With much of the sports world tuning in to “The Last Dance,” ESPN’s 10-part documentary series on Michael Jordan and the 1990s Chicago Bulls, fans have been getting a behind-the-scenes glimpse as to what kind of competitor Jordan really was.
Fiery, tenacious and driven. Not many people can relate to that, at least on the kind of level MJ brought it night in and night out. But Tiger Woods says he’s one of them.
“I would say 1A, 1B, myself and Michael [Jordan],” Woods told Golf Digest in an interview. “He’s more, I think, outwardly competitive than I am. But I have my tendencies to be a little competitive at times.”
Even on the golf course, Jordan has the same burning desire to win, and Woods saw that first hand. Jordan and the Bulls were in the midst of another playoff run that would end with a second three-peat. But prior to the game that night, Jordan and Woods hit the links for a game of their own.
“They were playing the Knicks in the ECF,” Woods said in the interview. “I went up there and hung out with him for a few days. It was neat to be a part of the mindset—I can relate to that. I can relate to the intensity.”
Though Woods might defer to Jordan as the more competitive athlete, there’s no question the two were - and continue to be - some of the most dominant and popular athletes of all time.