Dave Chappelle made a number of hilarious skits during his run on Comedy Central. Several of them included semi-autobiographical stories from comedian Charlie Murphy, the older brother of Eddie. A couple of his most famous and funniest skits were when he met Rick James (portrayed by Chappelle) and when he played a serious game of basketball against one of the game's biggest enthusiasts in rocker Prince.
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The above video is one of those skits where Murphy describes a time when he met Prince and was invited back to his house to play some basketball. While the skit tells it as a 5-on-5 game, Murphy says it was actually just 3-on-3 featuring Prince, half-brother Duane Nelson and Grammy-winner Micki Free. They played against both Murphy brothers and their uncle Ray and apparently Prince was a bonafide baller.
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While almost nobody believed that a 5'2" scrawny singer could play basketball at a high level, there are eye witness accounts that say otherwise. "Everything in that skit is true," said Free, a songwriter who was a member of Shalamar in the 1980s. "I played in that game. And Prince was Steph Curry all m—-f—— night!"
His Minnesota high school coach Albert Nuness confirmed his abilities. "His game was quickness. He wasn't the best shooter, but he could split the seams and pass the ball and because of his size people loved to watch him," Nuness said. "The player he reminds me of — Spud Webb. He didn't have the leaping ability like Spud, but his quickness was very similar."
We probably should have seen it coming though as he did give us a couple hints. One at this concert he performed at:
And another in his music video for 2000's The Daisy Chain where he's handling a basketball the entire time. Free said that this story took place sometime in the mid-1980s and the best part is that Prince and his gang actually came out and played in those ridiculous outfits complete with frilly sleeves and all.
The second-best part though? "It was just like they showed on TV," Free said. "His chef served us blueberry pancakes, for real!" This is why Prince was so damn awesome.
[h/t The Undefeated]
