President Barack Obama, a huge basketball fan, will host a basketball exhibition in Washington, D.C. on December 12. The venue for the game has yet to be determined. The game will serve as a fundraising event for the Obama Victory Fund supporting the President's bid for re-election in the 2012 campaign. As might be expected, many basketball luminaries are expected to participate. Via Michael Lee of the Washington Post:
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.
A limited number of tickets for the "Obama Classic" priced at $100 will be made available to "Gen44" donors, a classification for the President's younger supporters. General admission tickets are $200, "premium" seats are $500 and courtside seats, as noted above, will set you back five grand.
Other players mentioned as participating in the event, from Lee's "Wizards Insider" blog post:
The game will also feature former NBA stars, including Riggie MIller and Georgetown legends Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo. Other confirmed players are former Wizards Juwan Howard, Antawn Jamison, and Jerry Stackhouse, as well as Ray Allen, Vince Carter, Tyson Chandler, Jamal Crawford, Baron Davis, Rudy Gay, Tyler Hansbrough, Dahntay Jones, Brandon Knight, Kevin Love, Jamal Mashburn, Cheryl Miller, Quentin Richardson, Doc Rivers, Steve Smith, Amare Stoudemire, Tina Thompson and Russell Westbrook.