He was a big fan of basketball while he was president, but now, former President Obama says he stopped playing basketball himself almost ten years ago.
“I have retired,” Obama said in the first episode of the “Ways to Win” podcast, which came out on Tuesday.
“I played all the way through my time as president,” the former president, who loves basketball, shared with co-hosts John Calipari and Craig Robinson, Michelle Obama's brother.
“The last time I played was in November of 2016, just two months before I left office,” Obama, 62, remembered.
“I played really well that day. I was making a lot of shots, including a spin move and finger roll for the win. Everything was going well,” he said.
But that great game turned out to be Obama’s last time playing basketball.
“After that, I had a feeling that if I played again, I would injure my Achilles tendon and end up in a cast for six months. I decided to stop right then and there. And I haven't played since,” he declared.
The 44th president, who needed twelve stitches after being hit in the lip while playing basketball in 2010, suggested that giving up pickup games was the right choice.
“I know at least 10 friends who have injured their Achilles since then, trying to play like they used to,” Obama remarked.
Although he doesn't plan to play pickup games, he hinted that he's not giving up basketball completely.
“I’ll play some games like HORSE,” Obama stated, “but we won’t be playing full-court basketball.
