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Fisher, Griffin To Play In $5,000-Per-Seat 'Obama Classic' Fundraiser

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Two of the Southland's most popular NBA players are taking their game to the nation's capitol — for one night at least.

Lakers guard Derek Fisher and Clippers forward Blake Griffin are among the nearly 30 NBA and WNBA stars set to take the court in an all-star fundraising effort for President Barack Obama's reelection campaign, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The game is scheduled for Dec. 12 in Washington at a venue still to be determined.

Obama, a longtime hoops fan, previously invited Fisher to play in a game for his birthday party back in August of 2010.

This game, however, will be much more than a backyard affair.

According to materials cited by the Journal, donors will pay upwards of $35,000 for a VIP package that includes "one bench seat and two courtside seats, shoot-around with the players before the game, autograph session and meet & greet and dinner with the players following the game".

A single courtside seat, meanwhile, is going for $5,000.

Fisher and Griffin aren't the first ballers from the Southland to help the president raise funds for campaign: Lakers legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson contributed nearly $32,000 to Obama's first White House run.

The star-studded event comes nearly two weeks before the NBA season is set to resume following a tentative deal to end a labor contract dispute that nearly threatened to derail the season.

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