Sports-mad Barack Obama talks life after White House

Looking ahead to life after his 15 remaining months in the White House, President Barack Obama said he does not have the temperament to be a Supreme Court justice, but has fantasised about owning a basketball team.

And then there are the commissioner jobs for Major League Baseball, the NFL, and the NBA.

“Well, I’m best suited for basketball,” Obama, an avid sports fan, said in an interview with sports writer Bill Simmons published by GQ.

“But I cannot believe that the commissioner of football gets paid $44m a year.”

In a conversation heavy on sports, Obama said his “guilty pleasure” television viewing is Big Break, a Golf Channel reality show he watches late at night while running on the treadmill.

He said he “absolutely” would want to be part of an NBA team’s ownership.

He admitted to relieving stress with wiffle balls at a virtual driving range in the White House basement: “Just whack ‘em. Whack ‘em around a little bit.”

Gone are the cigarettes.Obama, a Nicorette gum fan, said he has not smoked in five years.

“I made a promise that once healthcare passed, I would never have a cigarette again,” he said. “And I have not.”

Obama, a former law professor, ruled out serving on the Supreme Court: “I don’t have the temperament to sit in relative solitude and just opine and write from the bench.

"I want to be in the action a little bit more.”