Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton interviews Barack Obama

“He’s an incredible guy, a guy I’ve looked up to my whole life, so it was really special for me to sit with him,” Haliburton said. “…I was 8 years old when he was elected president, and when you're 8 years old you don't really know much about politics, but you understand that a black man holds the most powerful position in the world and stuff.” From then on I was just hooked and loved everything about President Obama.”

Haliburton said he found out about the interview several weeks earlier and sat down with the podcast's producers to ask questions. On the Pacers' off day last week, he flew to Washington DC for an interview. It was his second meeting with Obama, who spent time with Haliburton and other members of Team USA ahead of this summer's Olympics.

Haliburton said the interview was about the upcoming election, with Obama campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris, and how athletes and other influencers could properly use their platform. However, Haliburton said he and Obama spent more time talking about basketball than any of those topics. Obama played the game himself growing up and famously hosted pick-up games during the 2008 campaign.