President Barack Obama invited a recently retired athlete to fly with him to Rio de Janeiro to watch the Olympic Games. The athlete, 40 years old and famously averse to attention, said no.

Are you picturing Tim Duncan yet? Because you should be. I can't think of another all-time great player who would quietly decline this offer, only for a former teammate to tell a reporter about it. Duncan probably isn't particularly pleased with Bruce Bowen right now, by the way.

Tim Duncan greets President Barack Obama. USATSI

"It's funny that he was offered an opportunity to fly here with the President of the United States," Bowen told Sports Illustrated's DeAntae Prince, "and he discussed it with me and I'm like, 'You're going, right?' He was like, 'You know I'm not about that stuff.' Even that moment where you'd say, 'I sure would like to be a part of that,' it doesn't happen with Tim because he's not concerned with that stuff."

Obama had to be at least a little bit disappointed -- he is an enormous basketball fan. If Obama really wants to hang out with Duncan, perhaps he should ask the future Hall of Famer if he would like to play some paintball.