In the News

By Ira Winderman

The East Room commemoration of their 2012 NBA championship was heartfelt, yet brief, according to the White House lasting from 1:44 p.m. to 1:52 p.m. Monday.

But there also were private moments that left the Miami Heat appreciative of just what their 2 1/2 hours at the White House meant, including 10 minutes alone with President Obama.

"We spent a lot of time looking like tourists, taking pictures, and posing in front of pictures," coach Erik Spoelstra said.

And then they met the president.

"That certainly was the highlight of the day, was having those 10 minutes with just the president in the room, having the opportunity to not only shake his hand, but have a short conversation with him," Spoelstra said. "How many people can say that?"

So they sat and spoke basketball, with a president who has a passion for the sport, perhaps the difference between the Heat's visit after the 2006 championship, with George Bush viewed as more of a baseball president.

"He was able to share and tell old stories," guard Dwyane Wade said of his private moment Monday with Obama. "When you get a president who shares the love of the game the same way you love the game of basketball, it makes it a little bit more special."

Following the ceremony, LeBron James, Wade and Spoelstra retreated to the Diplomatic Reception Room, where James spoke of the magnitude of the moment.

"Surreal. It doesn't seem real," he said of the experience. "You're a kid growing up, you see a president on television, you see the president in books and going through school, but you never think at any point in time that he would actually say your name, you would be able to shake his hand or whatever the case may be."

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whose South Florida district includes the Broward residences of Heat forwards Udonis Haslem, James Jones and Mike Miller, spoke privately afterward of the emotion James carried through the visit.

"The most touching thing for me was when LeBron said, 'Mama, I made it,' " she said of James' comment at the formal commemoration. "Because no matter how much success any of us have, if you're not humbled by being able to spend any time in the White House, then there's something wrong with you."

Spoelstra said both the public and private moments with the president put what his team achieved last season into perspective.

"He was proud of our accomplishment and really the road that it took us to get there," Spoelstra related of the president's private remarks. "He mentioned that, and that meant a lot to our guys, dealing with the adversity, dealing with all the criticism -- he can relate to that -- and persevering at the end."

Just before the team entered the East Room, the president told Wade that the ceremony would include mention of the fatherhood initiatives that Wade, James and others on the team have promoted.

"He mentioned it before we came in the big room," Wade said. "And he said he was going to mention it up there because it's something that is very important to him, obviously. He made sure in the room, in the private room, that he mentioned it to all of us, and told us how proud he was of us as role models, especially to our own kids, in our own house."

He also privately thanked James for 2012 success beyond that with the Heat.

"He said, 'I know you've been playing a lot of basketball,' " James said. "And he thanked me for this summer, being a part of the U.S. team and doing the things that we did to represent the country.

"To hear it from the president is really cool."

It proved to be a day of both awe and ease.

"I tried to be as normal as possible, without smiling too much," Spoelstra said of his private moment with Obama. "But he keeps you at ease. He has a gracious and engaging personality that allows you to be yourself."

It was a moment Spoelstra and his players hope to repeat.

"This," Spoelstra said, "reminds you of all the hard work and the sacrifice and the benefits of coming together and sacrificing as a group.

"This is the ultimate reward for an American."