Michael Jordan taught Michael Jackson basketball and Jackson taught Jordan how to Moonwalk
Michael Jackson was referred to as the "King of Pop," and Michael Jordan is largely regarded as the NBA's all-time greatest player and the GOAT of basketball. What happened then when their paths converged?
Jordan dominated the 1990s, winning six NBA championships and leading the Bulls to the top of the NBA standings with famous head coach Phil Jackson and superstar teammates Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman.
Michael Jackson's ascent to superstardom occurred in the 1980s, much like Jordan's. The Chicago Bulls selected Jordan in the 1984 NBA Draft, the same year that Michael Jackson's landmark album "Thriller," which featured seven Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, was released.
When Jackson was about to release his album "Dangerous" in the summer of 1992, fans got to see the duo's crossover. He desired a basketball theme for the song "Jam."
Jordan's involvement in the song's music video is something that video producer Phil Rose discussed with ESPN.
“Michael (Jackson) was a huge fan of Michael Jordan,” Rose said. “When you’re at that level, if you want to work with someone that you’re a fan of, I’m sure it’s quite easy to work out.”
Jordan wasn't on board right away because he was scared his dancing wouldn't be up to par since he would be working with the greatest of all time.
“First I said, ‘I don’t know if I want to do this, because this guy’s going to try to get me out there to dance, and that’s going to be really embarrassing,'” Jordan said to ESPN. “But then I said: ‘Well, shoot, it’s Michael Jackson."
Jordan eventually agreed, and in exchange for Jackson teaching him how to dance, Jordan chose to teach Jackson how to play basketball by going one-on-one with the pop singer.
“I got to work with the greatest sports legend of all time, Michael Jordan,” Jackson recalled. “We had to play one-on-one; it was so embarrassing. He never missed, that was the object, for him to teach me to play basketball and for me to teach him to dance.”