Written By David Nakamura and Cindy Boren at WashingtonPost.com
Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry’s 51 points against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday drew the notice of the nation’s baller-in-chief. President Obama welcomed the Warriors to the White House on Thursday and couldn’t help but give it up for the NBA’s best player.
“Steph’s a pretty good shooter,” Obama said during a ceremony in the East Room to honor the 2015 champions. “For those of you who watched the game against the Wizards last night, he was, to use slang, he was clownin’.”
Then then president did a little jig to reenact the swagger Curry showed on the court.
Curry laughed but Obama, a basketball fanatic, seemed to be in even better spirits. He opened by ruing the absence of Curry’s daughter, Riley, who gained attention during the Warriors’ championship run by overshadowing her dad at post-game press conferences.
“I was hoping that Riley Curry would be here today to share the podium with me,” Obama said with a chuckle, “but I’ll have to get my media training some other day.”
Obama, who during his August vacation in Martha’s Vineyard played golf with Curry and the player’s father Dell, also poked a little fun at Riley’s dad. Curry, Obama said, complained that the intimidating Secret Service agents on the course were the “reason he lost that match. That is not the case!”
The president also praised assistant coach Luke Walton for leading the Warriors to a 39-4 start in the absence of head coach Steve Kerr, who has since rejoined the team. Obama compared Walton’s unsung success – the NBA refused to credit him with the wins when selecting a Western Conference All-Star Game coach.
