Barack Obama was known to play intense basketball games with a small circle of Beltway insiders during his presidency, as author Michael Lewis reported at the time.
So when the former Commander in Chief watches the indifferent play at the NBA All-Star Games, he can’t help but feel disgusted.
“You should be a little more proud of that All-Star Game,” Obama told NBA All-Star Tyrese Haliburton on his podcast, Young Man and the Three. ‘It’s not that you all don’t play pickup during the summers. You know how to play in a way that, ‘OK, I’m not going to hurt anybody, I’m not going to take anybody out,’ but that All-Star Game is ruined, man.
“People just like not to run,” Obama added. “Everyone was trying all kinds of… it used to be when Kobe (Bryant) and Michael (Jordan) and Isaiah (Thomas) and those guys were playing, man. I mean they weren’t playing like they did in the regular season, but they wanted to win.
“This is your business,” he concluded. ‘This is your product. You don’t want people to think you’re out there, just half-assed.
Barack Obama is done watching the NBA All-Star Games until something changes
Tyrese Haliburton interviewed Obama on his podcast, Young Man and the Three
There are no rules against playing defense in the NBA All-Star Games, but the practice has become frowned upon as the annual sponsor-driven event becomes a layup line each year.
February was no different.
The East beat the West 211-186, in what Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo described as “fun.”
Viewers were less convinced.
Despite setting a record for total points (397) and three-pointers (42), the NBA All-Stars received criticism from almost anyone who would have expected to see a competitive display.
Even commissioner Adam Silver has admitted that the All-Star Game is effectively broken because too much focus is placed on halftime performances and such.
“We’re sending mixed signals,” he told ESPN. “And if we want guys to treat this like a real game… we have to treat it that way.”