Michael Jordan showed his incredible mentality when he made a vow to his Charlotte Hornets players after over a decade out of the NBA.

The Chicago Bulls legend was famed for having a ruthless mindset to watch his talent on court and his brutal attitude hasn’t deserted him since retiring in 2003. Jordan didn’t stay away from basketball for long as he bought a minority stake in the Charlotte Hornets in 2006.

Jordan took control of the basketball operations of the team and became very involved with the Charlotte players. But during an interview in 2015 when he was still the owner of the franchise, he made a bold statement in true Jordan fashion about the squad.

Speaking at the age of 52 and over a decade out of the NBA, Jordan was still full of confidence in his ability that he could take on his team in a one-on-one game in a curious statement that could have risked shattering the belief of his Hornets players.

“I’m pretty sure I can, so I don’t wanna do that, demolish their confidence. I just stay away from them and let them think they’re good,” the six-time champion said. Jordan’s Hornets’ roster at the time included the likes of Kemba Walker, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Cody Zeller.

Former Hornets center Bismack Biyombo previously recalled a story from his time playing under Jordan when the then-50-year-old took on a number of the team’s younger guards in practice. Biyombo told how MJ pulled aside some of the youngsters and dominated them on-on-one in a brutal learning curve for them.

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan made a vow to his Hornets players ( 

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Getty)

Biyombo added that Jordan also didn’t care for the age gap as he would lace up his sneakers and take on any player in the team. “So this was probably I think 7, 8 years ago,” Biyombo said. “He would come into practice and just play one-on-one with players and just kill them, 100 percent. I (didn’t) think he could move like that.”

Jordan sold his majority stake in the Hornets in 2023 to Gabe Plotkin and Rock Schnall while keeping his minority stake. The team that Jordan paid $275 million for was sold for approximately 10 times the price at $3 billion.

The 14-time All-Star still keeps the fire burning through his co-ownership of NASCAR team 23XI Racing with NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin. Jordan and 23XI are embroiled in a legal dispute with NASCAR regarding the charter agreements for the 2025 season.

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed an anti-trust lawsuit, claiming that NASCAR was running a monopoly over the organization’s teams. “I love the sport of racing and the passion of our fans, but the way NASCAR is run today is unfair to teams, drivers, sponsors and fans Today’s action shows I’m willing to fight for a competitive market where everyone wins,” Jordan said.