Fans share ludicrous reactions as rumors spread of ex-USA President buying Phoenix Suns: "He’s gunna rename them as The Phoenix DroneBama", "The president money that good?"
Former U.S. President Barack Obama could be part of a group that purchases the Phoenix Suns.
This offseason has been a unique one for the Suns. All signs pointed to the team taking the summer to evolve after a disappointing loss in the Western Conference semifinals to the Dallas Mavericks. Their core of Chris Paul, Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton built chemistry that carried the team to the No. 1 seed in the West.
When it came playoff time, however, the Suns blew 2-0 and 3-2 series leads and fell to Luka Doncic and the Mavericks in seven games. It was a tough pill to swallow after the team squandered a 2-0 lead, losing four straight games to the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2021 NBA Finals.
It seemed as though the team's focus would be on improving in the offseason. As the season approached, however, the story shifted to owner Robert Sarver, who was exposed for racist and misogynistic comments. After initially saying that he had no intentions of selling the Suns and the Phoenix Mercury, he doubled back.
This sparked a huge debate over potential candidates to purchase the two Phoenix franchises. Although there has been no timeline given for when Sarver will sell the team or who the new owner will be, there has been no shortage of speculation. According to reports, a group including former U.S. President Barack Obama could be the new owners of the franchise.
Needless to say, this stirred things up on social media. Below, you can see a compilation of some of the best and funniest reactions.
The president money that good? twitter.com/LegionHoops/st…
He’s gunna rename them as The Phoenix DroneBama’s twitter.com/legionhoops/st…
@LegionHoops @BillSimmons A former president purchasing a sports team is something that happened before, so I’m not too surprised.
@LegionHoops @BillSimmons have him come in as a spot-up shooter off the bench
@B4horry @LegionHoops @BillSimmons George W. Bush used to own the Texas Rangers in the 80s and 90s.
@LegionHoops @BillSimmons Quit trying to make me like the Suns 🤮
@LegionHoops @BillSimmons Buy the Lakers lil bro @BarackObama
Phoenix Drones twitter.com/LegionHoops/st…
@LegionHoops @BillSimmons Everyone in the comments magically skipped over the word “group”
Of course, it's no secret that the former president is a huge NBA fan. During his time as president, he would occasionally host basketball games at the White House.
Barack Obama's love of basketball and other contenders for Phoenix Suns ownership
During his presidency, Obama would frequently play pickup basketball games at the White House. Specifically, he was seen on Thanksgiving Day getting shots up while enjoying time off from his presidential duties.
On one occasion, the president and several NBA stars linked up to play an exhibition scrimmage. With U.S. soldiers and children in attendance, Obama took the floor alongside greats like Magic Johnson, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. It was a spectacle that has continued to be talked about even to this day.
Given Obama's love for basketball, being a part of a group that owns an NBA team seems like a natural fit for him. However, there's no shortage of potential owners standing in his way. One name that has continued to surface is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. For quite some time after Sarver announced his plans to sell the Suns, Bezos was the betting favorite to purchase the team.
Another name that has been thrown into the hat is Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal. The LA Lakers legend revealed recently that he would be interested in partnering with a group to buy the Suns.