President Biden welcomed the back-to-back reigning WNBA champions, the Las Vegas Aces, to the White House on Thursday but made a flub in his speech.
Recently retired Candace Parker was a member of the squad, playing in 18 games during the season.
While she did not play in the playoffs, she still earned her third championship ring as a player.
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Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson, right, and Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray, left, present jerseys to Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden during a ceremony to celebrate the WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces in the East Room of the White House on May 9, 2024 in Washington, D.C. The Las Vegas Aces defeated the New York Liberty 70-69 in Game 4 of the 2023 WNBA Finals on Oct. 18, 2023 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Parker announced her retirement on April 28 following an illustrious career.
She did not make the trip to the nation’s capital, but Biden made sure to single her out. However, he called her “one of the greatest all-time coaches” in WNBA history. Parker has not coached a game.
“And while she couldn’t be here, I want to acknowledge someone who will be considered one of the greatest all-time coaches, Candace Parker,” Biden said, followed by applause. “She played 16 seasons in the league, two Olympic Gold Medals, two regular season MVPs, and a Final MVP. And look — and going out on top of the world with her third ring, she announced her retirement from the game.”
Candace Parker, #3 of the Las Vegas Aces, dribbles the ball during the game against the Dallas Wings on July 5, 2023 at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. (David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images)
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Biden also joked that he, like the Aces, wants to go back-to-back, referencing the election later this year.
During his address, Biden said it has been a “banner year” for women’s basketball.
“It matters to girls and women, finally seeing themselves represented,” Biden said during the celebration, held in the East Room of the White House. “It matters to all Americans. That’s why as a nation, we need to support women’s sports.”
The Las Vegas Aces defeated the New York Liberty in the WNBA championship last October to win their second consecutive WNBA title.
The defending NBA champions, the Denver Nuggets, notably canceled their visit earlier this year, citing their quest to earn the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference (they got the No. 2 seed after a tiebreaker).
The 2021-2022 NBA champion Golden State Warriors visited the White House in January of last year after not doing so in 2017 and 2018 while then-President Trump was in office.
Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson, right, presents a jersey to President Biden during a ceremony to celebrate the WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces in the East Room of the White House on May 9, 2024 in Washington, D.C. The Las Vegas Aces defeated the New York Liberty 70-69 in Game 4 of the 2023 WNBA Finals on Oct. 18, 2023 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
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Neither the Toronto Raptors nor the Los Angeles Lakers, the winners 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.
The last championship team to visit Trump in office were the 2019 Washington Nationals, five days after their World Series victory over the Houston Astros. The pandemic made visits tougher, and by the time restrictions started 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 originally not inviting the University of Georgia football team last year. After they got an invitation, the Bulldogs did not go. They did not make the trip the year prior, either, due to COVID-19 safety precautions.
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