The NBA crowd’s response to the Obamas says a lot, especially after the controversial Trump video.
The crowd at the 75th NBA All-Star Game had a warm and exciting reaction when Michelle and Barack Obama appeared on the big screen inside the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
On Sunday, February 15, the famous NBA All-Star Game took place in California. Basketball stars like LeBron James and Kevin Durant played for Team USA Stripes, while Most Valuable Player (MVP) Anthony Edwards joined Team USA Stars. Team World also competed, with Victor Wembanyama representing the side.
The Stars started the event with a 37–25 win against Team World. Team World lost their next game too, 48–45 against Stripes. In the round-robin games, Stripes beat Stars 42–40, but the Stars won the championship match 47–21. MVP Edwards had a great game, scoring 32 points, with nine rebounds and three assists.
Many celebrities were sitting close to the court, including the Obama family, who were spotted by the cameras and shown on the big screen. Barack Obama, a big basketball fan, and his wife Michelle recently faced a hurtful, racist video posted on then-President Donald Trump’s social media. The video showed them in a very offensive way, which upset many people, both Democrats and Republicans. Senator Tim Scott called the video “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.” Trump said he didn’t see that part of the video and didn’t think he needed to apologize.
Just over a week after that, the crowd at the Intuit Dome made it clear they supported the Obamas by cheering loudly when they appeared on the screen.
In a sideline interview with NBC, Barack Obama talked about how basketball has become a “global” sport, much like soccer. He said, “Basketball is now a global sport. On every continent, people get excited about it and play it. You just need a hoop and a ball, so it’s easy to start, just like soccer. It doesn’t cost much to organize games, and lots of people love it.”
The 64-year-old also mentioned how international players add to the game’s excitement. He said, “Some worry about effort in the All-Star Game, but today we saw real effort. When Americans play against international teams, everyone wants to bring their best.”
Right now, there are 135 international players on NBA team rosters, showing just how worldwide basketball has become.