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President Barack Obama makes NBA, NFL picks
and throws in some discussion about the rap game, too
We all know how much President Barack Obama loves sports. In many ways, it’s probably his most appreciated asset, if you will, among regular Americans who don’t particularly obsess over, say, politics or race. He doesn’t have any moments like former President George W. Bush trying and failing to dribble a basketball (although Obama did throw up a bunch of bricks once while shooting with kids at the White House) and he’s made picking his NCAA basketball tournament bracket a thing every year he’s been in office.
Someone even wrote a book (The Audacity of Hoop) about how his relationship with basketball, which he played in high school, shaped his entire approach to building his cabinet and establishing relationships from the Oval Office in more ways than just love for the game.
Anyway, on Friday, he decided to make some more predictions, and let’s just say that in his last few months in office, he’s not exactly making any daring picks. On SiriusXM’s Sway In The Morning show, the 44th president picked the Golden State Warriors to win the NBA Finals and the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl. Mind you, he won’t be seeing either of these teams at the White House should this happen — he’ll be gone by then.
But seriously, Obama? The Dubs and the Pats? Those are the most lamesauce vanilla picks out there, fam. That’s what someone who’s never heard of any team in either league does. Perhaps more importantly, though, was his discussion on hip-hop. The president showed a decent command for the rap game, and even had jokes.
“I think the young guys, Kendrick [Lamar] and Chance [The Rapper] are doing amazing work,” he said. “I love Drake and the girls love Drake, so he’s commercially just doing great and unbelievably talented. And you know, Jay-Z’s still the king. He’s got a track record, same with Kanye [West]. So, you know, there’s a lot of talent out there, but what I look at is, who’s breaking new ground? Kendrick and Chance, those guys are doing just amazing work, and they’re wonderful young men.”
Better picks in music than in sports, but hey, on all fronts, that’s about as good as you’re ever going to get from a sitting president.