[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
[February 27, 2007]
[Pages 202-204]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Honoring the 2006 National Basketball Association Champion Miami 
Heat
February 27, 2007

    Thank you all. Please be seated. It is such a joy to welcome the NBA 
champs, the Miami Heat, to the White House. Glad you all are here. This 
is the Miami Heat's first NBA championship. I congratulate you on a 
tremendous achievement, even though you beat a Texas team. [Laughter]
    I can assure you, however, then-Governor Bush, 
the Governor of Florida, was thrilled, as were a lot of Florida fans. 
We've got a lot of members of the congressional delegation in the room. 
We got you a Senator here. We 
got Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen, Alcee 
Hastings, Robert Wexler, Ander Crenshaw, Jeff 
Miller, Kendrick Meek, Ron Klein, and Tim Mahoney. Thank you all for coming.
    Most importantly, we got members of the Miami Heat family with us 
today. I'm really proud of Micky Arison and 
Madeleine, who is with us, as well as 
Nick. As you know, I used to be in pro 
sports. I never had the pleasure of winning anything. [Laughter] Must be 
pretty cool. [Laughter]
    I welcome Pat Riley, the president and head 
coach of the Heat. I welcome Randy Pfund, the 
general manager. I want to thank all the folks who make the organization 
run: the equipment people, the people that figure out how to get you to 
the plane on time, the folks who never really get much credit for making 
a franchise become a championship franchise. And we welcome you all 
here.
    I want to say something to the spouses of the players: Welcome. 
You've got a tough life, in many ways, with your spouse on the road all 
the time, and you deserve as much of this championship as they do. And 
so we welcome you here to the White House as well.
    All the fans who are here: Thanks for coming. These players did 
something that they weren't supposed to do. Remember, they went into the 
Eastern Conference championship as the underdog. Nobody thought they 
could win. And then they get against the Mavericks, and they're 2 down 
and 13 points behind with minutes remaining--7 minutes remaining in the 
third game. In other words, they lose that game; it's over. They weren't 
supposed to win. And they did something no team has done in nearly 30 
years, which is win four straight and become the NBA champs. And your 
fans are really proud of you.
    This is a team with some of the NBA's bright stars. Dwyane 
Wade led the team in scoring--most valuable 
player in the finals. He was on the--sportsman of the year for Sports 
Illustrated. All it said was,

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Dwyane Wade plays to win. Unfortunately, he hurt his shoulder. I know a 
lot of NBA fans, whether they like the Heat or not, are pulling for 
Dwyane to get back into action. We wish you a speedy recovery.
    Or take Alonzo Mourning. A lot of folks 
here in DC remember Alonzo Mourning. I don't know if the people 
understand it, but Alonzo had a kidney illness that a lot of folks said: 
``Well, he'll never get back on the court again.'' He not only got back 
on the court; he blocked a lot of shots--[laughter]--which helped this 
team become the NBA champ.
    And then, of course, probably one the most well-known figures in the 
United States of America is a fellow that's hard to miss--[laughter]--a 
fellow Texan--[laughter]--big Shaq. He 
scored his 25,000th point in his career last night--or recently. And we 
congratulate you for that--last night, yes, last night. And--but he was 
an important figure in seeing to--seeing this team to the championship.
    But as Coach Riley gave me--he said: ``Just 
remember, the motto wasn't, `Each star matters'; the motto was, `15 
strong'.'' In other words, it was a team effort that got these men here 
to the White House. Yes, they had the stars; everybody knew who they--
who the stars are, but it was the capacity to play together, to put the 
team ahead of themselves, that enabled them to be here at the White 
House, saying, ``Congratulations, NBA champs.''
    And I appreciate very much--[applause]. So they asked Dwyane Wade--he was the fellow that was the Sports 
Illustrated man--he said, ``We did this together.'' In other words, he 
recognized, in spite of the fact that he had a fine series, that he 
couldn't have done it without his teammates.
    Pat Riley had a lot to do with this team 
playing as a team. A team requires a good, solid leader in convincing 
people to put the team ahead of themselves. And that's exactly what Pat 
Riley has done. I'd say he's accomplished. After all, he's won seven NBA 
rings; that's all. [Laughter] They asked him about this ring, and I 
think it's interesting what he said. He said, ``I would have traded them 
all for this one.'' He cares about this team. And obviously, the players 
responded to his leadership.
    But what impresses me the most about the Miami Heat is their work in 
the community. That's what impresses me about them. I mean, I'm in awe 
of their athletic skills. Standing next to Shaq is an awe-inspiring experience. [Laughter] But I 
want to share some of the stories of these players and what they have 
done in their communities.
    Alonzo Mourning dedicated his entire 
salary from the Heat to charities that help low-income kidney patients 
and underprivileged youth. It wasn't 10 percent--[applause]. I would 
suggest not popping up on every story--[laughter]--because you're going 
to be tired. [Laughter] This is a giving team. [Laughter]
    Antoine Walker founded the Eight 
Foundation to provide education and sports opportunities for inner-city 
kids in his hometown of Chicago. He came from Chicago; he's putting 
something back in the community from whence he came.
    Dwyane Wade has given a lot of his salary to 
his church. He donates basketball shoes to a youth sports program at his 
alma mater, which happens to be Marquette University. He founded Wade's 
World Foundation, which gives children educational and social 
opportunities, such as the chance to spend the day at Disney World.
    And then, of course, you've got the big man, Shaq. He works as a reserve police officer with the Miami 
Beach Police Department. He gives new meaning to the phrase ``the long 
arm of the law.'' [Laughter]
    Heat players volunteer their time in all kinds of causes, ranging 
from reading to drug prevention to youth basketball. This is a 
championship team on the court, and this is a championship team off the 
court,

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and it is my high honor to welcome to the White House as the NBA champs.

Note: The President spoke at 3:52 p.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida; 
and Micky Arison, owner, Nicholas Arison, limited partner, and Shaquille 
O'Neal, center, Miami Heat.