Controversial NBA Star Embarrassed Michael Jordan As A High Schooler

Suns guard Dan Majerle defends Bulls guard Michael Jordan during Game 1 of the NBA Finals in 1993 in Phoenix. / Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf is often referred to as the original Steph Curry because of his shooting range and scoring ability.

This was on display even before he entered the NBA. He recently told a story of how he once scored a bucket on Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.

At the time, Abdul-Rauf still went by the name Chris Jackson and was in high school.

“I was in high school, Nike Camp in Princeton [New Jersey],” Abdul-Rauf said on The Wake Up Show. “He [Jordan] knows.”

It was before Abdul-Rauf began a solid career at LSU. Later, he became a lottery pick of the Denver Nuggets in 1990.

“I was coming out of high school. I was the No. 1 guard in the nation,” Abdul-Rauf said. “There was a guy, I can’t remember his name, they said he was the toughest scout at the Nike Camp. He had never given anyone a five, that was his highest score and two years in a row he gave me five.”

That draw the attention of Jordan, who decided to show up at the camp. He picked Abdul-Rauf out of the campers to play him 1-on-1. Abdul-Rauf, who is mostly known for not standing for the national anthem during games, then scored a basket on Jordan.

“He’s so close I can reach out and touch him. I’m just admiring his body,” Abdul-Rauf said of Jordan. “I’m like sizing him up, not in an arrogant way. This is how you were supposed to look … I get on the top of the key, the left-hand side and he gives me the ball and says, `I want you to come at me with everything you have and I’m gonna try to stop you.’ I remember getting it and I gave him a quick jab to the left and I took off.”