WATCH: Brian Kelly reveals slightly embarrassing Harold Perkins Jr story, comparison to Michael Jordan

After his monster performance on Saturday, LSU star Harold Perkins Jr had a slightly embarrassing moment involving Michael Jordan revealed. After the win, coach Brian Kelly revealed that Perkins was sick with the flu before the game against Arkansas — something that Kelly told Perkins was his “MJ” moment. The 20-year-old freshman answered his coach with a question almost nobody would expect from someone involved in sports, asking his coach “who’s MJ?”

Brian Kelly said Harold Perkins was sick before the game with the flu.

Told him MJ played his best game ever when he was sick.

Perkins: “Who’s MJ?” pic.twitter.com/QQ9GQxJTuA

— Cody Worsham (@CodyWorsham) November 12, 2022

Harold Perkins Jr unaware of Michael Jordan being “MJ”

Perkins’ on-field accomplishments on Saturday were historic, as he became the first SEC player since 2000 to record eight-plus tackles, four-plus sacks and multiple forced fumbles in a game. Perkins finished his day after battling the flu with eight tackles, four sacks and two forced fumbles — helping secure a 13-10 win for the Tigers and preserve their SEC Championship Game chances.

After the game however, Kelly revealed a story that the rising star likely didn’t want known by the entire sports world. Apparently, Perkins asked “who’s MJ” when Kelly told him that this was his chance to stand out like Jordan did in his legendary “Flu Game” performance.

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Although only 20 years old, Jordan was still playing when Perkins was born — playing his final NBA game in 2003 before his final retirement. Adding to the hilariously embarrassing moment is the fact that Jordan is widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time, not even mentioning the Jordan-brand shoes that are known world-wide.

Possibly in Perkins defense though, he was born well after the release of the movie Space Jam — one of the most well-known mass appeal products of Jordan’s career in sports and pop culture history. It’s possible that Perkins just never heard the Looney Tunes call Jordan by the nickname “MJ” before, although he’ll certainly hear it in jokes from his teammates over the next few weeks.