Outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed NBA champions the Cleveland Cavaliers to the White House on Thursday. Last season, the Cavs won the franchise’s first title ever, which brought an end to the long-suffering city of Cleveland’s 52-year championship drought.

Obama honored the Cavs on the South Lawn of the White House, squeezing in another sports champion before he leaves office. He opened by saying, “That’s right. I said world champion and Cleveland in the same sentence.'”

Led by Lebron James, Cleveland became the first team to ever come back from a 3-1 series deficit and win the NBA finals when they beat the defending champions the Golden State Warriors. A lot of the focus fell on the finals MVP, James, who was described by Obama as one of the greatest players of all time because of his power speed and work ethic.