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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.
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 to the 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.
— Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post
The venue for the game has not been finalized, but a number of former and current NBA players already have committed to participate. They include: Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Ray Allen and Chris Bosh.
Sources also said Baron Davis, Vince Carter, Alonzo Mourning. Jamal Crawford, Rudy Gay, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, Amare Stoudemire, Blake Griffin, Tyler Hansbrough, Derek Fisher, Antawn Jamison, Juwan Howard, Quentin Richardson, Dahntay Jones, Brandon Knight, Jerry Stackhouse, John Wall, Dikembe Mutombo, Patrick Ewing and Doc Rivers are expected to play. Veteran WNBA star and all-time leading scorer Tina Thompson and former USC great Cheryl Miller also is expected to participate.
— Reported by Ric Bucher of ESPN the Magazine
