President Joe Biden dropped two bits of trivia during his Thursday afternoon address in the White House’s Rose Garden.

First, that his Secret Service codename is “Celtic,” because of his Irish heritage. Second, that the 1962-63 Boston Celtics were the first NBA team ever to visit the White House, after an invitation from Massachusetts native John F. Kennedy.

The 2023-24 C’s on Thursday became the latest title-winner to enjoy that time-honored tradition, traveling to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue after arriving in Washington, D.C., for a Friday night matchup with the Wizards.

Biden accepted a personalized No. 46 Celtics jersey from Jayson Tatum, passed a commemorative basketball to Al Horford and posed for photos with the Larry O’Brien Trophy with Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck.

“I feel a special pride in this trophy,” Biden said as he addressed the crowd, Celtics players and coaches behind him. “From this old Irish Celtic to all you Celtics, congratulations.”

These Celtics are, Biden declared, “not just any champion, but the winningest franchise in league history, and now with a record 18 titles.”

“You all know what the great Red Auerbach said. He said the Celtics aren’t just a basketball team, they’re a way of life,” he continued. “They’re a way of life. Passion. Loyalty. First team, mentally. Full of heart, guts and faith. We see it from you, the ownership group, the executives, the coaches, especially Coach Joe (Mazzulla). I used to like Joe.

“Joe’s the youngest head coach to win a title since the great Bill Russell. I told him I used to be the youngest; now I’m the oldest. I like being the youngest better.”

The 82-year-old Biden commended the Celtics’ management and coaches for building “one of the deepest teams of all time,” singling out Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday and “Big Al.”

Nearly every member of Boston’s playoff roster attended the ceremony, including forward Oshae Brissett, who declined his player option this offseason and currently is a free agent.

“It was really cool to see Brissy again and have him be here and a part of it,” White said. “Obviously, he was a big member of our team last year, so it was great to have him here and kind of just get the whole gang back together.”

The lone absence was reserve guard Svi Mikhailiuk, who now plays for Utah and had a game Thursday night in San Antonio.

“I know it wasn’t easy,” Biden said, referencing the Celtics’ string of near misses over the previous half-decade. “You came close more than once. But you put in the work (and) you clocked one of the greatest seasons ever. Sixty-four wins; the best record in the league last year. More points per possession than any team in NBA history. Roll the playoffs, beating the Heat in five, the Cavs in five and the Pacers in four. Then you dominated Dallas on both ends of the floor, and now that 18th championship banner hangs in the rafters.”

(Mike Zarren, the Celtics’ longtime vice president of basketball operations, got a kick out of Biden’s new-age stat shoutout, tweeting: “The basketball stats community has come a long way: the President of the United States is talking about points per possession!”)

The president went on to praise the “total team effort that (the Celtics) show off the court” through their work in the community.

“Working across Boston through your foundations to fight injustice, expand education, to register voters, to deliver healthcare to infants and moms, and so much more,” Biden said. “It matters what you do. It really, genuinely matters.”

After sharing the anecdote about the Russell-led ’63 Celtics visiting the JFK White House, Biden closed his remarks by celebrating “the power of sports to bring people together.”

“It’s part of that wonderful tradition,” said Biden, whose term as president will end in January. “… It’s a tradition that I’ve had the honor to continue. No matter the sport, what these champions all have in common are core values — and I mean this sincerely — hard work, teamwork, respect, the knowledge that no one of us is ever as good as all of us can be where we’re together. That when we get knocked down, we get back up, as my dad would say. ‘Just get up, Joe. Get up.’

“The character to keep going and keep the faith. That’s the Celtic way of life. That’s sports, and that’s America.”

The Celtics concluded their visit by touring the Oval Office, which Grousbeck said the 2008 team was unable to do during its championship visit.

In a conference call Thursday evening, Grousbeck called Biden’s remarks about Celtics history “amazing” and described the day overall as a memorable victory lap that even the laser-focused Mazzulla enjoyed.

“This was a very exciting and moving day,” Grousbeck said. “We had not been focused on this. We got through the banner and opening night, and then it was all business, led by Joe (Mazzulla). Joe really doesn’t want us to dwell too much on the past. He wants us to move forward.

“Having said that, everybody here, including Joe, really seemed to have a great time, and we really got some time to personally connect with the president. … The whole thing was a very special day.”

Barring an unexpected delay in the sale process, this also was Grousbeck’s final White House visit as the face of the Celtics’ ownership group, though he intends to remain on as team governor for another three years. Grousbeck’s family expects to sell its majority interest in the franchise by early 2025.

Both Grousbeck and co-owner Steve Pagliuca — the only individual or group to publicly announce plans to submit a bid to the team — both declined to comment on the impending sale, outside of Grousbeck saying it is “underway” and has generated “a lot of interest.”

“The sale of the team, we’re not focusing on that,” Pagliuca said. “We’re only focused on celebrating the championship.”

Off the rim

Asked to list memorable moments from Thursday’s trip, White named three: Brown receiving a history lesson from a Secret Service agent, seeing a U.S. president in person for the first time and the apple cider at the White House being “unbelievable.” … Pagliuca said the turnout at the White House was “far larger” than it was for the 2008 Celtics’ visit. “Every senator, congressperson, person of government in Massachusetts, the president, our players — it was just a very emotional and uplifting day,” he said.