Hall of Famer Michael Jordan was incredibly competitive during his illustrious playing career, and that hasn’t really changed post-retirement. Jordan brought up his competitiveness when talking about his involvement in NASCAR during an appearance on CBS Mornings.
“I’m excited that I’m connected to this sport,” Jordan said. “I feel like when I watch the sport, I watch it with the lens of my father, or my family, and that matters to me. And I mean, that brings back a lot of things that we used to do when we were a kid. And the joy of seeing competition, right? I’m a very competitive person.”
Co-host Gayle King was surprised Jordan is still competitive and wondered why. King felt he’d want a quieter life after his 15 seasons in the NBA.
“I think I’m cursed,” Jordan said. “I’m cursed with this competitive gene that anything that I do is from a competitive lens. And in some ways, that keeps me young. It keeps me aggressively thinking positively. It helps me understand everything that I’m involved and I’m connected with. It has to be some competitive things to that.
“If it’s getting dressed, I got to get dressed before my wife get dressed,” Jordan continued. “… I’m cursed. That’s just the way I am. And I try to use it in the best positive way that I can… I got to get in the shower and get in the bathroom before she comes in, so she doesn’t slow down my time that I can get to the golf course in time. I got to drop the kids off. Got all the other things I got.”
That is insane. King had to check if Jordan was actually okay, as she couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. She wondered where this came from, and he wasn’t quite sure.
“I don’t know,” Jordan said. “I think that my appetite to prove as a kid created this competitive thing within me that has transcended and taken over everything that I do. And I think it’s a good trait to have because some people don’t have that trait. And some people get right at the cusp of what success really means, and they can never get over that hump. And I think it helps you evaluate every stage of success.
“I mean, believe me, I’ve had my failures in terms of the stages,” Jordan added. “But once I get over it, it’s infectious. It’s that feeling of that you’ve accomplished something. I’ve gotten to that hill. It’s a long road getting up that hill.”
A ruthless competitor like Jordan was always going to need to find something to get his juices flowing once he walked away from the game of basketball. He wasn’t going to be one of those retired players who just kick their feet up.
For the longest time, that something was golf. Jordan once admitted that golf was what kept a competitive person like him sane. The 63-year-old still appears to spend a fair bit of time on the golf course, but has started getting more involved with NASCAR in recent years.
Jordan co-founded 23XI Racing with Denny Hamlin in 2020. Their driver, Tyler Reddick, earned them their first NASCAR title in 2024 by winning the regular season championship. Reddick is now also leading the Cup Series standings in this 2026 season, as 23XI Racing chases ultimate glory.
That’s something Jordan tasted plenty of times during his basketball career. He won six titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, one DPOY, and 10 scoring titles, and has gone down as the greatest player of all time.
