[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 37 (Monday, September 22, 2008)]
[Pages 1227-1229]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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.
    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; I--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.

[[Page 1228]]

    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 offseason, 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 L.A. 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 L.A.!'' 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 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?

[[Page 1229]]

    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 those 
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 43rd 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.