Barack Obama Surprises Players At NBA Rising Stars Game In Chicago

BYCole Blake1.8K Views
Link Copied to Clipboard!
Hannes Magerstaedt / Getty Images
Barack Obama

Barack Obama met with the players selected to the NBA Rising Stars teams to start All-Star weekend. They were starstruck by the former President's appearance.

Former President Barack Obama surprised the NBA Rising Stars teams prior to the game for All-Star weekend. The appearance left the young players starstruck, according to ESPN.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1228469110973091842

"This could be No. 1," Pelicans forward Zion Williamson said, explaining that this was one of the best moments of his life. "I don't want to say it is No. 1 right now because the draft might be 1, but this is definitely top two.

"He said I played great, and I kind of zoned out after that. That was all I needed to hear, to be honest."

Obama mostly spoke with Williamson and Hawks guard Trae Young. He could be seen chatting with the two for 20 minutes.

"It was crazy being able to stand next to him, talk to him," Young said afterward. "He basically knew everything about my season, my game. I was definitely asking him a lot of questions. He was just like a regular person -- that's what was crazy. You see all these things on TV and you don't even realize. He was just talking to me like a regular person."

Williamson says Obama spent the time discussing specific plays from his time with Duke and how he's been performing on the Pelicans.


About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.