Earlier this year, former President Barack Obama had a memorable and humorous encounter with Team USA basketball players and coaches. Obama, who has long been an avid basketball fan, attended a meet-and-greet with the team, and the way he greeted certain individuals turned into a hilarious moment that went viral.
During the interaction, Obama greeted several players and coaches with whom he had a long-standing relationship. Familiar faces like Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Erik Spoelstra, and Steve Kerr received warm, personalized greetings and handshakes, highlighting the former president’s close ties with many of the top figures in basketball.
However, when it came time for Obama to greet Team USA assistant coach Mark Few—who is also the head coach of the Gonzaga men’s basketball team—the encounter became unintentionally awkward and funny. In a recent interview with Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, who was part of Team USA that summer, Obama admitted that he had never met Few before that moment and wasn’t entirely sure how to greet him.
Recalling the interaction, Obama shared the awkwardness of trying to navigate an unfamiliar handshake and how the moment ended up resembling an iconic sketch from the comedy duo Key & Peele. In the popular sketch, the comedians humorously depict how greetings can vary based on the level of familiarity, ranging from formal handshakes to informal “bro hugs.”
“I gotta say, that was funny,” Obama said, recounting the moment. “Here’s what happened. So I’m going down the row, right? A lot of those guys, I knew. And then right before I got to Coach Few, it’s Steph, it’s LeBron. I’ve been knowing those guys forever. I had dinner with them, their families. So then Coach Few, I’d never met. And he put out his hand and I’m like, alright. Yeah. I don’t know. Is he going to be comfortable if I pull him into a bro hug? I don’t know. So I just shook his hand. Kerr was right afterward. And Steve I knew. But the way it played out, I will say, it looked just like that Key & Peele skit.”
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Obama admitted that the situation wasn’t something he thought about in the moment, but when he later saw the side-by-side comparisons between his greetings and the famous Key & Peele sketch, he couldn’t help but laugh at the resemblance. “I didn’t realize people would make that comparison,” Obama added. “It wasn’t a conscious decision, but when I watched it afterward, I was like, ‘Okay, they caught me!’”
Obama also took the opportunity to praise the comedy duo for their sharp, observational humor, particularly the sketches they did about his presidency. He gave special recognition to Jordan Peele, who frequently impersonated him, saying that Peele did a “fantastic” job capturing his mannerisms and speech.
Tyrese Haliburton, the young guard for the Indiana Pacers, did a great job during the interview by bringing up the Key & Peele comparison, leading to Obama’s entertaining and candid explanation of the moment.
The conversation was a lighthearted reflection on how even the most powerful figures in the world can find themselves in awkward, everyday situations—especially when it comes to navigating the complexities of handshakes and greetings.
The clip of Obama’s interaction with Team USA and the comedic comparison to the Key & Peele sketch continues to make the rounds, reminding people of the lighter side of the former president’s persona and his ability to laugh at himself.
