Michael Jordan’s NASCAR Driver Bubba Wallace Reveals How Close He Came to Becoming an NBA Player

Bubba Wallace almost chose a completely different career path! Although, Wallace has struggled most of the season. Things are finally going his way, and his performance is better than ever. In fact, in the last 3 races, Wallace has not finished below the top 10. So naturally, it is hard to imagine him being a part of a whole different sports community. However, a recent revelation showed that Bubba almost became a basketball player!

Had things been different, Bubba would probably play on Jordan’s basketball team instead of driving for his NASCAR team.

In an interview ahead of the race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Wallace revealed he was on a very different path.

106.7 WTLC Contributor, Karen Vaughn, asked Bubba Wallace, “Was there another sport that you wanted to do before racing? Or a sport that you were really involved in and tried your hand at?”

To which Bubba replied by dropping the bombshell and declaring that he wanted to follow in his Sister’s footsteps!

“I think I was following my sister’s footsteps, to be honest with you. She was a basketball player.”

So, what changed?

What Made Bubba Wallace Wanna Race?

Wallace was all set to take his route into NBA and play basketball professionally. However, he’s now a Cup Series driver for 23XI Racing. So, what caused it?

Well, like most drivers, Wallace started off in Go Karts. And luckily, in an exclusive interview with Jamie Broadnax of Black Girl Nerds, the 23XI Racing drivers answer the question.

“I started when I was about nine racing go-karts. My dad bought a Harley Davidson, and the guy who fixed it up for him raced go-karts and invited us to come out and watch him. We were sitting in the stands, and we had gotten hooked just sitting there watching, so we went out and got a go-kart the next weekend and started racing.”

Read More: NASCAR Driver Market: Bubba Wallace Confirms Rumours as Kyle Busch Expresses Desire to Take a Pay Cut

Finally, it’s great that we get to see him race. But we can’t overlook the coincidence that Bubba chose a path different from Michael Jordan’s, and yet, he’s racing for him.