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Comparing political leaders to NBA players

BY MARK CUNNINGHAM

May 15, 2014 10:48AM

With the NBA playoffs currently underway, I decided to compare each party’s political leaders in Congress to their NBA playoff counterpart and morph a picture of the two together. FYI for movie producers, if you need a villain for your next horror film, I think the Harry Reid-Russell Westbrook combination will scare just about everyone.  

Mitch McConnell is Paul Pierce

pierce and mcconnell

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has quite a bit in common with former NBA champion and current Brooklyn Net Paul Pierce. Both are well past their prime, and many thought they should have thrown in the towel years ago. Just like Pierce, many on the opposing side underestimate McConnell at their own peril. While watching them both do their job is often ugly, plodding, and without any real style, they are both surprisingly effective, even if they are not very popular with the general public as shown here and here.

 

Harry Reid is Russell Westbrook

westbrook reid

There is no better player to compare Harry Reid to then the infamous Russell Westbrook. Just like Westbrook, you never really know what to expect out of Reid. Sometimes, he can be very disciplined and really help his team, while other times he can go completely off the rails, where even members of his own team are frustrated with him. For every smart move they each make, they seem to turn around and set up the other team with a “dunk” due to an unforced error. They are both known for hogging the spotlight when they have other more talented people on their team who should really be getting more attention. Both the Thunder and the Democratic Party put up with these errors for now because they know how much of a force each guy can be when they are actually on their game, and are hoping for more consistency in the future.

John Boehner is Glen “Big Baby” Davis

boehner davis I think it is more than fair to say that John Boehner is the Glen Davis of Congress. Like Davis, Boehner is an intimidating force (although not quite for the same reason). Both of these men don’t seem to have any real strategy when they are on offense, and are like a bull in a china shop when they are trying to accomplish something. Davis and Boehner also both have had some trouble getting along with their respective teams and are overpaid for the job they do. Last but certainly not least, Davis’ nickname “Big Baby” seems to also be fitting for Boehner.

Nancy Pelosi is Kevin Garnett

garnett and pelosi The comparison between Nancy Pelosi and Kevin Garnett, who was eliminated from the playoffs last night, is probably the most apt comparison in this post. Both Pelosi and Garnett are both consistently public enemy #1 for the opposing team. They get under your skin and are far more interested in talking trash to the opposing side than accomplishing their stated goals. Both Pelosi and Garnett think they are much better at their jobs than they actually are. Lastly, both Garnett and Pelosi are far less influential and relevant than they were back in 2008. -Mark Cunningham