Baller-in-Chief

(From Craig Newman for the Chicago Sun-Times Online)

When a king meets a president: Obama summons LeBron for White House hoops. (AP)

The question is, will there be a handshake after this game for LeBron James?

President Obama, hard-core hoophead that he is, wants the NBA’s Most Valuable Player – and most prominent sore loser – to break out the high tops to help inaugurate the new basketball court going on the South Lawn of the White House.

And the Baller in Chief isn’t stopping there, telling Bloomberg News in an interview that he wants some other names in the game:

“As soon as we get the basketball nets up we’re going to have some of these guys over for a game,” Obama said.Asked if he’d be playing, Obama bristled: “Of course. It’s my court.”

But the home court advantage may not be that strong for Obama. In addition to James having visited the White House already, he’s also got a speed and size thing going that has the President somewhat in awe.

“When you get up close to him he’s a legitimate six- eight, six-nine. He’s huge. Moving that kind of speed? It’s pretty remarkable,” Obama said of the Cleveland Cavaliers star who racked up 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game this season.

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