    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [September 7, 1999]
    [Pages 1500-1501]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs
    September 7, 1999

        Thank you very much. Please be seated, everyone.
        Welcome to the White House. I want to say a special word of welcome
    to Peter Holt, to Gregg Popovich, obviously, to the San Antonio Spurs. We're also joined
    today by four Members of the House of Representatives from the great
    State of Texas: Congressmen Gonzalez,
    Rodriguez, Bonilla, and Edwards. And we thank them
    for being here.
        I want to acknowledge the team captains, Avery Johnson and David Robinson, who is
    the only graduate of the Naval Academy playing in the NBA. That's
    important, because I have to stick up for the service academies here.
    It's part of my job, you know. [Laughter] I'd also like to offer a
    special word of welcome to Sean Elliott. He's
    had a tough few months; we're glad to see him here. Thank you very much.
    Thank you.
        Everybody who works around here at the White House and who knows me
    knows that I am a basketball fanatic. You know, I live for the NCAA
    finals and the NBA finals, and I follow basketball very closely. And
    I've been fortunate enough to be good friends with two or three
    reasonably successful basketball coaches, who have taught me a little
    about the game.

    [[Page 1501]]

        And it's really--it's a lot like politics. You get ahead, and then
    you get behind. [Laughter] Then you try to get ahead again. And
    normally, you don't know whether you're going to win until right before
    the end of the game.
        And I like this team. They started 6 and 8, and finished 46 and 7.
    And when we were watching the NBA, the semifinals and the finals--and I
    always have people come over and watch the games with us--and one night
    Hillary and I were watching with a bunch of our friends, one of whom was
    from one of the other towns you were playing, Coach. [Laughter] And he kept cheering and cheering and
    cheering. And finally, Hillary looked
    at him and said, ``Now, tell the truth. Don't you think the Spurs are
    the best team in basketball this year?'' And he said, ``Well, of
    course.'' [Laughter]
        And I don't think there's much more you can say. This is a team with
    enormous talent, enormous dedication, a steel will, and a great heart.
    And they won because they deserved to win. And I think all of us who
    love this sport, not just people from San Antonio or from Texas, were
    elated by their success, because they deserved it, and they earned it.
    And I'm glad to welcome them all to the White House today.
        Thank you very much.

    [At this point, Peter Holt, chairman, Gregg
    Popovich, coach and general manager, and team
    member Avery Johnson made brief remarks.]

        You know, there's a thousand things I'd like to say. [Laughter] I
    identify with a lot of people on the scene. You know, when the
    commentators kept saying, every time Avery was
    not guarded, he scored--did you notice that? And they kept referring to
    one person who made the mistake of saying he really didn't belong in the
    NBA and could never lead a team to a championship. You know, when I was
    Governor of Arkansas, that's what they said about me when I was running
    for President. I identify with that. [Laughter]
        And then every time things were slightly in doubt, the television
    camera would do this close-up on Tim Duncan's
    eyes--[laughter]--and I knew they were going to win. I'm trying to
    develop that killer look. [Laughter] We're about to enter all these
    tough budget negotiations, and I'm trying to visualize what Duncan
    looked like when it got really close, you know. [Laughter] But if any of
    you guys want to stay around and help me through the next month, you're
    welcome to do it. [Laughter] Government scale's a little low for you,
    but it's rewarding work; it's rewarding work. [Laughter]
        Let me just say one thing, seriously. I don't want to talk about the
    contents of it. But one of the most interesting telephone conversations
    I ever had in my life--with someone I had never met, especially--was
    with Coach Popovich, when I called to
    congratulate him. And I realized that he was a man with a keen
    understanding of human nature and the human spirit and what it really
    takes to make good things happen. And I want to thank you publicly for
    that conversation and for your remembering what we talked about as we
    walked in today. I'd say you've got a good chance to repeat.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 6:08 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to team members Sean Elliott and Tim
    Duncan.