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Barack Obama Says He'd Sign with Spurs as a Free Agent
March 1, 2018
If the San Antonio Spurs are looking for another guard to fill out their backcourt, former United States President Barack Obama would welcome the chance to play for them.
During the MIT Sports Analytics Conference, Obama noted the Spurs are a team he would take a free-agent meeting with because they encompass everything he is looking for.
"They're smart, they're well-run, they're focused on team," he said, via Sarah Martinez of the San Antonio Current. "They treat everybody in the organization with respect, and that is the kind of organization that I want to be a part of. So I would say over the last 15 years in basketball, San Antonio would be a great example of that."
Upon hearing about Obama's interest in playing for the Spurs, head coach Gregg Popovich had an appropriately cheeky response.
"That's very flattering," he said, via Melissa Rohlin of the Bay Area News Group. "I'd have to do a background check on him, though, because I've heard some things he's done in the past aren't very good. I can't remember where I heard that stuff, but I'd have to do a background check."
This isn't the first time Obama has heaped praise upon the Spurs. He said they were "a great metaphor for what America should be all about" because of their team-first approach to basketball during their visit to the White House in January 2015 to celebrate their NBA title during the 2013-14 season.
The Spurs have been one of the model franchises in sports for two decades. They have won at least 50 games in each of the past 18 seasons, the longest streak in NBA history, and have captured five NBA titles since the 1998-99 season.