by Cedric ‘BIG CED’ Thornton
August 21, 2025
‘He’s smooth–like he talks, like he walks’
Many people are aware that President Barack Obama is a big basketball fan, and The Basketball Network recalled a time when NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade mentioned that he played ball with the fellow Chicago native over 10 years ago, while Obama was still in office.
The former president was such an avid basketball fan and player that he had a full-sized basketball court installed in the White House during his administration. During his high school years, Obama was good enough to make it onto the varsity team at Punahou School in Hawaii. The school won the state championship in 1979, but we never really heard why he never pursued the sport. But to this day, he can be seen at occasional games. He usually gives his opinion on the sport and still interacts with many former and current NBA players.
Obama was known to invite many NBA players to the White House to participate in some pick-up games while he was in office.
In celebration of the president’s 49th birthday, he invited fellow Chicago natives Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, and future NBA Hall of Famer LeBron James, along with several other players, for a mix of professional ballers and some who weren’t in the NBA. Not too many people were privy to the games. Still, when a reporter from Time Magazine asked Wade about playing ball with the president in 2012, he gave a description that seemingly fit Obama’s personality.
The former Miami Heat player stated that the president was passing the ball a lot and didn’t take many shots. He also said that he gave the president an assist when Obama hit the game-winning shot during one of their pick-up contests.
“He was kind of like a point guard. He was passing a lot. He’s smooth–like he talks, like he walks. He didn’t shoot too much, but I passed it to him, and he hit the game-winning shot. That was cool.”
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