During a ceremony at the White House commemorating those receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, President Barack Obama makes a few jokes about Michael Jordan. (0:56)

WASHINGTON -- With the clock running out, President Obama took one last shot.

The man who spent the morning of his historic election eight years ago playing basketball spent some time on his way out of the White House to pay homage to two of the sport's all-time greats.

Tuesday was about much more than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan, of course. Obama used his last presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony to honor 21 high-achieving Americans, from the woman whose computer programming enabled the Apollo program to land on the moon to the singers who have provided the soundtrack to our lives.

But through his selections, Obama placed two basketball players on the same level as all of them. It was the final salute to the sport from an administration that has embraced it more than any other White House occupant.

And after Obama vocalized his appreciation for each and every honoree, be it actor or architect, then draped medals around their necks -- and with the teleprompter turned off -- Obama took a turn toward the personal.

"These are folks who have helped make me who I am," Obama said.

Unlike the software of Bill Gates or even the songs of Bruce Springsteen, incorporating sports stars into American life is more optional than necessary. But if you care about basketball, Kareem and MJ were practically mandatory.

If you play the game, at some point you've probably laced up a pair of Air Jordans or dreamed of supplanting Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's all-time leading scorer. Still, it wasn't just their athletic accomplishments alone that led them to that stage in the White House East Room on Tuesday. And no, it wasn't about their forays into acting, even though Obama felt compelled to shout out Jordan's movie "Space Jam" and Abdul-Jabbar's role in "Airplane" even as they sat with such distinguished actors as Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks and Robert Redford.

These medals are about impact. True American excellence.

Michael Jordan, along with fellow NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, were among 21 to receive the highest American civilian honor. Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images

After Obama rolled off the litany of Jordan references that require no more explanation -- like 63 in the Garden, the shots over Ehlo and Russell and even the Crying Jordan meme -- he got down to the indisputable truth.

"There is a reason you call somebody 'The Michael Jordan of...'" Obama said. "Because Michael Jordan is the Michael Jordan of greatness. He is the definition of somebody who is so good at what they do that everybody recognizes it. That's pretty rare."

Of Abdul-Jabbar, Obama said "The reason we honor Kareem is more than just a pair of goggles and a skyhook. He stood up for his Muslim faith when it wasn't easy, and it wasn't popular. He's as comfortable sparring with Bruce Lee as he is advocating on Capitol Hill, or writing with extraordinary eloquence about patriotism. Physically, intellectually, spiritually, Kareem is one of a kind: An American who illuminates both our most basic freedoms and our highest aspirations."

Serious praise for someone known primarily as a basketball player, and likewise a banner day for the sport. Sometimes it takes the White House to make you realize how much basketball matters. On my first visit there in 1997 to see Bill Clinton honor the 1996 champion Chicago Bulls, the post-ceremony throng around Jordan was larger than the group waiting on Clinton. I shook Clinton's hand that day; never got within shouting distance of MJ. Yes, it was easier to get next to the president of the United States than next to Jordan.

Basketball mattered on Tuesday, as much as any other endeavor. It's worth noting that the sport also accounted for two of the four African-American honorees, along with entertainers Diana Ross and Cicely Tyson. It was like the Jay-Z line: "All us blacks got is sports and entertainment."

We can examine and discuss the lack of opportunities afforded African-Americans in nearly every other avenue. It's not an issue in basketball. Tuesday was a reward to the sport as much as it was a tribute to the medal recipients, as well as a reminder of the profound impact the game had on the first African-American president.