We told you yesterday about the pick-up game President Obama played at the White house with NBA stars and legends, and the questionable inclusion of Etan Thomas in the game's roster. There are probably a lot of players who wanted to be included in that game but weren't invited. But few have a case as compelling as Kevin Durant.
Last year's scoring champ, who grew up about 30 min. (including D.C. traffic) from the White House was not invited to the game, and according to Chris Tomasson, he is kind of bummed about it.
"I was born and raised (in the Washington area). It would have been cool to go up there and play on the court and just to meet the president since I've been living there my whole life and never got a chance to do it ... Especially him being the first African-American president (and) being a big basketball fan, it'd have been cool for me to see and a great experience.''
More quotes, and why this may be a horrible thing for the rest of league, after the jump.
To be honest I don't really know why Durant wasn't invited. You'd think they would want the best players they could get (nobody would be complaining if he replaced David West, is all I'm saying). He is in NYC practicing with Team USA, but Derrick rose was able to participate so that's clearly not the reason.
This snub may prove to be a bad thing for the rest of the NBA, because it is only making Durant work harder.
"I've got to continue to keep showing people that I can play a little bit,'' Durant said. "It's all about me just working hard.''
Thanks a lot Obama. if there's one thing we didn't need, it was for Durant to get a chip on his shoulder.