NBA icon Michael Jordan has made a surprising choice when naming the modern sportsperson most similar to him in his glory years with the Chicago Bulls.
Jordan, who won six NBA championships in the famous Bulls team of the 1990s and was crowned the NBA's Most Valuable Player on each occasion, is regarded as one of the greatest sportspeople there's ever been. He knows a sporting superstar when he sees one.
But his spiritual successor in modern sports isn't a player for the Bulls or even from the world of basketball at all. While Jordan's global reach is undeniable, he sees himself in a man with many strings to his motorsport bow as a driver and team owner but isn't nearly so widely known among sports fans outside the USA.
Jordan was in attendance at the NASCAR 2025 Goodyear 400 in Darlington, South Carolina on Sunday and was asked by FOX Sports about the confidence and trash-talking of Denny Hamlin.
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"He is a clown," said Jordan.
"But that's him. That's Denny. He's a very confident driver. He is a very confident person.
"His competitive juice is no different than mine. I mean, I love that he's gotten back to winning and I want him to win a championship so badly, because I think he's earned that because of what he has done for the sport for so long. And he's gonna grind it out."
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Hamlin isn't one to shy away from the spotlight. After winning the previous NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway a week earlier, he waved a flag bearing the slogan '11 against the world' – a reference to his car number – in acknowledgement of 23XI Racing's part in an antitrust suit against NASCAR.
He followed up with a dramatic win in Darlington on Sunday in front of Jordan, not only admirer but the '23' in 23XI, the motorsport team they own together.
"That's just the way Denny is," beamed the all-time NBA great.
"And you know, if you boo him that makes him better. You know, you boo me that makes me better. I mean that's just the nature of a good competitor."
Topics: Michael Jordan, NBA, Chicago Bulls
Chris Nee