Former Los Angeles Clippers star Jamal Crawford was one of the few athletes who got the chance to share the court with Michael Jordan, but not in the NBA. Crawford garnered quite a lot of attention with his amusing dribbling skills even before he joined the league. MJ was also one of them, who loved Crawford’s game. So the Chicago Bulls icon would often invite him for pick-up games. However, this surprisingly got Crawford a chance to meet Jay-Z and Beyonce. Let’s see how.

Crawford, who joined The Pivot Podcast on YouTube, shared his thoughts about playing pick-up games with Jordan during the summer. The former Clippers star always teamed up with Jordan during these pickup games. Crawford revealed, “We played together and we never lost. We played against everybody. Penny Hardaway, Mike Finley, Tim Hardaway, Antoine Walker, Paul Pierce, everybody that came through Chicago. It was like that. He was the first one I have seen having refs in pickups.” That’s not the surprising part, however.

Crawford continued, “And then it got to a point through summer. You got Jay-Z and Beyonce sitting courtside. At a pick-up run! Bro just watching. This is Jordan! We had everybody come through the gym. This how cold MJ is.” Jordan’s influence is incredible, isn’t it? Crawford was lucky to have his game recognized by Jordan. However, at the same time, this also shows Jay-Z’s love for the 6x NBA champion.

Michael Jordan’s invitation to Jay-Z

Jay-Z has been a huge fan of basketball and his role model has always been Michael Jordan. The above invitation to a pickup game is not new. Jay-Z has got a few other invitations from the Chicago Bulls legend too. The famous American rapper shared, “I absolutely love Michael Jordan…His career was a perfectly composed story about will. I went to his restaurant at his invitation to have dinner with him. It was an absolute dream conversation for me.“

Jay-Z is not a fan of Jordan just for his achievements on the court. There are several other reasons which made MJ his role model. But the one that meant the most to Jay-Z was Jordan’s “discipline”. The 24-time Grammy winner said, “The thing that distinguished Jordan wasn’t just his talent, but his discipline, his laser-like commitment to excellence. That’s something I always respect.” This got him the privilege to sit courtside for MJ’s pickup games. However, this allowed Jamal Crawford to meet the celebrities that MJ knew.