Chris Paul and Blake Griffin to pick Michael Jordan’s brain in China

During the Clippers’ preseason trip to China, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin will have a unique opportunity to learn from Michael Jordan.

Both Paul and Griffin will be making appearances alongside Jordan for Nike’s Jordan Brand, and they said they intend to soak up as much as they can from the five-time NBA most valuable player and six-time NBA champion.

“It’s somebody you look up to,” Griffin said Tuesday before the team left for China. “He’s one of those guys that has that shine, I guess, that hasn’t gone away. Some guy, you really look up to them and now they’re commentating and you kind of lose that thing where you look up to them. But he’s one of those guys that obviously I’ll always respect, but you always try and hear stories.”

The Clippers have never made it past the second round of the playoffs in their 46-year existence. So having the Clippers’ two star players spending intimate time with Jordan can only be a good thing.

Said Paul: “He was my childhood idol, so luckily I get an opportunity to talk to him pretty often.”

When he was younger, Paul said he even thought about following in Jordan’s shoes and playing college basketball at North Carolina.

“At one point, until I woke up,” said Paul, who ended up playing at Wake Forest.

The Clippers play two games in China -- in Shenzhen on Saturday and in Shanghai on Wednesday. In between games, they will make various appearances and visit different sites.

“If you think the fans over there like us, wait to see how they feel about MJ,” Paul said.