Denny Hamlin has suffered one too many injuries over the past twenty years as a race car driver in the NASCAR Cup Series. Through intensive medical procedures and mind-bending personal discipline, he has maintained his physical fitness standards through all of them and is still going strong. However, it may come as a surprise that two of his most devastating injuries came not from racing but from playing basketball.
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The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran discussed sports injuries while in an interview on the “Daily Social Hour Podcast” earlier this year. After talking about his fractured spine and perfect eyesight, he got around to revealing how he runs a basketball league out of the court in his house’s basement.
It was when playing in this league that Hamlin tore both his anterior cruciate ligaments (ACLs).
Hamlin said, “I love playing recreational basketball. So, I have actually a league that I run out of my house. I have an indoor basketball court down in my basement. We have seven teams. We do a draft every year. We actually start our season this Thursday. But I tore both ACLs. One in 2010, one in 2014.”
Asked how good a player he was, Hamlin continued, “I’m terrible. I mean, when I say I’m terrible, I’m average for a mid-40 year old guy who likes to play wreck ball. But, you know, in our draft, I’m a fourthrounder. I used to be quite a bit higher, but all the injuries and getting older, I’m not as good as I used to. I’m an outside shooter now.”
Has Hamlin played basketball against Michael Jordan?
Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan are both co-owners of the 23XI Racing team. They share a strong friendship beyond their business arrangement, which makes it inevitable that they would play basketball together at some point. But so far, that has not happened.
Hamlin said, “I went to a camp of his in Charlotte once. It might have been one of those moments where the crowd asked him if he could still dunk and he turned around and he did. I went to a camp but never played basketball with him.”
He also noted that Jordan’s passion has now shifted to motorsports after becoming a team owner.
Hamlin and Jordan are now both embroiled in an antitrust lawsuit trial against NASCAR. The outcome of the courtroom drama will decide their future in the sport and the future of 23XI Racing.
