Michael Jordan and his NASCAR 23 XI Racing team refuse to lose this season. Tyler Reddick won his fourth race of the season with an impressive performance in Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Speedway. Jordan was ecstatic after his team’s latest victory, leaping over safety barriers to celebrate with the crew. Social media was flooded with headlines congratulating Michael Jordan and his team on their emphatic victory, but one old foe-turned-friend stood out with a special message for the Chicago Bulls legend.

Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson took to X to applaud his old pal with words of affirmation, while also shouting out Reddick. “Another great accomplishment for my good friend Michael Jordan and his NASCAR Cup Series driver, Tyler Reddick, who won the Darlington Raceway yesterday!” Johnson wrote on his page.

The Los Angeles Lakers legend and MJ have shared a respectful rivalry on the basketball court during their NBA days and a playful camaraderie off of it. From their epic 1991 NBA Finals clash to bonding together as part of the 1992 Dream Team, their relationship has evolved over the years into deep mutual respect. Therefore, it was on brand for Johnson to take to social media and applaud Jordan in yet another milestone in his entrepreneurship journey.

The pair’s friendship started to bloom during the 1992 team practices. Magic trash-talked the Bulls legend on one occasion, only to get posterized repeatedly.“I could throw it anywhere, he was going to go get it and dunk it,” Magic later quipped, crediting it for kickstarting their close bond.

Over the last few years, Johnson has labelled Jordan as the ‘GOAT’ on multiple occasions. At the Invest Fest 2025, Johnson unequivocally picked MJ over LeBron James as the greatest hooper to ever do it, claiming “GOAT: “I would have to say, Michael… We haven’t seen anybody do the things that Michael could do.”

Jordan, to his credit, has always been appreciative of his friend in the same vein. Acknowledging Magic’s early jealousy perceptions, but praised his class, “Magic Johnson should have been Michael Jordan before Michael Jordan…He had the marketability, he had championships.”

A bromance for the ages? Yes, we reckon so. Maybe we’ll see LeBron and KD do the same when they hang up their uniforms!

Michael Jordan heaps praise on Reddick after epic win

23XI, co-owned by Jordan and Denny Hamlin and Curtis Polk, is redefining NASCAR history in 2026. They’ve won four of the first six races courtesy of Reddick’s unprecedented sweep of the first three (Daytona 500, Autotrader 400, Texas Grand Prix) before winning the Goodyear 400 at Darlington on March 22.

“I just wanted everything to be good. Once he gets back out there, I think his competitive juices are going to carry him all the way to the end,” Jordan told reporters on Sunday. “Those are the longest 18 to 20 laps that I could even imagine. I just didn’t want to see a caution. A caution would’ve changed everything. But he did the job. He earned it all week.

“I’m real proud of the team.”

#45 overcame electrical issues, a battery swap, and a late collision to win by nearly six seconds. Reddick leads the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series driver standings with 325 points. His teammate and fellow 23XI driver Bubba Wallace (#23), who was second in the standings before Sunday’s race, dropped to third below Ryan Blaney with 205 points.