After traveling to Miami on Friday for back-to-back Democratic Party fundraisers, President Obama spent the rest of his weekend at the Floridian Golf Club in Palm City hitting the links with sports royalty.
Given his choice of partners, one might have expected Obama, known for his love of pick-up basketball, to hit the court instead of the links. On both Saturday and Sunday, Obama was joined by NBA greats Alonzo Mourning and Ray Allen, while legendary hoopster Clyde Drexler teed off with them on Sunday.
Washington lawyer and Obama friend Cy Walker, of Baker Hostetler, whose basketball prowess is unknown, may have not proved a good “fifth man” and therefore, titled the scale on Sunday toward golf. And Houston Astros owner Jim Crane may have done the same on Saturday. Or perhaps Obama liked his chances of winning better on the links than the court, given the competition.
Allen is the only player still in the game. Currently a free agent, Allen has played with the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Seattle Supersonics. The 10-time NBA all-star and Olympic gold-medalist has also found time to dabble in acting.
In 1998 director Spike Lee cast Allen in a leading role in the Denzel Washington vehicle, “He Got Game,” a movie about a basketball player (Allen) and his father (Washington).
Clyde “the Glide” Drexler, also a 10-time All-star, was named one of the 50 greatest NBA players and was part of the 1992 Olympic gold medal-winning basketball “dream team.” He played for the Houston Rockets and Portland Trailblazers. He’s a two-time hall of famer and currently does color commentary for Rockets’ home games.
Mourning played 15 years for the Heat, including on the championship 2006 team after being sidelined to undergo a kidney transplant. “Zo” was the first Heat player to have his number retired. Earlier in his career he played for the Charlotte Hornets and New Jersey Nets.
Obama returns to Washington from his two-day golf excursion Sunday.
