“That was the guy I wanted to be” – Michael Phelps on why he wanted to ‘replicate’ Michael Jordan’s career

Michael Phelps is the greatest swimmer in history with 28 Olympic medals to his name. Phelps called time on his career as the most decorated Olympian of all time in 2016.

Having made his Olympic debut in 2000, the American swimmer went on to become a household name around the world. The former swimmer has millions of fans around the world who continue to look up to him as an inspiration.

It is interesting to learn that the GOAT Olympian himself has idols of his own and basketball legend Michael Jordan is one of them. Much like Phelps in swimming, Jordan is the greatest when it comes to basketball. However, it wasn’t always like that.

Michael Phelps himself has revealed that he considered MJ an idol and looked up to him while growing up. The Baltimore bullet has gone to lengths to admit that he wished to 'replicate' the basketballer’s career graph in swimming.

Michael Phelps wanted to replicate Jordan's career

Phelps and Jordan are regular features in the discussions on GOATs in their respective sports. However, these athletes don’t actually compete against each other and share immense respect for each other.

While fans can argue that if one is better than the other, it's safe to say that the athletes share a healthy relationship and it shows. Phelps, a 23-time Olympic gold medalist, once opened up on Jordan and said that he was in awe of his career.

In an interview with Yahoo Sports, Phelps revealed that he was starstruck the first time he met Jordan in person. Being the grounded person he is, the swimmer added that he watched The Last Dance documentary like the rest of us and felt inspired all the more to achieve greatness.

Michael Phelps said:

“For me, MJ was everything growing up. That was the guy I wanted to be. I wanted to do in swimming what he did in the sport of basketball. In my opinion, he completely changed and grew the sport of basketball to an unbelievable place and heights. That’s really what I kind of replicated my career off of.”

Drawing parallels between himself and Jordan, Phelps added:

“I guess to put it quite bluntly, everyone’s saying he was an **** but I would say the same thing about myself. I was an **** when I was training because I wanted to help everybody make sure they had the same exact chance that I had. We’re all in there working together as a team."

"Even though it’s an individual sport, we want the best for each other. I’m going to challenge them. And I’m going to make sure that they’re getting stresses in practice that they’re going to face in a meet.”

It should be noted this wasn’t the only time Michael Phelps has opened up about his admiration for Michael Jordan. While speaking in a CNN interview, Phelps reiterated that MJ was his idol and said that the latter 'made basketball what it is'.