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NBA top rookie Cooper Flagg got a fast ride on the track Sunday before the NASCAR race in Texas with another 19-year-old, Cup Series rookie Connor Zilisch. A week after being named the NBA Rookie of the Year, the Dallas Mavericks' 6-foot-9 forward was the honorary pace car driver for the race in Texas. But several hours before leading the 38-car field to the green flag at the 1 1/2-mile track, Flagg was the passenger in that 2026 Chevrolet Corvette. It was driven then by Zilisch, who is in his first full Cup season with Trackhouse Racing after winning 10 races in NASCAR's second-tier series last year. "We got going pretty fast, and I think half the ride I was more scared of what was going on," Flagg said. "I've never been in a car going that fast, so it was pretty cool."
NBA top rookie Cooper Flagg got a fast ride on the track Sunday before the NASCAR race in Texas with another 19-year-old, Cup Series rookie Connor Zilisch. A week after being named the NBA Rookie of the Year, the Dallas Mavericks' 6-foot-9 forward was the honorary pace car driver for the race in Texas. But several hours before leading the 38-car field to the green flag at the 1½-mile track, Flagg was the passenger in that 2026 Chevrolet Corvette. It was driven then by Zilisch, who is in his first full Cup season with Trackhouse Racing after winning 10 races in NASCAR's second-tier series last year.
Vince Carter: “What KD has done, he is top five all time. Michael Jordan is the standard and anytime you pass Michael Jordan in anything, that is saying something. What he has done over the course of 14 years, six championships, 32,000. Mike is Mike.” Tracy McGrady: “Mike is winning, bro.” Vince Carter: “So anytime you get the opportunity to pass him, which I know Mike sits at home, Mike don't like any of that but he is going to show you some love, but we know how Mike is. By the way, shout out to Mike. Before we go to KD, let's shout out to Mike. He got his fourth win with his NASCAR team.” Tracy McGrady: “It is good to be Michael Jordan. With KD, that had to be a great feeling, man, to hear your name being mentioned and passing the great Michael Jordan. It is the longevity for me, these guys are great. They're the greatest to do it and when you have that type of skillset and you have the ability to go out and be it.”
Rose appeared on a live edition of the "Joe and Jada Unfiltered" podcast last week and said the "only sports that have salary caps are Black led" as he talked about his problem with the system. He named leagues like MLB, NASCAR, golf and tennis that do not have salary caps. Though he failed to mention that the NHL has a salary cap as roughly two dozen NHL players are Black. "The second thing is they have no after high school restrictions," he continued. "So, that’s a residue of slavery because we’re going to get money off of you for multiple years for free. There’s no way around it. So, what happened in the game, it became so obvious because of social media and because of information, it’s like ‘We’re making a billion dollars, we gotta pay them something.' That’s how it ended up happening."
Michael Jordan Can’t Stop Winning: It’s been a wild few months for Michael Jordan. After taking NASCAR to court over monopolistic and anticompetitive practices, which resulted in a settlement that fundamentally changed the economics of the sport for team owners, Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing made history last weekend, becoming the first team in NASCAR’s 77-year history to win three consecutive races. Insiders have always debated whether MJ could have a tangible impact on NASCAR’s business, since being a team owner is different than being a driver. But with three consecutive wins to start the season (and plenty of on-screen interview time for MJ), NASCAR is off to its strongest start in terms of viewership since 2022. Jordan has routinely said that he isn’t doing this to make money — court documents revealed that MJ has already invested $40 million in 23XI — but let’s see if he can make it four in a row today in Phoenix.
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The NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, NASCAR, UFC and WWE have unveiled an agreement with Fanatics, the White House and America250 that will see an exclusive USA 250 patch and logo featured on athlete uniforms and performance gear, as well as in the venues where they compete during marquee moments throughout 2026.
“My name is Michael Jeffrey Jordan, and I grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina.” That is how the tall man in the navy blue suit introduced himself to a federal courtroom in Charlotte on Friday, as Jordan took the witness stand in the NASCAR antitrust lawsuit brought by his race team, 23XI Racing, and one other. In exactly one hour of testimony, Jordan calmly made a case for why NASCAR needed to have a better partnership with its race teams — and said as a lifelong fan of stock car racing, he felt he was the one to bring about change through this lawsuit stemming from recent charter negotiations between the league and its teams that resulted in what he saw as unacceptable terms.
8,532 days. That’s how long it’s been since NBC’s last NBA game back on June 12, 2002. But that all changes Tuesday night with the start to the NBA season, with the Thunder hosting the Rockets and newly acquired assassin Kevin Durant -- all set to the tune of “Roundball Rock.” Sources tell SBJ that Commissioner Adam Silver and NBC Sports President Rick Cordella will take in part of the game together in Oklahoma City. It’s a major moment for the NBA with its $77 billion in new media rights deals. But there are going to be growing pains. Last week, I wrote about how the NBA has added a “Tap to Watch” discoverability feature for games this season with two new media partners in NBC/Peacock and Prime Video. It’s a good idea, especially after the NBA has watched issues on discoverability with MLB, Big Ten football, NASCAR and others when media deals start with new partners.
Michael Jordan has taken a major loss off the racetrack. Jordan’s 23XI Racing, and Front Row Motorsports, are now at risk of losing their NASCAR charter status—the sport’s version of franchises—as the entities’ legal battles continue. On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit vacated a preliminary injunction, ordered in December by a U.S. District Court in North Carolina, that required NASCAR to treat 23XI and Front Row as chartered teams for the 2025 season.
Microbetting company nVenue has partnered with the WNBA to provide its predictive analytics for the 2025 season, the startup’s first deal with a women’s sports property after previous work with the NBA, NASCAR and Apple TV for its Friday night MLB games. This follows a recent multimillion-dollar funding round from strategic investors FDJ Ventures, The Collectiv, and DigitalWin. Lead investor KB Partners also added participated with a follow-on check.
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False Alarm: The NBA and NASCAR are not dipping into cryptocurrency. At around 2:45 p.m. ET Tuesday, the NBA’s Twitter account announced to its 48.1 million followers that it launched a crypto coin —$NBA Coin— under the Solana network.
The 2025 NASCAR season begins Sunday at the Daytona 500 with a big change, and one major outstanding issue, off the track. On a positive note, NASCAR is entering the first season of new seven-year, $7.7 billion media-rights deals. On the flip side, the season begins with an unsettled antitrust lawsuit from two teams, including one owned by Michael Jordan. Also in 2025, NASCAR will race in a new country and launch an in-season tournament as the sport looks to continue its push into the mainstream.
As the NASCAR world descends upon Daytona International Speedway, two teams—Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports—are beginning the season as uncharted members as their antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR plays out in court. Last year, the teams were the only two not to sign NASCAR’s new charter agreement, instead suing the sanctioning body, arguing for a larger share of annual revenue distribution. 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick was one of four drivers to make it to the NASCAR Cup Series championship race last season, which was ultimately won by Joey Logano.
23XI Racing co-owners Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin started off NASCAR championship week by facing the sanctioning body in federal court. 23XI, which along with Front Row Motorsports is suing NASCAR and its CEO Jim France for antitrust violations, had its first in-person courtroom showdown with NASCAR during a Monday hearing over a preliminary injunction request.