The defending World Champion Dallas Mavericks visited the White House yesterday, and Dirk Nowitzki was most definitely invited. The Mavs handed President Obama, the former Hawaiian prep basketball player, a number twenty-three Mavericks Jersey too as a show of gratitude. In response, Obama made a joke about Micheal Jordan that wasn’t really funny. Before that though, he got a few zingers in on the Dallas big man, and also showered him with a glowing series of compliments as well.
Below is that exchanged from President Barack Obama directed towards Dirk and his World Champion Dallas Mavericks yesterday at the White House (via The Star-Telegram’s Full-Court Press):
“Dirk joined the Mavericks 13 years ago as a skinny kid from Germany with what he described as a goofy haircut,’’ President Obama said. “Last year he became the second European player ever to be named (NBA) Finals MVP, and it wasn’t easy.
“He (messed up) his finger so badly in Game 2 that he had to shoot left-handed. In Game 4 he played through 101 degree fever, but every time he came through when it counted.’’
The President went on to say about Nowitzki: “And I think it’s fair to say that we have very rarely seen a better playoff run than Dirk Nowitzki had last year. It was remarkable..
“So, clearly Dirk is a tough guy, although the most painful thing may have been his rendition of We Are The Champions during the victory celebration.’’
At that time, President Obama turned and looked at Nowitzki and asked: “You said you worked on that? Seriously? OK.’’
In Dirk’s defense regarding his singing, the President probably did not realize that Nowitzki grew up on David Hasselhoff tunes. So it’s not really Dirk’s fault if he sings poorly. As far as that joke about Micheal Jordan from Obama after receiving his own number 23 jersey, that is as follows as well:
The President then said: “That’s good. I was No. 23 before (Michael) Jordan. He got the number from me. He stole it. That’s what happened.’’
Good one, Prez. Enjoy the new gear, and congrats on Mark Cuban’s crew for eventually pulling off that White House stop after all. Even though the League neglected to schedule a road game for them at the Washington Wizards this season in order to make that trip a bit easier on everybody.
