamt in times of adversity. Before they made it to the NBA, the five brothers had to share the same basketball sneakers.”
Following Biden’s words, Bucks owner Marc Lasry said that he and his team are eager to return for the next few years to celebrate.
“Why don’t we come back for the next four years?” “What the heck, why don’t we come back for the next four years?” According to Lasry. “Let’s do it for eight years,” says the narrator.
Antetokounmpo, who had previously said that he had written a message, then grabbed the microphone and expressed his gratitude for being invited to the White House.
“I am thankful for this chance on behalf of my teammates, the coaching staff, and the Bucks organization,” Antetokounmpo stated. “You know, a boy from Sepolia, Greece, was raised by two Nigerian parents. They were trying every day to provide for us, despite the fact that we were illegally present in the nation. They were not able to return home at the moment.
“Being able to meet the president of the United States at the White House is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. I could not be more thrilled and delighted that anything like this could ever — ever — occur in my life.”
He subsequently stated that watching Biden talk about his path to this point, particularly how he used to share shoes with his siblings as a youngster, made him upset.
Antetokounmpo said, “I got a bit emotional.” “Because this doesn’t go back eight years, I know how much [my family] sacrificed. This has been a part of my life since I was a child.”
The Bucks made the most of their trip by doing more than just celebrating. Susan Rice, the head of the US Domestic Policy Council, met with many participants to discuss criminal justice reform, police reform, and voting rights. Holiday was one of them, and he told ESPN it was a “wonderful talk.”
“It was a fantastic talk,” Holiday added. “She basically informed us about their activities and expressed an interest in hearing from us.”
“One of the most important things for us is to be heard. So we got to ask some questions, see what we can do to move things ahead, and what we want to accomplish in the future, and it was a very interesting discussion.”
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