Some say it’s about time, since the Lakers won the NBA title in June 2009.
It’s hard to imagine the hoops-addicted Obama passing up such a juicy media opportunity to post up Bryant, Johnson, Odom and other players on the basketball court. Bryant was reportedly one of the many millions who scrambled for a commemorative copy of the Orange County Register newspaper when Obama became the first-ever African-American president.
Despite voting for Obama, some believe that the fierce competitive nature in Bryant would preclude him from “taking it easy” on the President. Besides, the President picked the Lakers to defeat the Orlando Magic in six games, not the five games that it took to actually dispatch the Magic. And here’s another stickler: the President picked Michael Jordan over Bryant when discussing the greatest players of all time.
Others on the team actively supported the Obama presidency as well. Derek Fisher, the president of the NBA Players Association and one of the most respected players on the Lakers team, visited several states to rally support behind Obama and even has cell phone pictures of the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Coach Phil Jackson donated money to the Obama campaign as well as Luke Walton, son of Hall of Famer Bill Walton, marking the first time he’d contributed to a presidential campaign.
It will be sweet for the President as well. It was widely reported that Obama carved out time in his busy schedule to watch all the Lakers’ games and even compared notes with other hoops fans inside the Obama inner circle the morning after the games.
–terry shropshire
