When Barack Obama shocked Chris Paul with a crossover in Pickup Game

During his time in office, former President Barack Obama was known for his passion for basketball, particularly the impromptu games he hosted at the White House. At first, these games were just casual campaign games featuring Obama and his staff, but they eventually evolved into epic contests featuring NBA stars like Chris Paul and LeBron James.

Every election day during his presidency, Barack Obama played impromptu basketball. These events evolved from impromptu games with friends and coworkers to games that included NBA players and anyone who had time. Chris Paul, who was one of the invitees at the time, said Obama once ran into him and he was shocked by the man’s skills.

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Chris Paul was impressed by Barack Obama’s ball-collecting skills

During Obama’s time in office, attendance at these presidential basketball games was extremely popular, attracting players from the Bulls (Obama’s favorite team) and any other players who happened to be in town that day.

However, getting into these games wasn’t as easy as just being a basketball player. It started with Obama’s former bodyguard Reggie Love. To get into these games, you had to get past Reggie first. The more famous you were, the better your chances were of making it onto the court for the Obama administration.

And how did the players fare against the then president? According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, most players showed the necessary respect and did not play too aggressively against Obama – with one notable exception.

Most of these people would treat Obama with respect and not be too harsh on him. With the exception of Chris Paul. He was always the most persistent of all those who attacked him.

Paul said in an oral history of Obama’s basketball background in GQ: “I was shocked at how good he was.” “Nice jump shot from the left. But he got lucky on the break one time. I kind of jumped out, made him guess which way to run, and he made the right play, went over and made it look like he outsmarted me. That will never happen again. Hopefully now that he’s out of office we’ll have some time to see if it was real.”

Many people, including former senior adviser David Axelrod, told stories about Obama’s enthusiasm for basketball on the campaign trail. Axelrod once feared he had broken Obama’s nose during an impromptu game in Philadelphia.

Obama recently recreated a classic Key & Peele moment when he greeted the U.S. basketball players

Obama’s love of basketball continues. And thanks to the former president, the streaming stats of the popular (and long-defunct) sketch comedy series Key & Peele are sure to skyrocket soon.

As you’ve no doubt made the rounds this morning, a clip of the former U.S. president greeting members of the U.S. men’s basketball team shows him more or less recreating one of the most famous moments from Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key’s five-season Comedy Central hit.

In the Team USA clip Obama seems to apply the same “dap or handshake” principle Differentiation process as Peele’s version of the 44th President.

Longtime fans of Key & Peele will notice that this comes full circle in more ways than one, as the original sketch was preceded by footage of Obama doing the same thing at a previous Team USA reunion while in office.

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