Forget the question of who the bigger hoops fan is — Mitt Romney is decidedly ahead of President Barack Obama in getting NBA folks to dig deep into their wallets.
Romney has reeled in $70,000 worth of campaign donations from NBA-related figures, according to hoopshype.com. While Romney trails Obama in the number of total donors (Obama has 19 to Romney's 15), Romney appears to have attracted the attention of those willing to give more. Obama has collected just $52,650 from the group.
Most of the people highlighted in the hoopshype.com list are part of the NBA's top brass, including 10 owners, several presidents and vice presidents, and a few basketball operations figures. Just a few players — Baron Davis, Grant Hill and Vince Carter — have shelled out for the presidential race.
The list also shows what could be a divide in one organization. While the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder, for example, have more than one donor contributing to the same cause, the Boston Celtics have three representatives on the list, and they fall on different sides of the debate. President of basketball operations Danny Ainge gave $2,500 to Romney, and chief operations officer Rich Gotham also contributed $1,000 to the Republican hopeful. But coach Doc Rivers decided his $5,000 was best spent in Obama's coffers.
