When someone wins the Super Bowl MVP Award, they get to loudly exclaim, “I’m going to Disneyland.” While not met with the same level of childish wonder, championship teams of the major sports get honored in their own way. 

It’s no Disneyland, but a tradition among major U.S. sports teams is that they visit the White House to be honored by the current president. While not done by every team or in every sport, the first team to visit the White House was the Brooklyn Atlantics in 1865, an amateur baseball team. 

After winning the 2024 NBA championship, the Celtics returned to the White House on Thursday to be recognized for the franchise’s latest title, but President Joe Biden had a funny moment when honoring the team.

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What did Joe Biden say about Celtics during White House visit? 

On Thursday, the Celtics were posted up on a stage, awaiting the President’s arrival. Upon entering, President Biden began with a joke about not knowing who any of the people behind him were, which proved to be a bit of foreshadowing — either accidental or on purpose. 

As Biden began to introduce the team, he had a bit of a what looked like senior moment.

“The 2024 NBA Champions, the Bos—…you’re the Celtics, right?”

Biden moved on quickly with a slight smile, so it’s possible the President was just continuing his initial gag. It’s also possible he had a brief memory lapse. Either way, there were plenty of laughs to go around. 

Above is Biden’s full speech honoring the Celtics. His slight blunder comes at the 1:28 mark in the video. 

Why did the Celtics visit the White House?

While it isn’t guaranteed, winners of major sports championships often visit the White House as part of their celebratory tour. This tradition first began in 1865 when the Brooklyn Atlantics, an amateur baseball team, visited the White House and President Andrew Johnson after winning a championship the previous baseball season. It wasn’t until 1924 that the tradition started with professional sports teams. 

The first “Big Four” team to visit the White House, were the Washington Senators in 1924. The NBA first had a team visit the White House when the Boston Celtics were honored by John F. Kennedy in 1963.

Some teams opt out of visiting the White House, but it happens frequently with the NBA. Ironically, the first NBA team to visit the White House was the Celtics in 1963. Among the major sports, both professional and college, the last sport to join in on the tradition was NCAA Women’s basketball, but that was rectified in 2016 when the UConn Huskies went to the White House after winning the Women’s NCAA Tournament that year. 

Boston visited the White House after winning the 2024 NBA Championships. The Celtics steamrolled the Mavericks 4-1 in the series, winning the final game 106-88 on June 17.