As a former Hawaiian state champion, U.S. president Barack Obama bears some resemblance to basketball. This love for the game was evident during his tenure, and he personally met several NBA players, including Los Angeles Lakers superstar Lebron James.
1977 yearbook photo of the BarackObama basketball team in Honolulu. pic.twitter.com/YdkCyswjxK
– 10. ThePostGame (@ThePostGame) 11. ThePostGame. January 2017
Barack Obama and Lebron James forged a relationship that continues to this day. In this section we will recall some of the memorable encounters they have had over the years.
Champions host
For our first fight between Lebron James and Barack Obama we are back in the NBA at the end of the 2011-12 season. NBA finals, to be exact.
After seven years playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the summer of 2010, James made the memorable decision to bring his talents to South Beach and play in the Miami Heat in the summer of 2010. He played there with Chris Bosch and Dwyane Wade in one of the first formations of the big three.
Their first season together didn’t go as planned, as James and Heat lost in six games to Dirk Nowicki of the Dallas Mavericks. But in the next campaign, LeBron finally overcame the hump to qualify for his first NBA championship with a 4-1 victory over Thunder of Oklahoma City. For his excellent performance in the series, the Akron-born player received his first MVP prize in the finals.
At the time, it was a tradition for champion teams to visit the White House. When Obama extended the invitation, Heat graciously accepted it. For many Miami fans, it was the start of a race for epic success. Eventually the king decided to return to his birth caves in 2014, but later…
It is a great honor to welcome to the White House today a promising small basketball team called the Miami Heath World Champion, Barack Obama joked in his welcome speech to the team.
The heat of Miami is in town! A gift for the president. #TheHeatles #Potus #HeatNation #LeBron #Obama #whitehouse pic.twitter.com/29u5oOPb1y
– White House (@whphotos2013) 14. January 2014
A PHOTO BOMB ALARM: Michelle Obama bends to LeBron James! => http://t.co/6tfmbQIYWY [GIF] #MiamiHeat pic.twitter.com/PIFL8uNQom
– NBA knife (@NBAMemes) 22. January 2014
Olympic visit
It was 2012, and the stars of the American basketball team were on their way to London to participate in the Olympic Games, where they wanted to defend their gold medals. Obama actually met the team in the locker room before they left for a few words of encouragement. The former president also sat at court at an exhibition on the fight against Brazil. Led by Lebron James with 30 points, six picks and four flights, the Americans had to complete 23 rounds to win 80:69.
In this game, Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were captured on internal television screens during the Kiss Cam show.
The former president did not hesitate to keep his promise:
My husband, Obama, had 0 vibrations on that kiss camera pic.twitter.com/cJw45x1mYg.
– LEGEND (@ChriStylezz) 6. February 2017
After the victory of 98-71 over France, which was the American Olympic team, the players made a concerted effort to meet Michelle Obama, who was present in the London arena.
Before returning to the dressing room, all players went to the former First Lady’s house where everyone was greeted with a hug.
I love these pictures of the whole American men’s basketball team kissing @FLOTUS Michelle Obama during the 12 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/XB7Q1juq7g.
– Marlowe Star (@MarlowNYC) 8. August 2016
Tell J.R. to put his shirt on.
In the summer of 2014, after winning two championships with Heath, James took another fateful decision by returning to the Cavs. The city of Cleveland was denied the title for 52 years until 2016, when Lebron led the Cavs to their first NBA championship.
With players like Kiri Irving, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith, the Cavs were able to catch up in the finals against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors – the team that won 73 regular season games – 3-1. For the first time in the history of the NBA, the team came back from such a shortage.
@KingJames brings the title to Cleveland as @cavs overcomes 3-1 deficit https://t.co/oxpBoGIQOz #NBA Finals #NBA Playoffs pic.twitter.com/Bvj1q53nlO.
– NBAFastBreakBlog (@Shyztah) 20. June 2016.
It was a magical time in northeast Ohio when more than a million people attended the Cave Parade:
Two years ago today. #CavsParade #AlwaysBelieve pic.twitter.com/dI0iECVAHL #
– Cleveland Riders (@cavs) 22. June 2018.
J.R. Smith is shirtless again. pic.twitter.com/J7QxBSwrJf
– Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) 22. June 2016.
Just like when he was in heat, Lebron James and the Caves was invited to the White House after receiving Larry O’Brien’s trophy:
Cavers and the Larry O’Brien Trophy visited the White House. pic.twitter.com/cLPPyo0a43
– Sports Centre (@SportCentre) 10 November 2016
In one of the funniest moments of the time, Barack Obama asked J.R. Smith to wear a sweater in a congratulatory phone call with Cavs coach Tyrone Lu:
Closure of consultations
At our next meeting we will move on to the year 2020, marked by the coronavirus pandemic.
The virus hit the NBA in March, when Rudy Robert, a great man from Utah, was the first confirmed case in the league. His teammate, Donovan Mitchell, tested positive shortly after. That’s why Commissioner Adam Silver and his partners decided it was best to postpone the season.
The game resumed in July, but the circumstances were very different from what the players were used to. The NBA has invited all but eight teams to participate in a medical bubble complex in Florida.
At the same time, the social justice movement grew in the United States. Both citizens and athletes were angry at the way the authorities treated African-American men and women. This frustration surfaced when Jacob Blake was killed on the 23rd. August at Kenoshi, Wisconsin, was shot and killed by a policeman who left him paralyzed with a low waist.
Apparently, the Milwaukee Bucks players, who were clearly affected by the shooting near their home, decided to give up the game to raise awareness of social justice. It was feared that the season would be endangered, but a phone call between James and Obama put everyone on the same line.
Lebron James was actually before the end of the season – if there was no action plan. Obama, however, pushed the top of the overall ranking and stressed that he had to use the remaining time of the bubble campaign as an opportunity to shed some light on the issue. With so little pressure from Obama, Lebron decided to stay.
Through ABC sports and track & field:
Former President Barack Obama spoke late Wednesday night with James, national basketball association president Chris Paul and a small group of players, advising them to play and take the opportunity to put the actions they want to play into context, The Athletic learned.
James, Paul and others wanted out of 44. United States presidents (2009-2017) and were invited to form a stakeholder action committee in which Obama participates, sources reported The Athletic.
It’s hard to say what would have happened to the 2019-20 NBA season if Lebron had decided to seize it. He’s one of the biggest stars on the planet, and the competition is run by names like him. After this conversation with Obama, James helped formulate a plan to make progress in the field of social justice.
New session
According to several reports, Barack Obama is staying with Lebron James in the HBO Shop series for a special episode of Lebron James on the Friday before the elections. On Tuesday, the former president twittered about his performance in the show and said he was talking about the March 3 elections. November.
This weekend I stopped by The Shop in Miami to talk to @KingJames and @MavCarter about the NBA bubble, the racial justice movement, and what’s at stake during these seven days.
Don’t give up your strength. Schedule your voice: https://t.co/7zfJnABzx1 pic.twitter.com/2Gjf5L9avl
– Barack Obama (@BarackObama) 27. October 2020
In one of the teasers in this episode, Obama James congratulates on winning the 2020 NBA Championship with the Los Angeles Lakers.
LeBron James, another ring, another trophy.
Ever since James said it was a great honor for him to have Obama on the show:
My president gives us the perspective and motivation we need right now, James said about USA Today. THE VOICE OF THE VOICE!
There is no doubt that Lebron James and Barack Obama have a nice relationship. However, they are currently working together on important issues that need to be addressed. Let’s see what happened to their friendship.
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