- The Denver Nuggets were scheduled to visit the White House on March 18.
- But because Denver was scheduled to play Minnesota on the 19th, the visit was canceled.
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THE Denver Nuggets skip the habit White House visit to reign NBA champions, but they are not making a political statement against the Biden administration.
Instead, as TNT NBA Insider Chris Haynes said reported, Denver is simply focused on securing the top seed for the Western Conference playoffs. They are currently one game behind first place Oklahoma City Thunder at 43-20.
“The Denver Nuggets are prioritizing that No. 1 seed,” Haynes said. “They’re really trying to do everything they can to get into that spot before the playoffs.”
The Nuggets were originally supposed to visit the White House in January, but a scheduling conflict with the administration pushed the visit back to March 18 before Denver withdrew entirely this week.
Denver is scheduled to face the second-ranked Timberwolves on March 19 in Minneapolis.
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, Denver’s top stars, come from Serbia and Canada, respectively.
TNT’s Charles Barkley, however, didn’t buy the excuse.
“Are they flying southwest or something?” » joked Barkley. ‘Come on man. In fact, I have a problem with everything that has happened in sports in recent years, not just now.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to go to the White House. It doesn’t matter who’s in the White House. It’s an honor and a privilege to go to the White House. You should always go. But these These guys act like they’re flying southwest.
American professional and collegiate sports teams are traditionally hosted at the White House after winning their respective championships, but this custom has come under criticism in recent years.
Barkley didn’t buy the Nuggets’ excuse and said it was an honor to go to the White House.
Detroit Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace once said he had nothing to say to then-President George W. Bush before the reigning NBA champions visited the White House in 2005.
In the end, though, Wallace and Bush shared a sweet moment on stage when the 6-foot-11 NBA star introduced his daughter to POTUS.
Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas skipped the usual visit in 2012 because of his disdain for then-President Barack Obama.
But things have really gotten contentious between athletes and the White House under the Trump administration.
President Biden receives a jersey as he hosts the Astros to celebrate their 2022 title
When Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry publicly admitted he didn’t want to go in 2017, Donald Trump then rescinded the offer to the team, sparking a war of words.
At the time, LeBron James rushed to Curry’s defense on Twitter (now X), writing, “You’re an asshole @StephenCurry30 who already said he wasn’t going!” So there is no invitation. Going to the White House was a great honor until you arrived!’
A year later, James told reporters: “No one wants an invitation anyway.”
Things returned to normal during the Biden years, with the usual White House visits resuming for the respective league champions — that is, until the Nuggets declined the invitation this week.
