Inside The Heat

Four Ex-Miami Heat Players Get Some Time With President Obama At Team USA Game In Las Vegas

During the Olympic exhibition Wednesday night in Las Vegas, the 44th President was photographed with Shawn Marion, Tim Hardaway, Sr., Gary Payton, Sr. and Steve Smith.

Scott Salomon

Feb 28, 1997; Miami, FL; USA; FILE PHOTO; Miami Heat guard Tim Hardaway (10) in action against Seattle Seattle Supersonics guard Gary Payton (20) at the Miami Arena. Mandatory Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 28, 1997; Miami, FL; USA; FILE PHOTO; Miami Heat guard Tim Hardaway (10) in action against Seattle Seattle Supersonics guard Gary Payton (20) at the Miami Arena. Mandatory Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports / RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

The U.S. Olympic Basketball team won their exhibition game with Canada Wednesday night 86-72.

For four former Miami Heat players, the score was irrelevant.

There was a special moment during the game that was captured by ex-Heat guard Steve Smith.
He took a photo of himself, Tim Hardaway, Shawn Marion, Gary Payton, Reggie Miller and former President Barack Obama.

Smith was drafted by the Heat in the first round of the 1991 NBA draft while Hardaway is among the Miami players with their jersey retired. Payton was on the Heat's 2006 title team, two seasons before Marion was traded to Miami as part of the Shaquille O'Neal deal.

Obama gave a 10-minute speech to Team USA in Las Vegas. He sat courtside at Wednesday's game for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the team.

Smith was in awe of the experience meeting Obama. He posted the photo on his personal Facebook page alongside the caption: "Game of Basketball will take you all around the world."

Obama seemed confident about Team USA's chances in the Olympics in Paris later this month. The team also features Heat center Bam Adebayo.


"I just want to come here to obviously send off the soon-to-be gold-medal winners," Obama said. "I'm pretty confident that they're going to be bringing the gold and representing us the way we should be represented around the world."

Scott Salomon is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He can be reached at scottsalomon67@gmail.com.

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Scott Salomon

SCOTT SALOMON

Scott Salomon joined FanNation on Sports Illustrated in April 2024 covering breaking news and analysis for the Miami Dolphins channel. In June he joined Inside the Heat and Back in the Day NBA. Scott is based in South Florida and has been covering the local and national sports scene for 35 years. Scott has covered and has been credentialed for the Super Bowl, the NFL Combine, various Orange Bowls and college football championship games. Scott was also credentialed for the NBA All-Star game and covered the Miami Heat during their first six seasons for USA TODAY. Scott is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Communication and the St. Thomas University School of Law. Scott has two sons and his hobbies include watching sports on television and binge watching shows on various streaming services. Twitter: @ScottSalomonNFL