    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
    [September 19, 2008]
    [Pages 1214-1217]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Honoring the 2008 National Basketball Association Champion
    Boston Celtics
    September 19, 2008

        The President. Welcome to the White House. Please be seated. So
    Celtic Pride is back. So a friend of mine, who is a huge Celtics fan,
    said, ``Why don't you call it the `Boston Three Party'? '' I said,
    ``Because it took a team to win.'' And I welcome the Boston Celtics team
    that has brought great pride to the Boston area. You know, I was telling
    them, I went to school up there. And those were the days when the
    Celtics were awesome. And there was a little bit of a drouth, but sure
    enough that drouth ended with the NBA championship. And I welcome you
    all to the White House as NBA champs.

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        I do want to say congratulations to the owners. You might recall I
    was an owner of a baseball team, and never knew what this felt like.
    [Laughter] Wyc Grousbeck, Irv
    Grousbeck, and wives; Steve Pagliuca;
    Bob Epstein--these all say managing partner.
    You got a lot of managing partners. [Laughter] But that's good. I know
    you're proud, and I know you're thrilled to--being here. I congratulate
    the general manager, Danny Ainge; Rick
    Gotham, the team president who is with us;
    Doc Rivers--look, this guy can coach.
    And coaches--and coaches--I congratulate the--all those who work in the
    organization for joining us.
        Welcome to Members of Congress; glad you all are here. I welcome
    members of my administration who've come, members of the United States
    Armed Forces who are with us today, Boston Celtics fans who are with us
    today. I don't think we've had this many fans since Saint Patrick's Day,
    Senator. [Laughter] And finally, and most
    importantly, the players who brought the championship back to Boston.
    Welcome. Congratulations to you.
        It's amazing how sports works, isn't it? At the beginning of last
    season, few would have predicted how this season would have ended. After
    all, the Celtics had finished with the second-worst record in the NBA.
    And the two-decade championship drouth was pretty likely to continue, at
    least that's what the experts said. There's a lot of experts in life
    these days, if you hadn't noticed. [Laughter]
        Except the owners were
    determined to win. They said, ``We're going
    to bring a winner for our fans.'' These are fan-oriented owners who
    understand that a sports franchise is only good as its fan base. And
    then you hired a general manager who knew what
    it meant to be a champion. You didn't hire him; he had been there for a
    while. But he knew what it meant to be a champion. After all, he's on
    the 1986 championship team. And he knows there's something special that
    needs to be put together to make a team work, and that's Danny Ainge.
        And so during the off-season, he figured out
    the need to bring maybe some new blood, or some old new blood.
    [Laughter] Well, older new blood. And of course, you know, the famous
    trades were made for--the famous pickups were Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. And these guys
    are awesome players. But Danny Ainge would be the first to tell you--by
    the way, the NBA executive of the year would be the first to tell you,
    it takes an entire team to win a championship. You bet these two people
    were awesome additions to the team, but it required a bunch of people
    playing together for the common good to win.
        And that's what Doc Rivers did.
    See, this guy is--I've known him somewhat. He's a good man. He brought
    character to the clubhouse. He brought unity to the team. And he helped
    bring the championship back to Boston.
        The team got off to a fast start. They won the first 8 games, and
    they never looked back for 66 wins for the NBA's best record. And then
    you got in the playoffs, which didn't exactly go as smoothly as some
    people thought--[laughter]--but nevertheless, when it came time to
    defend your home court, this team figured out how to do it.
        And then, of course, the LA Lakers in the finals. For baby boomers
    like me, that is the--that was a reminder of a great basketball rivalry.
    So, like, Boston fans were screaming, ``Beat LA!'' at the top of their
    lungs, and that's exactly what this team did in six hard-fought games.
    If you're a basketball fan or a sports fan, it was really awesome to
    watch, wasn't it? If you're a Boston Red Sox fan it was doubly awesome
    to watch--[laughter]--Boston Celtics fan, man, you were in heaven.
    [Laughter]
        Despite his knee injury early in the series, this team's
    captain, Paul Pierce, played with courage. You
    know, leadership comes in all different kinds of ways. Playing hurt in a
    championship game is the ultimate sign

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    of leadership. And that's why he won the MVP honors for the NBA finals.
    And that's why the league calls him ``The Truth.'' This team calls him
    the captain.
        It is safe to say that everybody on this team contributed to the
    championship. You know, not enough focus has been put on, until the end,
    the depth of the bench on the Boston Celtics. They had a lot of players
    come off the bench to make a huge difference, and although they--three
    big names, three great NBA players were there, but the real strength was
    the depth of the roster, I think. And I think most of the basketball
    experts will tell you that's the case. So I congratulate all of you for
    contributing to something that was very important. We'll remember your
    stifling defense, we'll remember your sharp shooting and the way--we'll
    remember the way you played together as a unit, as a team.
        I appreciate very much the use of the word ubuntu. I don't know if
    you know what that's talking about here. Probably most people outside
    Boston don't. It is a African word for unity that they declared when
    they broke the huddle. I've been looking forward to saying that with a
    Texas accent. [Laughter] Ubuntu. Yes. Did I get it right?
        I'm proud of your character. I want to thank the Celtic organization
    for what you do off the court as well. I believe there is a huge
    responsibility not only to try to win on the court, but to be
    responsible citizens in the community in which you live. The Shamrock
    Foundation, for example, helps disadvantaged children during the season
    and after the season. I appreciate the fact that during the second
    quarter of every home game, the Celtics honor some caring citizen--
    someone who I said is a soldier in the army of compassion--with the
    ``Hero Among Us'' program. That's a really good idea, and I thank you
    for doing that. I want to congratulate you for worrying about children
    and literacy and using your special status in society to set a good
    example.
        Most of all, I congratulate you for being champs. I wish you all the
    very best for the next season. Should you win it, you can find me in
    Texas. [Laughter]
        Congratulations. Congratulations, and now it is my honor to bring to
    the podium ``The Truth,'' team captain Paul Pierce.
        Paul Pierce. Little nervous. [Laughter]
    Well, Mr. President----
        The President. Yes, sir.
        Mr. Pierce. ----we just want to say it's
    truly an honor to be here in your house today. And on behalf of the
    Celtics organization, we'd like to thank you. And from what I hear, you
    played a little high school basketball yourself. So we're going to honor
    you with a basketball signed from our team.
        The President. I'm honored.
        Mr. Pierce. And a jersey, Celtic jersey with
    a 43 on it, even though that's Kendrick Perkins's number. [Laughter]
        The President. He's from Beaumont.
        Mr. Pierce. And he's from Texas. So that's
    why we gave you 43. [Laughter]
        No, but for real, in honor for you being the 43d President, we'd
    like to present this to you. And also, on behalf of the families and the
    victims in Hurricane Ike, the organization would like to also present a
    check for $100,000 to the Red Cross relief.
        The President. Well, thank you. That's awesome. Thank you for doing
    that. That's a big deal, really big.
        Mr. Pierce. So once again, we'd just like to
    say thank you, and it's truly an honor.
        The President. Thank you, sir.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:04 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Kevin Garnett, forward, Ray Allen,
    guard, and Kendrick Perkins, center, Boston Celtics.

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