You know you are good at something when it is Michael Jordan himself who praises you. The Chicago Bulls legend is one of the most competitive athletes the sports world has ever seen, but he sure knows to give credit where credit is due. A chance encounter with the six-time NBA champion was all a particular TV personality needed to realize the extent of his popularity. It has been over 20 years since the incident took place, but the memories of a run-in with one of the greatest basketball players remained fresh in the stand-up comedian’s mind.

Michael Jordan is well-known for his trash-talking ability, and while fans often got to witness his ruthlessness on the court, he tends to be just as polite outside of it.

Starstruck stand-up comedian meets Michael Jordan

Actor/comedian Alex Thomas recently had an exclusive interview with HipHopDX, where he talked about a particular music video that boosted his career. A wave of nostalgia hit Thomas when the conversation compelled him to recall an emotional encounter with none other than Michael Jordan. He revealed that it was about two decades ago when he ran into the Hall of Famer in a club. At the time, Thomas was basking in the attention and fame he got after featuring in rapper N.O.R.E’s 2002 music video for ‘Nothin’.

He said, “I?m in a club in Chicago at one of my pro basketball player?s birthday parties. Michael Jordan walks up to me and straight up looks me in the face and goes? ?Tatalalicious! Tatalalicious!? Man, when I tell you a small tear came out my eye ? I couldn?t believe that guy knew who I was.”

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MJ told him that the hit single was his favorite song, and he had watched the video 10 times that same day. The $2 million worth comedian went on to ask for the basketball legend’s autograph, which Jordan easily complied.

He said, “I was like, ‘Michael Jordan, can you sign my shoes?’ I took a shoe off and put it in his face; he signed that b***h right, and everybody was on the floor dying.”

Thomas garners insane attention

More than anything else, it was arguably Thomas’ ‘Tatalalicious! Tatalalicious!‘ that had fans going gaga following the release of the single. He shared that while he was unsure of MJ’s fondness toward N.O.R.E’s music, he was certain that Jordan loved Nothin’.

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He added, “I swear to God, not only did Michael Jordan do that, like literally for the next 10 years of my life, no matter where I would go in the world somebody would go, ?Tatalalicious! Tatalalicious!? They were saying it because they didn?t know my name.”

The millionaire actor/comedian has also been a part of several other hit MVs by popular artists such as Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Kanye West, and more.