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A King And A President

It's not too often that you find a king and a president in the same room together, but on Monday at the White House, the East Room featured both.

LeBron James and the 2012 NBA Champions, the Miami Heat, were honored by President Obama in a ceremony that saw the 'king' a bit overwhelmed.


The Miami Heat with President Obama.  Photo/CD Brown.
"I mean, we're in the White House", James said to the laughter of the audience.  " So I mean, we're kids from Chicago and Dallas, Texas and Michigan and Ohio and South Dakota, Miami. And we're in the White House right now. This is like, hey, mama, I made it." 

Not bad for a team the president called "a little up-and-coming basketball team".



The 'up-and-coming basketball team' fended off Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma Thunder, 121-106 in Game 5 of the 2012 NBA Finals to which the president credited himself for their win.

"Now, I’m not trying to take all the credit, Coach, but I think that it’s clear that going up against me prepared them to take on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook", joked the president.  "It sharpened their skills. It gave them the competitive edge that they needed. And I think part of the reason they came back today is they want another shot at the old guy."

Before visiting the president at the White House, the team and coach visited wounded warriors at Walter Reed Hospital, which head coach Eric Spoelstra called "inspiring".

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra with President Obama.  Photo/CD Brown.
Spoelstra also remarked, "We actually hope that this team serves as an inspiration to the nation of what a group can do when you come together and sacrifice your egos for a greater goal; to come together with a real hard-hat work ethic, and to be able to persevere through adversity and a whole heck of a lot of criticism and still be able to accomplish the ultimate dream."

'Inspiration' Americans are hoping will trickle down to both Republicans and Democrats to get the work done that's needed for the American people.

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