Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson spoke on stage at the Michael Jackson memorial to give their thoughts on the King of Pop. Kobe had a short statement while Magic told a story about himself and Michael.

Weird to see Kobe performing nervously at the Staples Center. It’s time to forget about giving speeches when Magic Johnson does a better job of public speaking than you. But today is about Michael Jackson and it was good to see Kobe and Magic show luv.

The passing of Michael Jackson came as a surprise and touched people around the world. Folks are still mourning his death. I’ve talked about Mike Jack’s connection to the sports world through Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and the NFL. In this video Michael sings the National Anthem as a member of The Jackson 5 before Game 1 of the 1970 Baltimore-Cincinnati World Series.

Jeezus Christ.. HD was terrible in 1970. Michael could still sing though. R.I.P. King.

Michael Jackson, the greatest performer of our lifetime, died at the age of 50 in a Los Angeles hospital on Thursday. Before he became a pale-faced punchline the King of Pop was the biggest star on the planet. No Internet, no hype. Just dancing and hit after hit.

Nobody likes to admit it now (Like nobody admits to owning one of the millions of records MC Hammer sold) but there was a time when it was cool to be like Mike. It was common to see dudes sportin’ the orange Thriller jacket or one glove, and everybody tried to master the moonwalk.

The negative publicity around Michael Jackson is as much a part of his legacy as the Jackson 5, but it’s not the part I’m focusing on now. Mike Jack is in the upper room and it’s time to let the man rest in peace.

Michael Jackson influenced countless numbers of people including sports figures like Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson.

Michael Jackson vs. Michael Jordan:

Michael Jackson is Allen Iverson’s favorite artist:

Rashard Mendenhall does his best Michael Jackson:

Michael Jackson tears down Super Bowl XXVII in 1993:

Many of you are probably too young to remember this but there was a time when Michael Jackson was considered a little strange but not Wacko. It was even cool for Michael Jordan to get dance lesson from Michael Jackson.

Two things: Michael Jordan was an incredible athlete on the basketball court, but he’s stiffer than Shawn Bradley on the dance floor, and Jordan didn’t want Jackson touching him. You can hear the nervousness in 23′s voice when M-Jack slides between his legs, and when Jackson was giving him moonwalking instructions Jordan said hey I got it when he obviously didn’t get it. Michael Jordan doesn’t seem like he would buy into the Pamela Anderson-Michael Jackson rumors.

More Michael Jordan dancing:

I consider Michael Jordan to be the greatest basketball player of all-time, and one of the worst dancers in the history of the NBA. He’s got nothing on Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard or D-Wade and LeBron James: