Your inbox approves Men's coaches poll Women's coaches poll Play to win 25K!
Donald Trump

Trump's basketball legacy: 1-for-14 on White House visits. Will Biden restore a tradition?

A look at what happened with all 14 hoops champions -- pro and college -- during Trump's presidency.

Jerry Carino
Asbury Park Press

ASBURY PARK, N.J. -- President-elect Joe Biden promised to reverse a long list of President Donald Trump’s practices. Will one of them be having championship basketball teams back at the White House?

Biden, who will be inaugurated as the nation's 46th president Wednesday, will have his first opportunity with men's and women's college basketball, assuming the NCAA tournaments are completed as planned amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Of the 14 major basketball champions during Trump’s presidency, only one visited 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The bipartisan tradition of team sports champions visiting dates to the 1860s. It accelerated under Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, the latter of whom hosted women’s teams for the first time.

Trump hosted football, baseball and hockey champions but when it came to basketball, there were mostly air balls. A closer look:

NBA

2017, Golden State Warriors

After superstar Steph Curry said he wasn’t interested in visiting the White House, Trump tweeted, “Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!”

The Warriors then issued a statement: “While we intended to meet as a team at the first opportunity we had this morning to collaboratively discuss a potential visit to the White House, we accept that President Trump has made it clear that we are not invited. We believe there is nothing more American than our citizens having the right to express themselves freely on matters important to them. We’re disappointed that we did not have an opportunity during this process to share our views or have open dialogue on issues impacting our communities that we felt would be important to raise.”

2018, Golden State Warriors

After the 2017 spat, the Warriors visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture with a group of local schoolchildren in lieu of a White House visit. They later visited former president Barack Obama in his Washington, D.C., office.

2019, Toronto Raptors

There is precedent for a Canadian team visiting the White House: the 1992 Toronto Blue Jays were received by George H.W. Bush after winning the World Series. The Raptors visited Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau but never were invited by Trump.

2020, Los Angeles Lakers

There’s a better chance of LeBron James visiting Mars than the White House after he’s traded public barbs with Trump over the past few years.

SPEAKING UP: Ten times sports figures challenged Trump

ANALYSIS: Team owners support Republicans to tune of millions of dollars

President Donald Trump holds a Baylor Lady Bears jersey as he welcomes head coach Kim Mulkey and her team to the White House on April 29, 2019.

WNBA

2017, Minnesota Lynx

Trump did not invite them. Instead, the Lynx visited Washington, D.C., to hand out sneakers and socks to schoolkids from low-income families.

2018, Seattle Storm

Legendary point guard Sue Bird said the team would not visit even if invited.

"At this point, it doesn't even really need to be discussed," Bird said. "It's come up. We paid attention to what happened with Minnesota not getting invited. Everyone knew when everything happened with Steph Curry and LeBron on social media, all that stuff.”

2019, Washington Mystics

The Mystics told reporters they would not visit the White House if invited.

2020, Seattle Storm

After not getting an invitation to the White House, the Storm made the rare move of endorsing Joe Biden as a team during the campaign.

“We don’t typically endorse candidates, but these are NOT typical times,” co-owner Ginny Gilder wrote.

College men’s basketball

2017, North Carolina

In late September, nearly six months after winning the NCAA tournament, North Carolina issued a statement acknowledging that the Tar Heels were invited but would not attend.

The statement read: "We are not going to the White House this year, The team was fine with going, but we could not find a date that worked for both the basketball team and the White House."

Earlier that year, coach Roy Williams had told reporters, “our president tweets out more (expletive) than anybody I’ve ever seen.”

In 2016, President Obama welcomes Jay Wright and Villanova basketball to the White House

2018, Villanova

In late October, nearly eight months after winning the NCAA tournament, Wildcats coach Jay Wright was asked by the Asbury Park Press if his team would be visiting the White House. He said his team was not invited.

“Two years ago it was the experience of a lifetime for all of us," Wright said of his 2016 title squad’s visit with Obama. "It’s just a different time and I understand it. So it is what it is.”

2019, Virginia 

Three weeks after winning the NCAA tournament, Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett issued a statement.

“We have received inquiries about a visit to the White House,” it read. “With several players either pursuing pro opportunities or moving on from UVA, it would be difficult, if not impossible to get everyone back together. We would have to respectfully decline an invitation.”

College women’s basketball

2017, South Carolina

After winning the NCAA tournament, head coach Dawn Staley said her team would visit if invited. In September, Staley said her team had not received an invitation “and that in itself speaks volumes.”

After an invitation arrived in November, once the next season was underway, Staley said the team would not attend because of a conflict with practice.

“All of our focus is on the season ahead,” she said. “The only invitation we are thinking about is to the 2018 NCAA tournament."

2018, Notre Dame

Not invited. Asked about it two months after winning the NCAA tournament, head coach Muffet McGraw said her team hadn’t discussed whether to visit and would not do so unless an invitation came. It never did.

2019, Baylor

The Bears became the first basketball team and first female team in any sport to visit Trump’s White House.

"It's not a political issue for me. It's an honor to go to the White House," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey told The Associated Press. "I want everyone to say they went to the White House. Not many people can say that." 

Similar to football champion Clemson earlier that year, the Bears were served a White House buffet that consisted of food from McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A, Wendy’s and Burger King.

Follow Jerry Carino on Twitter @NJHoopsHaven

Featured Weekly Ad