Vice President Kamala Harris was a surprise guest at the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team’s practice Tuesday, and her message was clear.
“Bring back the gold,” Harris said.
Harris shook hands with the players, chatted briefly with LeBron James and a few others, and posed for a group photo with the team.
.@VP Kamala Harris 🤝 🇺🇸 #USABMNT pic.twitter.com/xJKLeteg0Z
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 10, 2024
“Truly, you all represent the best of the best,” Harris told them. “And being Team USA, it is about representing our nation. You are, as you are every day on and off the court, ambassadors for who we are as a country. You represent leaders in every walk of life. And for you to go to Paris and bring back that gold is just another example of your excellence, your teamwork, your compassion and your commitment.”
U.S. assistant coach Erik Spoelstra said he didn’t know the vice president was coming to practice.
“It was a pretty special moment for the entire group,” Spoelstra said. “She just mentioned that we represent our country and everybody’s going to be watching and rooting for us and it’s a big responsibility. But she knows that we all are putting in the work to represent everybody here and do it with class.”
Harris is planning to meet with voters in both Las Vegas and Dallas this week.
The U.S. men’s team plays its first of five pre-Olympic exhibition games Wednesday against Canada in Las Vegas. Even though that game won’t have any bearing on the Olympics — the first U.S. game in France is against Serbia on July 28 — Harris encouraged the team to go ahead and start winning now.
“Our nation is cheering you on and we are so proud of you,” Harris said. “Beat Canada and bring back that gold.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
