Jamal Crawford’s rookie year in the NBA marked the beginning of a special bond between him and arguably the NBA GOAT, Michael Jordan. Crawford first got to know Jordan while playing for the Chicago Bulls, a team Jordan had led to six championships in the 1990s. In his late 30s and on the verge of retiring, His Airness immediately took Crawford under his wing and provided him with direction and guidance that would leave a deep impact on his career, both on and off the court. Over time, Crawford and Jordan established a deep bond that went beyond basketball.

Recently, the NBA veteran appeared on an episode of ‘The Old Man and The Three’ podcast, where he talked about how Michael Jordan helped him meet his hip-hop idol Jay-Z. That was the start of a budding rapport between Crawford and Jay-Z.

Not only did Jamal Crawford manage to get close to Michael Jordan, but he was also able to network with other influential people through his bond with MJ. During his recent sit-down with JJ Redick, Crawford talked about how Michael Jordan introduced him to Jay-Z.

Crawford said, “I got so tight with Michael Jordan that I asked him to introduce me to Jay-Z. He was like you wanna meet Jay-Z? I’m like, yeah. He makes a connection… introduced me to Jay-Z.”

Jay-Z and Crawford continued to remain friends, the 43-year-old revealed. The rapper would watch them play while Crawford would go record for him. Jay-Z also managed to persuade Crawford to test out his brand-new kicks, which the NBA veteran accepted despite his previous devotion to Reebok.

It was his experience during the pandemic that served as the catalyst for him to enter the media field full-time. He began hosting numerous podcasts. Crawford soon discovered that there were listeners out there who were interested in joining him in discussing basketball.