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NBA legend Michael Jordan’s new love for sports comes on a racetrack instead of a track.
But the competitive juices he’s known for remain flowing as his 23XI Racing team sits atop the 2026 NASCAR Cup standings thanks to the four wins Tyler Reddick has already earned in seven starts.
Jordan appeared on “CBS Mornings,” where co-host Gayle King discussed his competitive spirit now in NASCAR. Jordan’s response was that he is “cursed” with the need to push for greatness — no matter the task.
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Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer and co-owner of 23XI Racing celebrates after Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Chumba Casino Toyota, wins his third straight race to start the 2026 NASCAR season by winning the NASCAR Cup Series DuraMax Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne at Circuit of The Austin, March 20, Texas, March 20. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)
“Guess I’m cursed,” Jordan said. “I’m cursed with this competitive gene, that everything I do is from a competitive lens, you know? And in some ways it keeps me young. It makes me think aggressively positively. It either helps me understand everything I’m involved in and I’m connected to.”
Jordan told King that even the small task of getting ready in the morning becomes competitive when he knows his wife, Yvette, is involved.
MICHAEL JORDAN’S NASCAR DRIVER TO MAKE HISTORY WITH 3RD STREET WIN TO START 2026 SEASON
“I have to shower and go to the bathroom before she comes in so she doesn’t slow down my time and I can get to the golf course on time,” Jordan explained. “I have to drop the kids off. I have all these other things to do.”
Of course, Jordan’s competitiveness has been on full display since his days at UNC before becoming an NBA legend with the Chicago Bulls. He doesn’t know when exactly that need to be competitive arose, but he knows it was childhood.
Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer and co-owner of 23XI Racing looks on during the NASCAR Cup Series Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway on March 8, 2026 in Avondale, Arizona. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
“I don’t know. I think my appetite to prove myself as a kid created this competitive thing in me that has transcended and taken over everything I do,” he said. “And I think that’s a good quality to have because some people don’t have that quality.
“Some people get right at the edge of what success really means and they can never get over that hump. I think it helps you evaluate each stage of success. Believe me, I’ve had my failures in terms of the stages.”
For 23XI Racing, co-owned by veteran NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin, it wasn’t an immediate success. However, through hard work and determination, 23XI Racing has developed into a first class team.
Because of the success and slow climb to get to this point in NASCAR, Jordan can’t shake that competitive bug.
Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer and co-owner of 23XI Racing celebrates with a crew member of the #45 Xfinity Toyota after driver Tyler Reddick wins the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
“When I get over it, it’s contagious,” he said. “It’s that feeling where you know you’ve accomplished something. I’ve reached that hill. It’s a long way to get up that hill.
“I think every time you see me swooning into it in the pit, it’s because we’re doing it. We absolutely are. We’re starting to make a difference in a sport that nobody thought we could make a difference in.”
