The 2019-20 NBA season was definitely different than most years given the halt and restart in Orlando, Florida due to COVID-19, but one thing that hadn't changed was the broken tradition of teams visiting the White House. The Los Angeles Lakers—winners of the 2020 NBA Finals—kept the new tradition alive of opting out of paying President Donald Trump a visit at the White House as well.
Yet, with President-elect Joe Biden sworn into office on Jan. 20, LeBron James and the Lakers are willing to change course if it means meeting Biden instead.
From Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes:
The Los Angeles Lakers are looking forward to reconvening a post-championship tradition of visiting the White House at some point during the 2020-21 season after President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office as the 46th President of the United States, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
The Golden State Warriors initiated the boycott of visiting the White House following their championship in 2017. Most NBA players, namely James, had already expressed their displeasure for Trump by then, making the conversation of not visiting the White House a foregone conclusion.
Now with Biden in office, most of the sports world will likely resume what was a norm following championship celebrations.
The Lakers are predicted to come out of the Western Conference once more this season, which could mean their trips to the White House could come back-to-back. They were able to walk away with their 17th championship in franchise history after besting the Miami Heat in six games during the 2020 NBA Finals.
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