WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden celebrated the NBA champion Golden State Warriors at the White House on Tuesday as he expressed concern for Californians who have suffered through waves of destructive weather.

Were all closely monitoring the storms, the floods, the landslides all across California, and our heart is with all of the families of the communities that are hurting, he said.

Biden plans to visit the state Thursday, and he has approved disaster assistance for the state.

The Warriors have won four championships in eight years, but they didnt visit the White House while Donald Trump was president. He made a show of publicly disinviting them after Stephen Curry, the teams star, said he wasnt interested in going.

The Golden State Warriors are always welcome in this White House, Biden said. He also honored Curry as one of the great sportsmen of our time.