THE Denver Nuggets decided not to make the trip to the White House, a norm for the reigning champions.
The 2022-23 NBA title winners were originally scheduled to visit President Biden in January, but he had to postpone the appointment until March 18.
Now, a little over a week before the date, the Nuggets have canceled due to their own scheduling conflicts.
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Jamal Murray, #27, and Nikola Jokic, #15 of the Denver Nuggets celebrate during the Denver Nuggets 2023 Championship Parade on June 15, 2023, in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Nuggets will face the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 19 in Minnesota. Denver, Minnesota and the Oklahoma City Thunder are all within a game of each other for the top seed in the Western Conference.
TNT NBA insider Chris Haynes reported that Denver is skipping the trip to the White House because they’re “prioritizing that No. 1 seed.”
“They’re really trying to do everything they can to get to that spot before the playoffs,” Haynes said. said Thursday evening.
“It was clearly a basketball decision…The Nuggets wanted to do it, but the schedules just didn’t work out.”
However, Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said the Nuggets were making a mistake.
“Are they flying southwest or something? Come on, man. I actually have a problem with everything that’s happened in sports in the last few years, not just now” , Barkley said. said Thursdayhinting that the teams skipped visits with former President Donald Trump.
The Denver Nuggets pose for a photo after winning the Gme Four of the Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers on May 22, 2023, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. (Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
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“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.
“You always go to the White House. He’s the president. Whether you like the president or not. It’s an honor and a privilege to go to the White House, and you should always go.”
The Golden State Warriors, 2021-2022 NBA champions, visited the White House in January last year, after failing to do so in 2017 and 2018 while Trump was in office.
Neither the Toronto Raptors nor the the Los Angeles Lakerswinners of the 2019 and 2020 NBA Finals, visited the White House to commemorate their titles, but the Milwaukee Bucks made the trip to visit Biden in November 2021.
Nikola Jokic, #15 of the Denver Nuggets, celebrates during the Denver Nuggets 2023 Championship Parade on June 15, 2023, in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NBAE via Getty Images)
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The last championship team to visit Trump in office was the 2019 Washington Nationals, five days after their World Series victory against the Houston Astros. The pandemic made visits more difficult, and by the time restrictions began to be lifted, Biden had taken office.
The UConn men’s and LSU women’s teams visited Biden last year. The president was criticized for not initially inviting the University of Georgia football team last year. After receiving an invitation, the Bulldogs did not go. They also didn’t make the trip the year before, due to COVID-19 safety measures.
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