“Today, America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman, and humanitarian”. Beginning his statement with these words, President Joe Biden joined other leaders, both in America and around the world, in paying tribute to Jimmy Carter. The 39th US President passed away peacefully a few hours ago, less than 3 months after he celebrated his 100th birthday. Despite having spent the last few months of his life in hospice care, the former president’s tragic death is nevertheless a saddening event.

America now enters a period of mourning. Along with leaders, members of the sports fraternity also join in paying tribute to this once-in-a-generation leader. Earlier today, the NBA released a statement: “The NBA family mourns the passing of President Jimmy Carter. President Carter’s extraordinary humanitarian efforts and commitment to public service are an inspiration to people everywhere.”

From being a peanut farmer to holding the highest public office in the United States of America, Jimmy Carter’s path to the presidency was chartered at a time when the country was still reeling from the aftermath of the Watergate Scandal and the Vietnam War. He only served one term, since he was defeated by Ronald Reagan during the 1980 Presidential Election. However, Jimmy Carter’s impact during his brief tenure in office, and even after it, made an impact in the nation’s history books.

He was known as one of the most impactful US statesmen during the post-presidency period. As a diplomatic figure, he helped to secure the release of political prisoners in Nicaragua back in 1986. Through the Carter Center, which he founded back in 1982 along with his wife, Rosalynn, he led global efforts to eliminate Guinea worm disease. He sponsored the Carter Work Project at Habitat for Humanity for over 30 years. He and Rosalynn worked “alongside 104,000 volunteers in 14 countries to build, renovate and repair 4,390 homes”. Therefore, if someone needs to be wholeheartedly thanked for their humanitarian efforts, it is the late statesman.

‘Jimmy Carter’ and ‘NBA’, or even ‘Basketball’, are not words that would usually be found in the same sentence. After all, the former president’s preferred sport was tennis. Despite this, Jimmy Carter did serve as an All-Star guard in a basketball team during his early days. Furthermore, he made history when he became the first POTUS to host celebrations for champions of all 3 major professional sports leagues: the NBA, NFL, and MLB. He welcomed the then reigning NBA Champion Washington Bullets, in an East Room ceremony, back in 1978. Displaying his dribbling skills, Carter joked during the ceremony, “The last time Washington had a champion was when Franklin Roosevelt was President. And this is really a hope that I might have brought good luck to Washington.”

Having lived a fulfilling life, Jimmy Carter now rests peacefully. Remembering his impact on American society as a whole, NBA fans have now come out in quite a few numbers to pay tribute.

Basketball fans react to the news of Jimmy Carter’s death, bringing up core NBA memories with former POTUS

One social media user wrote, “Rest in peace, President Carter. A life of compassion”.

The official X account of New York Basketball paid tribute to the former president by writing “RIP Jimmy Carter. Twice nominated for president at Madison Square Garden”. They also highlighted a picture of Carter during the 1980 Democratic National Convention.

MSG has hosted the 1976, 1980, and 1992 Democratic National Convention. It also hosted the 2004 Republican National Convention. Jimmy Carter had the privilege of being the Presidential Candidate during two of them. The reason for choosing the ‘Mecca of Basketball’ was not publicly specified. However, its importance may have been certainly amplified through the DNC and RNC events.

A social media user wrote, “RIP Jimmy Carter. 100 y/o. Snapped this while he sat on the baseline in 2019 with Rosalynn.” He attached a picture of the former presidential couple being highlighted on the Jumbotron as they made an appearance during a Hawks–Knicks game.

Georgia was an important part of the former president’s life. He was born in Plains and lived there before and after his presidency. It is also where he passed away. Therefore, both Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter sometimes arrived at the State Farm Arena to watch NBA games. During an Atlanta Hawks matchup held on Valentine’s Day 2019, the couple was even featured on the iconic Kiss-Cam! They obliged. It was nice to know that even after 70 years of marriage, the spark still existed between the couple.

Another NBA fan expressed his sorrow by writing, “Prayers for Jimmy and family”, accompanied by joined hands and a heart emoji.

During Jimmy Carter’s presidency, there were 4 different NBA champions. 1977 Portland Trail Blazers, 1978 Washington Bullets, 1979 Seattle Supersonics, and 1980 Los Angeles Lakers. As a result, he was the first president to not have a repeat champion during his administration! The only other president on that exclusive list is Joe Biden.

One more NBA fan joined in, adding to the list of tributes, “Rest in peace, President Carter’s”, accompanied by a dove emoji.

The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov, as part of his tribute, highlighted how Jimmy Carter was the first sitting president to attend an NBA game. He attended the Hawks-Bullets playoff game, back in 1979, and even took a picture with the Bullets mascot. At the time, it was a dachshund named Tiny. Carter even expressed that he had been a Hawks fan since the team’s inception!

Overall, the majority of reactions were positive in their tribute to the late politician. Jimmy Carter’s loss is not just one for America but for everyone around the world who grew up to respect him for his work, and his contributions to society. People like him are rarely seen walking the face of the Earth.