To anyone who’s been paying attention since the 1980s, it would appear from the outside looking in that Michael Jordan was touched by the hand of God himself.
Jordan, 63, remains the NBA‘s preeminent mythical figure, even two decades after he retired with six NBA championships, five NBA MVPs, and the impenetrable title as the G.O.A.T. Not to mention, his billion-dollar Air Jordan/Jordan Brand empire.
But that’s not Michael Jordan’s daily experience.
The Hall of Famer sat down with Gayle King for “CBS Sunday Morning,” and he explained what drives him as the co-owner of the 23XI Racing team in the NASCAR Cup Series.
“The joy of seeing competition,” Jordan said. “I’m a very competitive person.”
An incredulous King asked, “Still?“
Jordan said, “100%.”
King asked him why, given she was under the impression he’d stepped back from the spotlight to enjoy “a quieter life.”
“I think I’m cursed,” Jordan said. “I’m cursed with this competitive gene [in] anything that I do. If it’s getting dressed, I gotta get dressed before my wife gets dressed. I’m cursed!”
Jordan can now bond over 3-peats with Tyler Reddick, who became the first-ever NASCAR driver to win the first three races of a Cup Series season, including the Daytona 500, earlier this month. Reddick, who drives the No. 45 Toyota for Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s 23XI Racing.
Bubba Wallace (No. 23), Riley Herbst (No. 35), and Corey Heim (No. 67) round out the 23XI Racing roster. Currently, Reddick has a substantial lead atop the Cup Series standings, while Hamlin is in third and Wallace is in 11th.
“They’re athletes,” Jordan told King. “They’re great athletes. They have to think real quick, going at 190 miles an hour. To me, that was intriguing enough for me to dive in and understand it from an athlete’s standpoint.”
Jordan added, “I’ve been a fan. It’s not like I just woke up and said, ‘You know what? I’m gonna go, and I’m gonna attack NASCAR.’ No. I’ve been a supporter of NASCAR for a long period of time. But I was focused on what I was doing, which was basketball. Now, when I got into NASCAR, I could see how things were operating; it was lopsided. It was wrong. The sport was not set up for success long-term for the individuals involved in the sport.”
Watch Jordan’s full “CBS Sunday Morning” segment below.