Duncan tells stories of playing basketball with Obama originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Long before he was chosen by President Barack Obama to be the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan got to know his future boss in an unexpected setting: the basketball court.
The two crossed paths in Chicago with help from a mutual friend. Duncan grew up playing basketball with Craig Robinson, the older brother of Michelle Obama. Both Duncan and Robinson were standouts in the high school ranks before going on to star at Ivy League schools and play pro ball overseas.
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"Originally, Barack was Craig’s little sister’s boyfriend. That’s how we knew him. So, we took him out and played with him and obviously basketball reveals character, you can’t fake who you are on the court. So, we took him out and played a little bit and he passed the test. The rest is history," Duncan told NBC Sports Washington.
Duncan appeared on Monday's Wizards Pregame Live to talk about the Wizards and his basketball exploits. Duncan played at Harvard University and then in Australia, but most know his basketball talents from the NBA All-Star celebrity games. He was the MVP back in 2014 with a celebrity game-record 20 points.
Duncan and Obama would continue to play basketball together when they were colleagues in government from 2009 to 2016. Obama famously had basketball hoops added to the tennis court on the White House grounds. There, he and Duncan would play pick-up games with other government officials and friends from time to time.
"That was the one place in D.C. where he could just be a regular person... I know how much I needed that stress relief and camaraderie. We didn’t play every weekend, but we played a lot of weekends," Duncan recalled.
"And obviously he was under a level of stress that was exponentially higher than mine. Just to come out and compete and have some fun, he would talk a little trash with the guys, it was, I know how important it was to me and I can only imagine how important it was to him."
Those stories naturally invite questions about how Obama is on the basketball court. It turns out, he doesn't mess around when bragging rights are on the line.
"He was very, very competitive and we saw that early on. Everyone sees this great smile and great personality, but very early on I knew how much he wanted to win. That competitive fire is a big part of why he obviously was as successful as he was and as he is," Duncan said.
Duncan estimates that he and Obama were teammates "95 percent of the time" in those White House pick-up games. So, they worked together on and off the court.
But when they weren't on the same team, when they were basketball adversaries, Duncan's own competitive fire took precedence over their friendship and work relationship.
"People often ask ‘do you take it easy on him?’ or whatever, but you guys know this, when you take it easy on someone in basketball it ruins the game," Duncan said. "There’s no point in playing. So, when you’re playing with him, you’re trying to win and when you’re playing against him, you’re trying to crush him."
