Obama honors NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers

The impromptu celebration capped a flawless trip to the nation’s capital on Friday night for the Cavs, who added a win to their White House visit by beating the Washington Wizards 105-94 as James had 27 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (7-1): James scored 27 points to reach 27,020 for his career on Friday and added 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Hibbert (knee) returned from a five-game absence and contributed 10 points and two rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench Friday while F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (back) sat out and is day-to-day. 3.

This was never a game where Charlotte was favored but they played solidly throughout until the final moments. The team’s head coach, Tyronn Lue, even suggests that his team is just getting warmed up. And I was kind of surprised, like, “What happened?” Got all my clothes wet but it’s my guys. Yes, championships will be the ultimate factor in placing James somewhere in the top five (and most have placed him in the top two with Jordan at this point), but all of these little elements add to his overall narrative.

Earlier this month he moved past Hakeem Olajuwon and into 10th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Barack Obama, a Chicago-native, joked and thanked the Cleveland Cavaliers for securing his favorite 96′-97′ Chicago Bulls team to be still arguably the best team in the history of the National Basketball Association. ‘You saw it in those last three games, ‘ the president said. The King turned things around late but he only shot 3-14 through the first three-quarters. And the Cavaliers are 8-1, while the Hornets fell to 6-3, their first consecutive losses this season.

Up 58-56 at halftime, Cleveland held Washington to 38 points in the second half as they pulled away.

Reserve Iman Shumpert scored 15 points.

“Through it all, Cleveland was always Believeland”, Obama said, noting the many heartbreaks endured by the OH city’s sports fans and lauding the Cavs not only their prowess on court but also for their philanthropic efforts. Portland trailed 57-50 at the break, but came alive in the second half and outscored Denver 36-15 in the third quarter. A lot of guys were humbled by the experience. We’re a team that when the ball is moving and you’re the recipient of it, you have to let it go.

But James said the Cavaliers are far from satisfied. “It is part of a league-wide effort to build stronger communities all across the country, including holding open conversations so we can begin to bridge divides”, Obama said. But I could see other scheduling conflicts coming up. It’s fun for us.