As far as NBA team owners go, there are former athletes (Michael Jordan), tech giants (Steve Ballmer), and business moguls (Mark Cuban). And though a former President has never owned an NBA team, Barack Obama—a lifelong fan of hoops—might end up being a pioneer sometime in the near future.
During Wednesday's White House press briefing, Obama's press secretary, Josh Earnest, said the President has "discussed" joining an ownership group for an NBA franchise. Earnest said Obama would do it "potentially ... under the right circumstances."
"I don’t know if that kind of opportunity will present itself," Earnest said. "But I suspect that’s something that he would enjoy.”
Earnest's statement came after a journalist asked him if Obama would ever be interested in becoming the commissioner of Major League Baseball. Earnest said that, although Obama loves his hometown Chicago White Sox, he is more interested in becoming part of an NBA ownership group.
You can check out Earnest's full press briefing below, with the question about Obama's potential interest in becoming the MLB commish coming at 47:50:
This isn't the first time we've heard about Obama's interest in buying an NBA team. While speaking with Bill Simmons for a GQ story in late 2015, Obama said he would "absolutely" consider joining an ownership group one day.
It'd be reasonable to assume Obama would like to own a piece of the Chicago Bulls, but Jerry Reinsdorf has owned the franchise since 1985 and doesn't seem intent on giving it up. So when the time comes, he may need to look outside his hometown if he's serious about owning an NBA franchise.
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