𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Standing above the practice court at the Obama Presidential Center, there was a palpable buzz as people whispered back and forth, “Do you think he’s going to be here?”

The only “he” everyone could be referring to was of course former President Barack Obama.

When he appeared the players faces lit up as he welcomed them to the city and commended them on the success of the league. From there he went around and shook each player’s hand individually. A video of him attempting to defend Liberty forward Jonquel Jones has since gone viral. I don’t know if it’s because he was playing in jeans or with no-show socks, but either way he looked like he still had game.

Later players talked about what it meant to share a moment with the former president.

Phoenix Mercury guard/forward Kahleah Copper commented on how impressive it was that Obama knew something about each of the players. She met him in 2022 at a private lunch set up by the Chicago Sky in Washington DC to celebrate the team’s first WNBA title and said seeing him again was just as special.

“He’s just super personable. Very genuine, knows everybody, knows a little bit about you,” Cooper said. “It’s just amazing when you meet someone who is who he is to just be able to be so relatable, come to you and talk to you. Like he’s met you 20,000 times before, so that’s super cool.”

One moment in particular stood out from his meet and greet and that was his exchange with Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark. As he shook her hand he said, among other niceties, to tune out the noise and remember her joy. She later acknowledged how special it was to hear that from him.