President Biden welcomed the 2024 NBA champion Boston Celtics at the White House on Thursday, but either he wasn’t completely sure or he was making a joke.

Announcing the team’s last championship, Biden turned around to the team to make sure they were called the Celtics.

“You’re the Celtics, right?” Biden asked the players for a moment in his speech. The comment was met with light, but guarded, laughter from some members of the crowd.

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Biden also joked that he didn’t know where the players were from.

“They just came in. I don’t know where they came from,” Biden said.

Later in the speech, Biden appeared to reveal his Secret Service code name. Celtic has been Biden’s code name throughout his presidency and even since his vice presidency under Obama, according to Britannica.

“You all may not know this, but my name in the Secret Service is Celtic. For real, because I’m Irish,” Biden said. “Everyone behind me is Irish at heart. I feel a special pride in this trophy awarded to this old Irish Celtic. To all you Celtics, congratulations.”

President Joe Biden, center, flanked by Boston Celtics players Jayson Tatum, left, and Derrick White, holds up a jersey they presented to him at an event to celebrate the team’s 2024 NBA championship victory , on the South Lawn of the White House. in Washington, DC, on Thursday. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Biden concluded his speech by pointing out that John F. Kennedy was the first president to host an NBA champion when the Celtics visited in 1963.

“It’s part of this wonderful tradition, celebrating the power of sport to bring people together. It’s a tradition I’ve been honored to carry on. No matter the sport. What these champions all have in common, these are core values. …Hard work, teamwork, respect and the knowledge that none of us are ever as good as we all can be when we are together.

After Biden’s speech, he received a personalized Celtics jersey and took a basketball with him as he walked down the stairs. He dribbled the ball and even made a few passes to spectators in the crowd.

Trump will preside over historic sporting events – which teams and stars might skip visits to the White House?

President Joe Biden tosses a basketball he received from the Boston Celtics Thursday during an event to celebrate the team’s 2024 NBA championship victory, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C. . (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

The Celtics 2023-24 team, coaching staff and ownership group were on hand on the South Lawn for Thursday’s event.

The 2023 champion Denver Nuggets did not attend Biden’s visit to the White House, apparently due to “scheduling issues,” the team previously told the Denver Post.

Before Thursday, the last NBA champion to visit the Biden White House was the 2021-2022 Golden State Warriors. These Warriors visited in late January 2023. The Celtics’ visit to the White House was scheduled for November. By the end of January next year, Trump will be in power.

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Not a single NBA champion attended the Trump White House when he was in office. However, the only two teams to win the title under Trump before the COVID-19 pandemic were the Golden State Warriors, whom Trump did not invite, and the Canada-based Toronto Raptors.

Trump infamously refused to invite several major championship women’s basketball teams to the White House during his first tenure, including every WNBA champion.

Coach Kim Mulkey and the Baylor NCAA championship women’s basketball team present a jersey to President Trump during a visit to the Oval Office of the White House April 29, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The only time the Trump White House hosted a women’s basketball team was the 2019 national champion Baylor Bears led by former head coach Kim Mulkey.

The only two NFL teams to receive White House invitations from Trump during his first term were the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Patriots accepted both invitations in 2017 and 2019. The Eagles’ visit was canceled and the team released a statement saying it was related to Trump’s stance regarding players standing for the national anthem.

During Trump’s first term, and even during his recent campaign, college football was the sport that appealed most to Trump in the United States. His appearances at games, including several Army-Navy games during his first term and a Georgia-Alabama game in September, were met with loud applause.

No national college football champion missed a visit to the White House during Trump’s first term. Georgia skipped a 2023 White House visit by President Biden.

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