LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers will not visit the president Joe Biden at the White House to celebrate his 2020 NBA championship when the team travels to Washington, DC, to play against the Wizards later this month, a source with knowledge of the situation told ESPN.
Schedule issues and protocols for the Covid-19 will prevent the visit from April 27-28 when the Lakers are in the nation’s capital for the Wizards game; however, a future meeting and greeting with President 46 of the United States has not been ruled out, the source added.
No NBA team has commemorated its title with a visit to the White House since LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers were honored by the former president barack Obama in November 2016, a few days after that Donald Trump would win the presidential election to succeed Obama in the oval office.
When asked in January if the Lakers planned to resume the traditional league visit after the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors abstained from the trip during the Trump administration, James said “it would be great,” but he added that he “had no idea” whether it was feasible during the pandemic.
Shortly after Biden defeated Trump in the November general election, Warriors player Draymond Green tweeted to James, “They can go to the White House and celebrate the G title!” James replied, “Let’s be here again, my G !!! I’ll have 1 tequila and wine too!”
The Lakers have not been able to enjoy the typical celebrations that accompany a championship because of the coronavirus. The team did not have a parade and has not yet unveiled the banner of the 17th championship in the history of the franchise, but covered it with a black cloak on the opening night with the message: “Be careful , Lakers family “.
The owner of the Lakers, Jeanie Buss, Announced that the banner would be unveiled on May 12 before the last home game in Los Angeles within the regular season against the Houston Rockets, when there are fans to enjoy it. The Lakers played their first game in front of fans at the Staples Center against the Boston Celtics on Thursday, welcoming a capacity of 1,915, about 10% of their capacity of 18,997.