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Tyronn Lue wanted to make sure his Cleveland Cavaliers got to celebrate their 2016 NBA championship with the now-customary visit to the White House before President Barack Obama, America’s first black Commander-in-Chief, made way for his successor in January. That successor was at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue when the Cavs arrived on Thursday, ahead of their Friday night meeting with the Washington Wizards — which might have set some of the Cavs’ teeth on edge just a tad — but it was Obama who received Lue, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, J.R. Smith and company to celebrate their achievement:

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The guys are taking in the sights at the @WhiteHouse. ???????? pic.twitter.com/1G0SMtt3cK — Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) November 10, 2016









As he often has during these ceremonies, Obama maintained a loose and jovial tone throughout, peppering his commentary with jokes like his opening-remarks line about the oddity of having a team from Cleveland, of all places, on his lawn:





The 44th president of the United States moved swiftly and smoothly into a brief roast of Smith, whose shirtless escapades were the talk of Cleveland’s post-title celebration, but whom Obama insisted back in June needed to cover up if he was coming over:

WATCH: "I want to give a special thanks to @TheRealJRSmith's shirt for showing up…" – @POTUS Barack Obama. #Cavs https://t.co/ZIvqkzKGab — Good Morning America (@GMA) November 10, 2016





“Last season, the Cavs were the favorites in the East all along, but the road was anything but stable,” Obama said. “And I’m not even talking about what happened on the court. There were rumors about who was getting along with who, and why somebody wasn’t in the picture, and LeBron’s tweeting, and … this was all big news. But somehow, Coach Lue comes in and everything starts getting a little smoother, and they hit their stride in the playoffs.”

Obama praised the Cavs for ransacking the East, opening the 2016 postseason with 10 straight wins before knocking off the Toronto Raptors to earn an NBA Finals rematch with the Golden State Warriors — the team that had beaten Cleveland in the championship round the year before and had just set a new regular-season record for most wins in a season by going 73-9.

“Obviously, what this all comes down to is a team that, for the first time in NBA history, comes back from being down 3-1 in the Finals,” Obama said. “The first team in history to dig themselves out of a hole like that.”

From there, Obama allowed his homer tendencies to shine through one more time.

“And, I should add, that by knocking off the Warriors, they cemented the 1996 Bulls as the greatest team of all time,” he quipped. “So, your president thanks you for that.”

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After recounting the fortitude the Cavs showed in their wins in Games 5 and 6, Obama highlighted the stellar effort they put forth in “an unbelievable two minutes” to close the Game 7 classic that gave Cleveland its first pro sports title in 52 years.

“There was The Block, what LeBron has said was the defining play of his career,” Obama said. “The Shot, by Kyrie, putting the Cavs up five. The Stop, by Kevin Love — boy, I mean, Kevin was moving! I hadn’t seen defense like that!

“But it wasn’t just those outstanding players, not then and not throughout the year,” he continued. “J.R. always seemed to hit those shots — you know, ‘No, no, don’t shoot that!’ and then it goes in, and ‘Man, that was a great shot!'”