NBA legend Dwyane Wade has spoken about when he was shooting hoops with Adam Sandler and why the actor's basketball nickname was close to home for the retired sports star.
Wade, 40, appeared on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon and was talking about the celebrities he has had a pickup with over the years.
Before talking about a game with President Obama, Wade told of when he had a match-up with Hollywood star Sandler, 56.
Fallon turned his attention to some of the high-profile pickups that Wade had been involved with over the years.
Fallon said to Wade: "You've played basketball pickup with some of the biggest celebrities around. I have a picture of you playing with Adam Sandler. How's Adam's game?"
Wade said: "Adam's nice." The basketball star went on to share Sandler's nickname and the reason why he gained it: "So, that was 2006, the day after I won my first championship...
"I got the chance to spend some time with him in the back, and he told me that, at the time, they call him 'The White Dwyane Wade' because I was really known for my backboard shots at the time.
"I would come down and shoot off the glass, and Adam got a little two-hand backboard shot. And so they were calling him 'The White D-Wade.'"
The conversation then moved on to the moment in 2010 that Wade took on President Obama on the court. The former Miami Heat star said that he thought it was a prank when he first received the request but that he would go for it anyway.
Wade said: "I played a pickup game with President Obama on his 49th birthday.
"It was, like, a cryptic email that came through, and I didn't know if I was just showing up and then somebody playing a trick on me, or was it actually the president's birthday and we were going to hoop at the White House.
"All it said was, 'Show up to the White House and bring your sneakers,' and I was, like, 'I'm going.' I don't know who this is from, but I am showing up," said Wade.
Wade admitted that he was pleasantly surprised by how good President Obama was, when they started shooting hoops.
Wade said: "But actually, he's not bad. He's a lefty and, as smooth as he is, that's how smooth his game is.
"So we're scrimmaging with President Obama, and he brings us all in and he'd say, 'Hey guys, I want you to play hard and play like this is a real game.'
"And then we would look around the court, and there's Secret Service all around the court. And it's like, 'We can't touch you. We can't play a real game. What are you talking about? We can't foul you for real.'"
Fallon interjected, saying: "Imagine if you did that?"
Dwyane laughed and said that the president did get some roughing-up, with one player taking no prisoners, no matter who the opposition was.
He revealed: "No, Joakim Noah did. He picked him up full court, was elbowing him and everything."
Laughing at the thought of that on-court battle, Fallon said: "And that's why he was never invited back."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
