Obama and Anthony Edwards take rivalry to new video
Former President Barack Obama and NBA All-Star Anthony Edwards are back at it this time in a new video released by the Obama Foundation ahead of the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
The clip shows the two facing off in a mix of games, including basketball, table tennis and Connect Four, leaning into a running joke that has followed them for months. It also sets up a potential rematch at “Home Court,” a large athletic facility on the center’s campus.
Their back-and-forth dates to July 2024, during the Team USA Basketball 50th Anniversary event in Las Vegas. In a conversation with Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, Obama offered a casual assessment of Edwards’ game: “He can hoop a little bit, huh?”
Edwards, within earshot, didn’t hesitate to respond. He brushed off the remark and declared himself “the truth,” a moment that quickly spread across social media and helped spark the ongoing exchange.
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The two briefly revisited the joke during NBA All-Star weekend earlier this year, and the new video picks up in the same spirit part competition, part promotion.
Organizers use the matchup to spotlight the Obama Presidential Center, which is scheduled to open to the public on June 19. The closing moments of the video hint that, despite talk of a truce, neither side is quite ready to let the rivalry go.
Home Court, where the next showdown is teased, is a 60,000-square-foot recreation space built around an NBA-regulation basketball court, along with flexible areas for community events. The broader campus will also include a museum, a branch of the Chicago Public Library, a playground, a media suite and an auditorium.
For now, the competition remains friendly but clearly unfinished.
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Sources: Obama Foundation video release, Team USA Basketball event coverage
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