Obama Plays Hoops with NBA Stars

President Barack Obama playing pickup basketball with NBA stars

President Barack Obama played pickup basketball with National Basketball Association (NBA) stars and college players as a gift to himself on his 49^th birthday, ahead of announcing the government’s accomplishments on higher education.

The acknowledged leader of the free world made every basketball fan’s dream come true when he invited and played with a veritable “dream team” of players which included LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Derick Rose, Grant Hill, as well as hoops legends Bill Russell and Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

Kobe Bryant also attended but did not play in the game.

Seemingly conscious of previous criticism that his pick-up games tend to be all-male, UConn women’s team star Maya Moore also played.

The game was held at Fort McNair in the District, the usual site for Obama’s pickup games. No other details were released by the White House, and the event was close to the media.

Obama is known to be a fierce competitor during games and is seen to throw elbows every now and then, but it would have been tough for Obama, with the players standing 6-8 or taller.

The game was played in front of an audience of war veterans and members of a White House mentoring program.

Basketball is staging a comeback at the White House since Obama took office. He regularly plays with staff members and some friends on a basketball court he had rebuilt on what were previously tennis courts.

He had said in June 2009 that such a star-studded pick-up game may be organized after the court was built."As soon as we get the basketball nets up, we're going to have some of these guys over for a game," he said.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Tuesday August 10 2010, 11:06 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0