Tupac’s First Basketball Game Recalled By Jamal Crawford

Jamal Crawford recalls the time he snuck into the Forum to watch the Lakers and seeing Tupac at the game.

During this particular interview conducted in 2018, Jamal Crawford remembers his teen years and sneaking into the Forum to watch the Lakers. When asked about the Forum and how so many were able to break through security to watch the Lakers, Crawford was quick to share a moment he would never forget.

“That particular day I remember like is was yesterday,” recalls Crawford. “That was the one time ever seen Tupac Shakur. So not only did I sneak but I was able to kind of get close enough to where the railings were, where the players walked to the locker rooms. I remember it was Suge Knight walked through and nobody said a word. It was quite.”

Crawford also remembers seeing another popular hip hop artist at the event. “LL Cool J walked through and everybody was screaming LL,” said Crawford. “Then Tupac goes through. He is ducking and smiling, people are trying to grab him. It was crazy.”

Thankfully the moment was caught on camera. As noted by Crawford, rare footage of Tupac leaving the Forum that night has hit the internet. “I actually saw the video of when he walked out the Forum. Cause I remember what he had on and everything, but there’s actual video footage of when he left that area and walked out the forum,” said Crawford.

The infamous night on February 2nd 1996, had the Bulls defeat the Lakers 99-84. A game in which Michael Jordan only scored 17 points, but eventually lead the Bulls to a championship and an incredible 72-10 regular season record.

Tupac, along with Crawford and 17,000 in attendance witnessed a memorable game. For Tupac, his very first basketball game thanks to Death Row records CEO, Suge Knight. “The first time he ever went to a basketball game in his whole entire life, I took him. It was the Lakers playing the Bulls. We had our floor seats,” Knight recalled during an interview days after Tupac’s passing. “So after the game, he grabbed me and hugged me, ‘I had so much fun. Don’t you know it is the first time I ever been to a basketball game.'”