The crowd in attendance at the 75th edition of the NBA All-Star Game gave an interesting reception to Michelle and Barack Obama when they were spotted on the big screen inside the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
On Sunday (February 15), the latest edition of the iconic NBA All-Star Game took place in California, with veterans LeBron James and Kevin Durant in action for Team USA Stripes, while Most Valuable Player (MVP) Anthony Edwards featured for Team USA Stars.
Team World also took part, with Victor Wembanyama turning out for the side.
The Stars opened their tournament with a 37–25 win against World, who also lost their second match against Stripes by a score of 48–45. In the round robin, Stripes beat Stars 42–40, but the latter side reigned victorious with a 47–21 win in the championship match, with MVP Edwards registering 32 points alongside nine rebounds and three assists.
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Among the many celebrities at courtside was the Obama family, who were quickly picked up by the camera before being shown on the big screen.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama, who is an avid basketball fan, and his wife Michelle were recently the subject of a racist video posted to President Donald Trump’s social media, with both depicted as apes, which resulted in backlash from both Democrats and Republicans.
Republican Senator Tim Scott described the clip as "the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House".
Trump said he “didn’t see" the part of the video which showed the Obamas before saying that he “didn’t make a mistake” when asked whether he planned to apologize.
Just over one week on from the incident, the crowd inside the Intuit Dome made their feelings towards the Obamas clear by cheering them as they appeared on screen.
Speaking in a sideline interview with NBC, Barack spoke about how the sport is now a “global” game and compared it to soccer.
"Basketball is now a global sport,” Obama said.
“Now on every continent, basketball is a huge, exciting, and embraced sport. And part of it is that anybody can play. You need a hoop and a basket, so in that way it's a lot like soccer.
"It's not that expensive to get games organized and everybody's getting behind it."
The 64-year-old then went on to state that he feels international stars have added “to the appeal of the game.”
He added: “There’s a lot of concern about the All-Star Game and not seeing effort (from the players).
“Today we are seeing (that effort). Anytime you get Americans vs. International (teams), they want to bring it.”
A total of 135 international players are currently registered on the NBA's roster.
Topics: Basketball, Donald Trump, NBA
Luke Davies