Former President Barack Obama surprised the players and coaches of the WNBA All-Star team Friday morning during a practice at the Obama Presidential Center.
The team — which includes A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark — was scheduled to practice at the Home Court on the campus of the Obama Center ahead of Saturday’s All-Star Game at the United Center. Before practice began, Obama stepped onto the court to greet players and congratulate the league on its continued growth.
“All of you are extraordinary, and I could not be a bigger fan,” Obama said. “The way that the game has been going lately, the way it’s been picking up … I think it’s been something for basketball fans generally be excited to see. It’s been making me happy.”
The All-Star practice marked the first time that the Obama Center courts have been used for a full-scale basketball event. Obama also dropped in to speak at other WNBA All-Star events Friday on the campus, including a Changemaker Day session focused on community impact.
Wilson mentioned she collaborated on an ad with one of Obama’s daughters, while former Chicago Sky forward and current Atlanta Dream All-Star Angel Reese said her foundation also is working with the Obama Foundation.
“We really were just talking hoops. You can tell he’s always been a hooper. It doesn’t leave his blood,” WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike said. “We’ve known from the beginning that he’s followed us and is such a fan of women’s basketball. To be able to celebrate 30 years here in the Obama Center, it feels very right.”
Obama said he christened the court a month before the official opening of the presidential campus with a game of H-O-R-S-E — and admitted he lost that inaugural game.
He teased the assembled WNBA players for their relaxed approach to Friday’s practice, bowing out of going one-on-one with any of the league’s stars after briefly guarding New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones.
“I don’t run full court no more to protect my Achilles,” the former president said jokingly.
After posing for a photo opportunity, Obama took time to speak with each All-Star individually.
“Oh, my God, that was so cool,” said Kahleah Copper, the former Sky star currently with the Phoenix Mercury. “The coolest thing for me is just how personable he is. It’s so genuine. He was just like, ‘You’re having a great season. I’m super proud of you.’ I’m like, ‘OK, are you watching me?’”
Reese made sure her fellow players got photos with him, and she got a selfie, which she later posted on social media.
“Not everybody just gets to meet Barack,” she said.
It was her first time meeting Obama, though she went on Michelle Obama’s podcast previously and said it was empowering. She also had a run-in with Obama this week at the airport.
“It’s so funny because when my plane was landing yesterday, he was right next to my plane,” Reese said. “They were like, ‘VIP, nobody can get off the plane.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, we VIP too.’ And then they said Obama, and I was like, ‘Oh, OK, OK, OK.’”
LeBron news spreads
Clark spent a couple of minutes pitching the Indiana Pacers to LeBron James during her media session, even though she said, “We all know that’s not happening.”
She offered the idea of playing with Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam. She touted playing in a smaller market, saying of the Indiana fans, “This means so much to them. Indiana is a true basketball state. It’s one of the biggest basketball states in the country, and people truly care about the game there.”
Later in her interview, she received the news: LeBron was signing a two-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.
“No way!” she said. “I just pitched him for the Pacers. It didn’t get to him fast enough.
“The 76ers. Wow. Selfishly I wanted the Warriors because Steph and Bron would have been absolutely insane together, but they have some serious talent on the 76ers. Arguably, maybe one of the favorites in the East now with the Knicks and obviously my Pacers.”
Bayou Barbie becomes real
Reese had to pause her interview session with reporters to do her own documenting.
Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young was looking at the new Angel Reese Barbie doll, which was released this week, and Reese stood up to snap a photo.
Reese said her doll, which is dressed in a pink uniform, shoes and headband and has a pink ball, is a dream years in the making, since she became known as Bayou Barbie while playing at LSU.
“I used to put Barbie stuff on merch and I wasn’t really supposed to,” Reese said. “I told them I really wanted to have a Barbie doll one day, and to have a Barbie, you have to be iconic. You have to do some real things. I knew it was going to take some time because there are so many great women that are Barbie dolls and have their own doll. I knew that’s what I wanted, and I spoke that into existence.”
Reese is back in Chicago making her third WNBA All-Star appearance but her first as a member of the Dream since the Sky traded her in April.
Reese said her move to Atlanta has “been a dream come true, literally.” She said she’s playing the best she has in her career and expressed appreciation for what she has gained under coach Karl Smesko.
“I would just say my confidence and my patience,” Reese said. “He literally works on me every single day. … Sometimes I’ll be like, ‘I don’t want to do it today.’ But he’s in my ear every day. ‘Let’s go, we’re doing this.’ … It just shows how much he cares about me, and he just wants to see me get better every single day.”
