Barack Obama rips NBA's biggest stars in interview with Indiana Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton

Barack Obama was known to play aggravated pickup hoops games with a tiny ellipse of Beltway insiders during his Presidency, arsenic writer Michael Lewis reported astatine the time.

So erstwhile the erstwhile Commander In Chief watches the lackadaisical play astatine NBA All-Star Games, helium can't assistance but beryllium disgusted.

'Y'all gotta person a small much pridefulness successful that All-Star Game,' Obama told NBA All-Star Tyrese Haliburton connected his podcast, Young Man and the Three. 'It's not arsenic if you each don't play pickup during the summers. You cognize however to play successful a mode that, 'alright, I'm not going to wounded anybody, I'm not going to instrumentality anybody out,' but that All-Star Game, it's broke, man.

'Like, radical conscionable similar not running,' Obama added. 'Everybody conscionable trying each kinds of... it utilized to beryllium erstwhile Kobe [Bryant] and Michael [Jordan] and Isaiah [Thomas] and those guys were playing, man. I mean they weren't playing the mode they did regular season, but they wanted to win.

'This is your business,' helium concluded. 'This is your product. You don't privation radical reasoning you're each retired determination conscionable half-assed.'

There are nary rules against playing defence successful NBA All-Star Games, but the signifier has go frowned upon arsenic the yearly sponsor-driven lawsuit devolves into a layup enactment each year.

February's was nary different.

The East bushed the westbound 211-186, successful what Milwaukee Bucks prima Giannis Antetokounmpo described arsenic 'fun.'

Viewers were little convinced.

Despite mounting a grounds for full points (397) and made 3-pointers (42), NBA All-Stars drew disapproval from conscionable astir anyone who had hoped to spot a competitory exhibition.

Even commissioner Adam Silver has admitted the All-Star Game is efficaciously breached owed to excessively overmuch absorption being placed connected halftime performances and such.

'We're sending mixed signals,' helium told ESPN. 'And if we privation guys to dainty this similar a existent crippled … we person to dainty it that way.'