George Clooney says Amal beat him and President Obama in a free throw contest

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George Clooney says Amal beat him and Obama in a free throw contest

BY JUDY KURTZ - 12/03/20 10:25 AM EST

 
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Former President Obama is one of basketball's most famous fans, but George Clooney says that from the line, the ex-commander in chief is no match for his wife, international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney.

“I’ll tell you this — we had a free throw-shooting contest at our house in England with the former president of the United States, Barack Obama, and she beat us all,” Clooney told People magazine in a story published Thursday for its People of the Year issue. The 59-year-old "Midnight Sky" actor and director was among those named in the special issue, along with National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, and actresses Regina King and Selena Gomez.

While Clooney didn't divulge how many hoops the 44th president made, he said: “Amal made 17 free throws straight — and 18 out of 20.” The Oscar-winning performer, by comparison, scored only 12 out of 20 shots, he said.

“I was shooting like Shaq free throws — no offense to Shaq,” Clooney quipped. “Amal is a really good athlete.”

Obama, 59, is a noted basketball devotee, and attended Game 1 of the NBA Finals as a virtual fan in October. 

The then-president, known to play pickup games with a slew of big-name athletes, lamented in 2015 that he used to play basketball more, "but there are days I've gotten to the point where it's not as much fun because I'm not as good as I used to be and I got frustrated."

“They tolerate me," Obama said of his basketball opponents, "but we all know I’m the weak link on the court — and I don’t like being the weak link.”
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