Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, has recommended a change to the NBA season.
Injuries have become a serious issue for the league recently, with star players regularly missing games.
The conversation resurfaced ahead of the All-Star Game, with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Stephen Curry pulling out.
Obama has now told NBA owners to consider a different schedule to prevent so many injuries.
Barack Obama wants fewer games in NBA regular season
Obama acknowledged in a press conference at the NBA’s All-Star weekend that the league is more intense than in previous eras.
“The average NBA player today is so much more athletic, more talented, more skilled, in the way the game is played,” he explained.
“You watch those old hardwood classics, guys aren’t running that hard. Everybody’s kind of dribbling, and everybody is going in the paint, and they’re all sitting there.
“You watch now, particularly if you go to live games, people are playing so hard because you have to close out at the three-point line, and the amount of running and the strain on the body, et cetera, it’s remarkable.”
Barack Obama speaks in Chicago in 2023
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
With that in mind, Obama believes it would be a sensible idea to reduce the schedule from 82 games to 72.
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“I think the game has evolved, and it continues to get better,” Obama continued.
“Now, since we have some owners here, I would say consider knocking ten games off the regular season, just because I don’t know that the body, that physically, you can prevent injuries at this pace.
“They are playing a much faster pace than they did 20 years ago. So it was easier to play 82 games or 75 games back then than it is today.”
Barack Obama highlights three rising NBA stars
Obama also highlighted three future NBA superstars who have impressed him this season.
He’s amazed that players like Cooper Flagg are having such excellent seasons so early in their careers.
“You look at these younger kids who are coming in, they have so much poise and experience, somebody like Cooper Flagg,” he said.
“He’s a baby. You can tell the guy’s barely shaven. And he’s out there doing what he’s doing.
“[Kon] Knueppel? Unbelievable. [VJ] Edgecombe. So you’ve got these young folks who are now performing at levels that I think we’ve never seen before.”
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