Michael Jordan’s boat lands 71-pound marlin to take second in major fishing tournament

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During his legendary NBA career, Michael Jordan was known as an intense competitor who would never settle for being second best.

In this case, however, we think he’ll be alright with it.

The GOAT of basketball was part of a crew that took home second place in the prestigious White Marlin Open held in Ocean City, Md., over the weekend.

Jordan was aboard the cleverly named Catch 23 boat when Trey ‘Cricket’ McMillan hauled in a massive 71-pound, 1.8-metre white marlin on the sixth day of the deep-sea fishing tournament.

The White Marlin Open has a 52-year history and is billed as as one of the world’s largest and richest tournaments of its kind.

Jordan was front and centre as the boat pulled back into the Ocean City harbour while Sirus — the song that served as the Chicago Bulls’ entrance theme during their legendary championship runs in the ’90s — played on the event’s sound system.

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The crew cheered wildly after weighing in their catch to move into second place out of 282 boats and earn a prize of US$400,000.

Unfortunately for the Catch 23 crew, they fell just one pound short of first place, with angler Dan Gough of the Billfisher taking home an estimated $4.27 million for his 72-pound marlin.

Fellow competitor Jimmy David referred to the tournament as the Super Bowl of the sport.

“The biggest tournament, people come from all over,” David told COAST TV. “Michael Jordan, all kinds of people. I heard they have the secretary of the Navy over there and all kinds of celebrities. And the best of the best fishing. That’s for sure — the Super Bowl.”

Since retiring from basketball, Jordan has stayed involved in sports of all kinds. He was the owner of the Charlotte Hornets until selling the team in 2023 and is the owner and operator of NASCAR’s 23XI Racing team.

Jordan also is an avid golfer and has been spotted at sporting events all over the world in recent years.