President Obama hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers at the White House

President Barack Obama hosted the 2016 NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers at the White House Thursday.

Obama said, "When you see LeBron James, it is not just his power and his speed and his vertical, it is his unselfishness it is his work ethic, it is his insistence on always making the right play."

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The 31-year-old James, a four-time NBA most valuable player, won two championships for the Miami Heat before returning to the Cavaliers in 2014, leading them to the NBA finals where they lost to the Golden State Warriors.

The Cavaliers reversed that result this season, bringing the first professional sports championship to the Ohio city since 1964.

Obama who is a fan of the Chicago Bulls said, that "By knocking off the warriors they cemented the 1996 Bulls as the greatest team of all time."

The team's visit came just minutes after president-elect Donald Trump's transition meeting with Obama. Trump's victory in Tuesday's election has sparked controversy among many professional athletes, including Cavaliers veteran Richard Jefferson.

Jefferson posted on Snapchat prior to the visit, implying that no NBA champion will wish to make the trip to the White House while Trump is in office.

(Thomson Reuters contributed to this report.)

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See photos from the Cavaliers' visit to the White House: