Barack Obama's sports fandom is well documented, but a new story has emerged regarding a never-before-seen pickup game involving the former Commander in Chief and some NBA royalty.
During a new episode of the "Pablo Torre Finds Out" podcast, former NBA star Shane Battier told the story of a legendary basketball game on Obama's birthday.
"Call out of the blue. ‘Hey, what are you doing this day? The president has requested you to play in his birthday pickup game,'" Battier recalled. The two-time NBA champion said that Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Alonzo Mourning and others all took part in the game.
Battier still wonders why he was invited in the first place, but was grateful for the opportunity. He also noted that he enjoyed "NAVY SEALs driving us to the gym."
After losing the first two pickup games, Battier says Obama told his team to focus on the task at hand before playing the third.
"President Obama says 'Guys, bring it in. As your Commander in Chief, I command you to not lose this last game."
Battier also noted that Obama wanted the NBA players to play hard, and that he didn't want them to take it easy on him because of his position.
"He hit the game winning shot," Battier said about the president. "He's got this kind of squirrely left-hander. It looks weird but it goes in...it was an unbelievable day."
Battier won two NBA championships with the Miami Heat, and also won a national championship in college with Duke. Obama spent time with the North Carolina Tar Heels ahead of the 2008 presidential election, playing basketball with them before they won the national title that year.
Obama's brother-in-law Craig Robinson is a former college basketball coach, spending time with Oregon State and Brown. Robinson also played in college for the Princeton tigers.
Obama's love for basketball extends to the NCAA Tournament, where he typically fills out a bracket each year. He chose South Carolina for the women's and Duke for the men, though he had eventual men's champion Florida in the national championship.
We'll see if his basketball career continues after his presidency ended back in 2016.
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