Michael Jordan left basketball in 2003, but he brought his competitiveness with him.
Over the years, he redirected this edge into new arenas, such as golf, team ownership, and gambling. He chased that rush of competition in these worlds, but none quite matched the feeling of having the ball in his hands until he turned to NASCAR racing.
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With a body no longer fit to dominate people on the hardwood like he used to with the Chicago Bulls, Jordan has found another sport to not only unapologetically express his competitive nature, but also compensate for missing the sport he first loved.
“Oh, yeah. 100%. It’s not just a tiny bit, it’s a huge piece,” he said in an exclusive interview with CBS Sunday Morning’s Gayle King. “But I’ve compensated that feeling through NASCAR. But that urge to dream that if I wish, I can still pick up a basketball, I would love to do that. Believe me, my competitive juices is, ‘Yeah, I would definitely love to do that.”
The competitive gene
Jordan entered the world of NASCAR in 2020 when he teamed up with Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin to create 23XI Racing. As someone who has been involved in basketball for most of his life, this decision seemed to come out of left field. However, MJ said that he has always been a fan of the sport.
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Now, he is making strides as the first Black majority owner of a full-time race team. Recently, 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick won the first three races of the NASCAR season, the first to do so since 1949, when the NASCAR Cup Series was first introduced. The organization has now won four of its first six races, and Jordan could not hide his joy.
“It’s infectious. You know, you win. Everybody’s happy. When you lose, there’s a sadness, which is necessary,” he said.
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According to Jordan, the thrill of race victories reminds him of his NBA days, which is why he wants to keep chasing it at all costs, revealing a curse he could not break free from.
“The joy of seeing competition, right? I’m a very competitive person. 100%. I think I’m cursed. I’m cursed with this competitive gene,” he said. “Anything that I do if it’s getting dressed, I got to get dressed before my wife get dressed,you know, those types of things. I’m cursed.”
The burden of basketball fame
Although Jordan has moved to a different sport, his popularity as an athlete has made it impossible for him to escape the public eye.
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Well, when you’re a six-time NBA champion, six-time Finals MVP, a five-time MVP, and a 14-time All-Star, the attention will always follow you wherever you go.
By hanging up his sneakers for good, he thought that he would be relieved of this burden. But between his Hall of Fame legacy and his legal battle against NASCAR, he thought wrong.
“When I say I wanted to retire and get a quieter life, I wanted to get away from basketball in terms of what I represented in that arena and how big I’ve gotten and it was such a huge burden,” he said. “At some point in time, you say. I’m tired of, you know, I’m tired of doing that.”
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As NASCAR helps him cope with his longing for basketball, his mission in his new sport is to chase not only competition, but also greatness.
“It’s something that I think keeps me alive,” he said.
Related: Ex-Knicks ball boy reveals Michael Jordan was surprisingly the best tipper: “Every game he took care of all the ball boys”
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Mar 29, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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