The Trail Blazers' players, coaches, and management converged on Washington D.C. at the end of August to visit the White House as NBA champions and were received by Ronald Reagan.
This was Gan Guoyang's second visit to the White House since 1984 and his second meeting with Reagan. During the meeting, Gan Guoyang said to Reagan, "I hope to see you again next year."
Reagan burst into laughter, expressing his great appreciation for Guoyang's confidence and looking forward to seeing him and the Portland Trail Blazers again next year at the White House.
As they left the White House, Buckwalter said to Guoyang, "Now that's great, even the President knows you've puffed up your chest and said we're going to defend the championship. The pressure on the guys this year is huge."
Guoyang replied, "What, if I don't say it, you guys don't want to win the championship? It's good to put some pressure on you, so you won't slack off every day."