Presidential Sports Moments: the Best of Barack Obama’s 2 Terms

Hail to the chief! Barack Obama‘s finishing up his eight year stint as President of the United States. By many accounts, Obama’s been been one of the most successful presidents we’ve had. He’s also been one of the most athletic and the best subtle trash talkers.

But it goes deeper than 44 watching ESPN every morning in the Situation Room. You wouldn’t think so, considering he’s been the leader of the free world for the past eight years. But beneath that Chicago law professor exterior beats the heart of a true athlete. Here’s some of President Obama’s best sports moments over the last two terms.

Barry the Baller

President Obama’s well-known for his love of basketball, he turned the White House tennis courts into a basketball court. For him, it started during his high school years in Hawaii, and continued through the 2008 election. He’d regularly stop for pick-up games on the campaign trail, and the tradition continued through both terms as President.

Of course when you’re Barry the Baller you’re not gonna get much competition from White House staffers and the occasional Congressman. NBA legends of past and present have visited President Obama. Sometimes they bore gifts, like how LeBron and the Miami Heat gave him a custom jersey in 2013. Remember when he clowned then Miami Heat member Mario Chalmers about LeBron always yelling at him during games?

He also wasn’t afraid of a good old fashion basketball analogy to illustrate his dominance during an election year. In 2012, President Obama compared himself to the Miami Heat and cast Republican candidate Mitt Romney as Jeremy Lin.

No matter what moves Mr. Romney made, the president said, he and his team were going to cut him off and block him at every turn. “We’re the Miami Heat, and he’s Jeremy Lin,”

Last May, Obama channeled Kobe Bryant’s retirement as he hosted the final White House Correspondence Dinner of his term. The speech itself was filled with hilarious quoatables, but his ending words resonated with sports fans everywhere.

Obama followed Lakers legend Kobe Bryant’s lead, gracing us with a mic drop along with the words, “Obama out.”

He also trash talked Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry. Obama touched on Curry’s record setting three pointers in the 2015 season, but he also let everyone know that Klay Thompson, and not Curry, had the prettier J

“[Klay’s] jumpshot is a little prettier. I mean, I’m just saying,” said Obama. He also reminded the world that he defeated Steph on the golf course that summer too.

During the 2010 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers’ visit, Obama—being the huge Chicago Bulls fan that he is—reminded everyone that Phil Jackson won six of his 10 titles with Chicago. He also had a few friendly barbs for NBA legend Magic Johnson, who was also in attendance.

“You remember that, Magic.” He reminded Magic about the play in the Game 2 of the 1991 NBA Finals where Michael Jordan hit one of the most iconic layups in NBA history by acting it out.

Sometimes it’s Barack handing out the gifts, like when he presented Celtics legend Bill Russell in 2011 with the Congressional Medal of Freedom. The US President on stage with a twelve-time NBA All-Star – does it get cooler than that?

The NFL didn’t escape Obama’s jabs. The president joked about the Denver Broncos’ defense during their visit and the New England Patriots were reminded about “deflategate”

“I usually tell a bunch of jokes at these events, but with the Patriots in town, I was worried that 11 out of 12 of them would fall flat.” 

President Obama even brought March Madness brackets into the White House with his yearly public bracket picks.

The Presidential Duffer

Of course it’s not all about basketball. President Obama, like many other US presidents, likes to get in a round of golf now and again. Fifteen of the last eighteen presidents have been duffers, so Barack’s attraction to the game is nothing unexpected for a commander-in-chief.

So how dedicated is President Obama to the game? Let’s put it this way: he played his 300th round of golf by August 2016. It’s one of the few opportunities for Obama to get out of the White House bubble, he’s said. Also, the president’s not exactly a spring chicken any more. He’s in his mid-fifties, and golf is a lot gentler on his body than basketball.

Whether he’s on the courts, on the links, or in the Oval Office, President Obama remains a tremendous competitor. With two major election wins under his belt, he’ll have to find something else to do when his second term is up. Rumor says he might even be thinking about buying an NBA team. Guess we’ll have to wait and see!