Michael Jordan Once Had Issue About Being Left Off Iconic Hip-Hop Song

Zachary Draves | Nov 7, 2024

October 18, 1984; New York, NY, USA; Michael Jordan, 23, sets up Bull's offense against the Knicks during an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Mandatory Credit: Carmine Galasso/North Jersey Media Group via USA TODAY NETWORK / NorthJersey.com-USA TODAY NETWOR

1984 was a pivotal year for basketball.

Michael Jordan entered the NBA and rap legend Kurtis Blow released his timely classic "Basketball". However, Jordan was not referenced on the record as he was getting his feet wet.

Blow, who has released an updated version of the song with DoorDash, didn't know how good Jordan would be at the time.

"I have had conversations with Michael Jordan, because Michael was a rookie during that time," Blow said to Back In The Day NBA On SI. "As a matter of fact, he was the rookie of the year in 1984, and I wanted him on the song, but the producers were saying we need to have the superstars of today. And so we just mentioned him when we were talking like they do in the barbershop, and there's a part of the song, the OG song, where we're having a conversation about the NBA, and we mentioned Michael Jordan slam dunking on Patrick Ewing, and so that created a whole, like say, conversation with not only Michael Jordan, but Patrick Ewing himself and that's my buddy."

Ewing was drafted by the New York Knicks in 1985 after four years at Georgetown. Blow, a fan of the Knicks, became friends with Ewing.

Jordan always had a complex relationship with hip hop. The Air Jordan brand is a fashion staple in the culture, but he openly expressed dislike for the music.

Zachary Draves is a contributor to Back In the Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at zdraves1013@gmail.com and on Instagram @zdraves0633.

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