The Team USA traveling to Paris isn’t short of motivation. The decorated roster is looking to restore its status as the basketball juggernaut after losing the FIBA World Cup 2023. Their determinations saw a spike when Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Las Vegas. She had a brief chat with LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and others, and also spoke to the squad and there was one strict message – “Bring the gold”. As if that wasn’t enough, while the team celebrated 50 years of existence, former POTUS Barack Obama shared a few words with the crowd.

Even though he has been out of service for seven years, Obama’s allure still remains captivating. The moment he held the mic, everyone in the audience was mesmerized.  Every athlete, legend, and person present was left awestruck. No matter how acclaimed or renowned, each person had their cameras out awaiting his speech. And as he has many times before, his words touched everyone once again.

“I just want to come here and obviously help send off the soon-to-be gold medal winners. But before I do that I want to come by and say thank you to the legends who represented USA basketball and America for 50 years. I may be one of the few people in this room who actually can remember 50 years ago… I could not be prouder of everything that the legends that are here have. Not just the players but also the coaches” the former POTUS announced.

“I just want to say thank you for everything you’ve done. I want to say to this team, thank you for your participation. And having said all that y’all better win! Because part of America is winning. And I don’t want to be overly nationalistic and patriotic but we invented this game and I don’t like it when we don’t win“.

With such a powerful speech, Team USA’s ambitions will only grow stronger. The men’s team is chasing a fifth straight gold medal. The women’s group, led by A’ja Wilson, is looking to win their eighth straight. Despite the recent shortfalls, a team with names such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant is attached with just one expectation: to dominate. Nobody can see this team lose, and that’s how vivacious and skilled they truly are.

Barack Obama loves basketball

Growing up in Hawaii, the former POTUS grew fond of the sport of basketball. He participated in both J.V. and Varsity level basketball. Unfortunately, he blames the lack of ‘hops’ for falling short of his NBA dream. But his passion didn’t fade. During his presidency, the 62-year-old had a basketball court constructed and enjoyed pickup games with several NBA players.

The most notable and accomplished group assembled during his 50th birthday. For that one game, there was every top player present. According to Dan Pfeiffer, former White House communications director Magic Johnson came out of retirement to participate in the game. LeBron James, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, and Kobe Bryant also received an invite. Although the Mamba didn’t play due to an injury, he sat beside late great Bill Russell and enjoyed the action.

Pfeiffer noted that the former president of the United States of America would treat these basketball games with intense vigor. However, his activity levels declined during the second half of his presidency due to injury concerns as Pfeiffer revealed on the Pod Save America podcast.

But while his involvement reduced, Barack Obama still enjoyed the perks of inviting every NBA Champion to the White House and spending quality time with the most accomplished of NBA players. Famously he even told Stephen Curry how Klay Thompson’s jump shot was “prettier” in front of a swan of reporters when the Warriors won in 2015.

Even today, his connection with the game remains strong. As a strong patriot, he will surely be following the Paris Olympics games closely. Who knows, there might even be an appearance as he did during the 2012 exhibition game against Brazil.