THE SIXTH RING? WHY MICHAEL JORDAN CLAIMS DAYTONA 500 GLORY FEELS LIKE NBA TITLES
Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing wins the 2026 Daytona 500! See MJ’s emotional reaction to Tyler Reddick’s win and his NBC Sports move.
Jamal Crawford didn’t hold back; he called Michael Jordan’s move to NBC Sports a game-changer, and you could tell he felt proud to join him as a teammate.
But the real headline came earlier, at the 2026 Daytona 500. When 23XI Racing took the checkered flag, Michael Jordan just stood there in victory lane, clearly overwhelmed. He watched Tyler Reddick soak in the biggest win of his NASCAR career, confetti raining down, and then pulled his driver into a hug. It was one of those moments that felt straight out of Jordan’s own basketball glory days.
This win was huge for a team Jordan and Denny Hamlin only started back in 2020. What began as a brand-new Cup Series entry has turned into a serious contender. On Sunday, all that hard work paid off on NASCAR’s biggest stage. Sure, Reddick’s gutsy move on the last lap clinched it, but Jordan’s reaction to how much this meant to him and the whole team really told the story.
Jordan compared the Daytona win to winning an NBA title. Standing in victory lane, he tried to put it into words: “This is what it feels like to win a championship. We’ve built this from the ground up, and to see it pay off like this… It’s indescribable.”
A little earlier, talking to FOX, he admitted the whole thing felt surreal: “I can’t even believe it. It’s so gratifying. We had four guys really fighting and helping each other out. You never know how these races will end. You try to survive.”
He kept coming back to one thing: teamwork. Jordan made a point to call out Riley Herbst for his push in those final laps: “I thought Riley did an unbelievable job pushing at the end. That’s what teamwork is all about. He doesn’t get enough credit and probably won’t, but we feel the love, and we know exactly what he did.”
For Jordan, that win was about more than just a last-lap move. “We just hung in there all day. The team had a great strategy and gave us a chance at the end. Look, I’m ecstatic. I don’t even know what to say. It feels like I won a championship, but until I get my ring, I won’t even know.”
He knows how much work goes into superspeedway racing: the preparation, the timing, and the drafting partners. It’s a group effort, start to finish.
For 23XI Racing, this wasn’t just another win. It’s the biggest moment in their short history. Since 2020, they’ve grown from a single-car team to a regular threat in the Cup Series. Now, they’ve got a Daytona 500 win under their belt.
Jordan’s been front and centre for all of it, pushing the team, raising its profile, and living out that relentless drive for excellence. After the race, cameras caught him celebrating with fist pumps, big hugs with Reddick, and the whole team pouring into victory lane.
Later, Jordan reflected on the journey. He’s always chased greatness, and now he sees that same fire in his NASCAR crew. For a guy with six NBA championships, winning the Daytona 500 just proved he still has that competitive edge. This time, instead of the hardwood, the celebration happened right there at Daytona International Speedway: his team, their win, and one of NASCAR’s biggest moments.
TRISTIN MCCOLLUM SIGNS RAIDERS EXTENSION AFTER PHILADELPHIA EAGLES WAIVED SUPER BOWL WINNER
Tristin McCollum re-signs with the Raiders as Klint Kubiak and John Spytek pivot to a younger, faster 2026 roster.
The Las Vegas Raiders have really pulled back on free agent signings lately, but their roster still has plenty of holes to fill. They didn’t use the franchise tag this year, though they did lock down some restricted free agents.
One guy they definitely wanted to keep was safety Tristin McCollum. He didn’t get much attention in free agency, but the Raiders knew they wanted him back. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that McCollum and the Raiders have finally worked out a deal so he’s staying in Las Vegas.
Last season, McCollum ended up with the Raiders after the Philadelphia Eagles waived him. He played in 16 games for the team in 2025.
McCollum started his NFL career as an undrafted free agent with the Houston Texans, but he never saw the field there. He spent two years with the Eagles and even earned a Super Bowl ring for the 2024 season.
He’s mostly known for his work on special teams, though he can add some depth at safety. At just 26, McCollum’s got youth and athleticism on his side, and on a defence full of new faces, he’ll have plenty of chances to make some noise.
Klint Kubiak Wants More Depth at Safety
Now McCollum joins Terrell Edmunds, Jeremy Chinn, and Isaiah Pola-Mao in the safety group. Honestly, it’s not the strongest bunch right now. Chinn is solid, but Pola-Mao had a rough time last season.
Edmunds, a first-round pick in the past, just hasn’t been able to stick around on one team. It feels like the Raiders might still need to draft a safety. Head coach Klint Kubiak made it clear they have to strengthen that spot.
“I think we've got to get deeper,” Kubiak said recently. “It’s a good draft for that position. I think we've got three guys that we’re working with right now. We got to continue to build that depth.”
Raiders Make Youth the Priority This Offseason
Last offseason, the Raiders weren’t expected to be contenders and still wound up with an older roster. This time, though, youth was the plan. General manager John Spytek said the team made that choice on purpose.
“We wanted to get younger, we wanted to target the right kind of people, and so I’m just proud of the work that they put in,” Spytek said. “It was great teamwork while we waited to fill out the coaching staff.
“And then we waited until after the Super Bowl for Klint [Kubiak], and things moved faster after that. Our scouts and coaches worked really well together, and I think we did a good job in free agency making the Raiders better.”
If the Raiders want to build a team that lasts, they have to stay committed to bringing in young talent.
ESPN STRAW POLL REVEALS LUKA DONčIć RECEIVED ZERO FIRST-PLACE MVP VOTES
Luka Dončić suffers a "brutal" hamstring injury as the Lakers lose big to OKC and vanish from the MVP top spot.
The last 24 hours have been a rollercoaster for the Los Angeles Lakers.
They started with a complete collapse against the defending champs, the Oklahoma City Thunder. Things only took a turn for the worse when Luka Doncic, their star point guard, started limping in the third quarter during a matchup with Jalen Williams.
He immediately showed signs of pain, moving slowly toward the baseline before lying down and covering his face with his hands.
The Lakers were already hanging by a thread, and losing Doncic in that moment seemed to drain the life out of the whole team.
The game ended with a brutal 43-point loss, but all anyone wanted to know afterwards was how bad Doncic’s injury was and how long he'd be sidelined.
Before this game, Doncic was riding one of the most remarkable scoring runs in NBA history. He racked up 600 points in March, the third-highest total ever for a single month.
Those scoring outbursts had pushed him up the MVP leaderboard significantly.
Now, however, it looks like Doncic’s case for this year’s Michael Jordan Trophy might not be as strong as it appeared.
Heading into Thursday’s matchup in Oklahoma City, many had pegged Doncic as the clear MVP favourite after he led his team to an impressive 15-2 record last month. The Lakers were arguably the hottest team around, with only the Thunder and San Antonio Spurs close behind.
Doncic was the most explosive scorer by a wide margin, including a 60-point game, the highest since he joined L.A. in that major trade over a year ago.
With the regular season winding down, MVP voting is about to conclude, and that always keeps fans on edge.
This morning, ESPN shared its final straw poll of the season. The people behind this poll hold real voting power, so these results are a strong indication of how the actual voting might go.
Brace yourselves, Lakers fans, here’s the tough part.
Doncic, who had been gaining serious momentum for MVP in recent weeks, ended up with zero first-place votes.
That’s right, none.
If you need to read that again, go ahead.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got the most first-place votes, followed by Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic, both of whom earned more first-place votes than Doncic.
That said, Doncic did receive six second-place votes, 24 third-place votes, and 59 fourth-place votes. So, while not a favourite at the top, he wasn’t completely overlooked either.
Now, beyond the MVP race, the Lakers face more significant challenges as the playoffs approach.
This could not come at a worse time for Doncic to get hurt. His chances at postseason awards are also at risk.
At 27, Doncic needs to log at least 20 more minutes in another game to remain eligible for those honors but even that might be a stretch.
If the injury is a hamstring strain, even the mildest kind could keep him out for one to two weeks, knocking him out of eligibility. Should it be worse, a Grade 2 or 3 strain, the Lakers could lose him for part or all of the first-round playoff series. That’s a devastating possibility.
The hope is that it’s just a minor tweak, though his body language after going down suggested it might be more serious.
Luckily, the Lakers have five games left before the playoffs begin, with a roughly one-week break during the play-in tournament. That break could be crucial for getting Doncic back to full health before the first round begins.
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