With the NBA lockout looming and looking to never recover players are still finding ways to keep playing. Â Exhibition games may be getting played out but this one is being done in only the way the Head of State could do it. Â The game is featuring some of the NBA’s top stars from today and the past but it will cost you a pretty penny to witness it. Â Check the lineup and the price after the jump.
President Obama hasn’t hid his desire for the NBA lockout to end, but he is taking advantage of the league’s work stoppage by luring some of the game’s top stars to participate in a fundraising game on Dec. 12 in the District.
You want hoops? I’ll give you hoops. (Zachary Bell – AP)Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh, Blake Griffin and Wizards guard John Wall are among the players who have committed to play, according tothe Obama campaign Web site. Tickets for the first “Obama Classic†start at $100 and courtside seats can be purchased for $5,000.
Proceeds from the game will go to the Obama Victory Fund to support the president’s 2012 reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said both the venue and Obama’s participation in the event have yet to be determined.
The NBA has canceled all games through Dec. 15 and players have taken the dispute to the courts by filing two antitrust lawsuits, so the players should have plenty of free time to participate. Derek Fisher, the president of the disbanded players’ union, is among the players expected to participate.
The game will also feature former NBA stars, including Riggie MIller and Georgetown legends Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo. Other confirmed players are former Wizards Juwan Howard, Antawn Jamison, and Jerry Stackhouse, as well as Ray Allen, Vince Carter, Tyson Chandler, Jamal Crawford, Baron Davis, Rudy Gay, Tyler Hansbrough, Dahntay Jones, Brandon Knight, Kevin Love, Jamal Mashburn, Cheryl Miller, Quentin Richardson, Doc Rivers, Steve Smith, Amare Stoudemire, Tina Thompson and Russell Westbrook.
