“If you don’t have have the film…”: Chris Paul puts Obama on spot after former president’s bold flex on legendary White House tale

Chris Paul wants former US President Barack Obama to know that if it isn’t on footage, then it’s fiction.

During a recent sit-down with youth leaders through his Obama Foundation, the former US President was asked what moment from his presidency he would relive if given the opportunity.

In response, Obama indicated that for his 49th birthday, he put together a backyard All-Star Game with a number of NBA All-Stars, including Chris Paul. On top of that, Obama also revealed that he hit a game-winning three over Chris Paul.

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The future Hall of Famer quickly dropped a cheeky response to the clip, writing:

"If you don’t have have the film…it never happened!!"

Of course, in addition to hosting a game with All-Stars for his 49th birthday, Obama notably held basketball games with pros, both past and present, on numerous occasions, not just for his 49th birthday.

As Obama's former White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer explained during a 2020 appearance on Chris Mannix's The Crossover podcast, plenty of people wanted to get in on the president's pickup games at the White House.

Looking back at some of the most notable players to participate in Barack Obama's White House pickup games in addition to Chris Paul

In addition to Paul, Barack Obama said a number of notable NBA All-Stars like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose all played in the pickup game for his 49th birthday.

The following year, for Obama's 50th birthday, not only did the president get a bunch of NBA stars together to play pickup basketball, he even got Alonzo Mourning and Magic Johnson out of retirement to play in the game.

During the aforementioned episode of Chris Mannix's The Crossover podcast, Pfeiffer recalled:

"LeBron James, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Shane Battier, Alonzo Mourning and Magic Johnson came out of retirement for it. Maya Moore played in the game. Kobe Bryant came but he was injured at the time.

"He and Bill Russell watched the game and it was like a mix of NBA players and Obama and his regular sort of his friends from high school. He plays with his high school team mostly and they went back and forth for a couple hours on Obama's birthday."

As Pfeiffer indicated, however, in the later years of his presidency, Obama stopped playing pickup games, fearing a potential injury.

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About the author

Evan Bell

Evan Bell is a journalist specializing in the NBA and NHL at Sportskeeda, whose love for the game stems from a childhood spent watching the Chicago Bulls. He has been there through their highs and lows, from the Jordan era to the exciting Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah years.

Evan finds the 82-game season and the intensity of playoff basketball exhilarating, and he also revels in the offseason drama. Phil Jackson stands out as his favorite coach, whom he admires for his composed leadership and success in managing dynamic personalities like Dennis Rodman.

To deliver top-quality content, Evan fact-checks information while diligently keeping up with the action year-round.

When he's not writing, Evan follows tennis and Greek football, and also plays basketball and tennis.

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