Pope Leo XIV remembers the good old days of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen on his hometown Chicago Bulls ... and, he's clearly got some skills with the rock ... or at least some great teachers.

The head of the Catholic Church welcomed the Harlem Globetrotters to St. Peters' Square Wednesday ... and they showed him how to spin a basketball on his finger.

Check it out -- one of the athletes starts spinning the ball while he gets the pope's finger into position ... then passes it off to him ... sorta.

It looks like the Globetrotter's doing a majority of the work -- and Leo's just standing there -- but the pontiff gets an ovation anyway.

Pope Leo XIV's been in the job for almost a year now, and he's had a ton of memorable moments ... from signing a motorcycle for charity to reportedly skipping a meeting with President Trump after administration officials allegedly tough-talked the Vatican's ambassador to the United States.

Technically, the pope job is a lifetime appointment ... but, maybe Leo could get a job as the Globetrotters mascot!