If the San Antonio Spurs are ever in need of a new player, head coach Gregg Popovich might want to give Barack Obama a ring. The former president revealed during MIT's Sloan Sports Analytics Conference earlier this week that he would sign to the team if he was a free agent.
Obama explained, per the San Antonio Express-News:
Obama jokingly pointed out that he has friends who owned NBA teams so he had to choose wisely. He also mentioned the Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, and Boston Celtics as other options. Popovich later heard about Obama's decision and joked that he'd have to do a background check on him.
"That's very flattering," the Spurs coach said, according to Bay Area News Group's Melissa Rohlin. "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."
Popovich and Obama have met before when the Spurs visited the White House to celebrate their 2014 championship and shared a few laughs. "Let’s face it, a little while back, people were saying the Spurs were past their prime. Not just old, but kind of boring,” Obama quipped at the time. “Now they’re fresh and exciting—which is basically the exact opposite of what happens to presidents."