Despite his success in other endeavors, especially in the business world, wherein he has built a massive empire, Michael Jordan will always be associated with basketball. A six-time NBA champion, six-time NBA Finals MVP and a five-time league MVP, heset the bar of basketball excellence so high that none have reached it to this day.
Although his basketball talent and skills already placed him head and shoulders above everyone in his era, what made Jordan a truly transcendent sports figure was his competitive fervor and will to win. The man absolutely detested losing at anything, be it cards, table tennis, or most especially basketball.
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So, some worried what his outlet would be when he stepped away from the game for good. In a 2009 interview with veteran journalist and broadcaster Michael Wilbon, Jordan relayed that nothing will ever take the place of basketball in his life, although golf came a distant second.
Basketball is embedded in his DNA
In the interview, Wilbon remarked that his former contemporaries and friends, Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley, had already found their second careers, so to speak. Magic had become a successful businessman while Barkley thrived as a popular media personality on “Inside the NBA.”
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Meanwhile, Jordan was still in the NBA in 2009, but not as a player, but rather as the owner of the Charlotte franchise.
“Nothing’s going to equal basketball,” His Airness asserted. “And if they say what they do now equals what they did playing the game of basketball, then I’d beg to differ about those two individuals and their competitive nature.”
“For me, I feel like I’m the most fierce competitor there is. I don’t think I’m ever going to find something equal to the game of basketball for me,” he continued. “Golf comes close.”
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Golf is definitely a passion of Jordan’s that dates back to his NBA heyday. During those days, he always made the time to play a round or two during the daytime, even if the Chicago Bulls had a game scheduled at night.
However, he admitted that even though he still wanted to excel on the greens, he wasn’t as proficient at it as he was at hoops.
“Even then, it’s not a mastery for me in that game, as basketball was,” Jordan explained. “I’ve come to understand that I’m never going to find something that drives me as much as basketball did and makes me that much more competitive than when basketball was a part of my life.”
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Related: “Kobe’s teammates were blabbing to their women” – Report once revealed how Vanessa Bryant allegedly discovered Kobe’s affairs
MJ finally found his second career
Jordan’s career as a team owner never truly panned out as the Bobcats/Hornets didn’t experience sustained success under his watch. However, he has since found his second calling, this time in NASCAR racing as the team owner of 23XI Racing.
With Tyler Reddick securing numerous wins and Bubba Wallace providing points consistently, 23XI Racing has been dominant this season, sitting at the top of the leaderboard of the NASCAR Cup Series standings.
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“The joy of seeing competition, right? I’m a very competitive person. 100 percent. I think I’m cursed. I’m cursed with this competitive gene,” Jordan said in a separate interview.
Related: “I had gotten guys way worse than that” – Allen Iverson says his famous crossover on Michael Jordan wasn’t even his best
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jun 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.