Millions knew Michael Jackson for moves that seemed impossible on a concert stage, but dancing was not the only physical skill he practiced. During his later years in Las Vegas, former bodyguards Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard said Michael had another favorite way to unwind. He would head outside alone, pick up a basketball and spend hours simply shooting hoops.
Basketball had been around Michael long before those quiet evenings. During the Jackson 5 years, he and his brothers regularly played with fellow Motown stars. Michael later remembered Marvin Gaye coming to the Jackson home roughly twice a week to play basketball, and photographs from 1972 captured the Jacksons, Marvin and members of the Temptations together on the court.
Michael Jackson and Marvin Gaye Playing Basketball
Those early games make Michael’s later habit easier to understand. Basketball was not something he suddenly discovered as an adult or adopted for a music video. Decades after the Jackson 5 days, Whitfield and Beard said Michael still used the game as a private escape, sometimes shooting by himself for several hours simply to relax and clear his mind.
Then in 1992, Michael’s connection to basketball became part of one of his biggest short films. For “Jam,” he shared the screen with Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan. The famous pairing put two men named Michael, each near the top of his profession, together on a basketball court with Jackson attempting Jordan’s sport while Jordan tried some of Jackson’s dance moves.
Michael Jackson and Michael Jordan Face Off in “Jam”
Behind the playful scenes, there was more basketball experience than viewers might have assumed. The court was already familiar territory to Michael after years of casual games and private practice. His bodyguards’ recollection that he would go outside alone and shoot for hours reveals something particularly interesting about the superstar: even relaxation could involve quietly repeating the same movement again and again.
Michael Jackson will always be remembered first for Thriller, the moonwalk and a stage presence that transformed pop music. But away from arenas and cameras, he could apparently be just as content standing in a driveway with a basketball and working on his shot. Watch the rare basketball moments above and see another side of the King of Pop that rarely made it onto the stage.