It’s an announcement that will shake the world of sports broadcasting. Michael Jordan will be on the NBC airwaves when the network returns to airing the NBA next season.
The addition of Jordan is a coup, with the network bringing on one of the all-time greatest players in the sport to boost their coverage.
With the announcement coming earlier today, sources have exclusively revealed to DailyMail.com the scope of Jordan’s role within the network.
Rather than be a constant presence on-air – much like Wayne Gretzky does with hockey coverage on Turner or Tom Brady does on Fox – Jordan’s appearances will be rarer and more specialized.
‘Michael is going to be doing a handful things for NBC when the NBA returns, and instead of commentating, it is going to be more special segments, 60 Minutes style, and occasionally doing halftime analysis,’ sources exclusively told DailyMail.com
The source added, ‘They are going to make his moments special, and with players in a hands on segment before the game and occasionally stuff after the game, but it isn’t going to be full commentary or what Shaq and Charles Barkley do.
Michael Jordan’s role with NBC has been revealed after it was announced he’d join the network
Signing Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players in history, is a coup for NBC
Sources said that Jordan’s role will make him ‘NBC’s Oprah for the NBA.’
A new media rights deal is set to kick in for the league next season – putting NBA games back on NBC for the first time since 2002.
Highlights of Jordan were posted onto the X account of ‘NBA on NBC and Peacock’ – showing moments of greatness from the legendary career of ‘His Airness’.
In addition to Jordan, Hall of Famer Reggie Miller will be appearing on the network alongside Carmelo Anthony and Jamal Crawford.
Jordan hasn’t exactly tried to make headlines for himself since retiring from basketball a third time in 2003.
He has never coached a team, though he was the owner of the Hornets for 13 years before selling his majority stake in 2023.
NBC and Peacock will air up to 100 regular season games total per season, with more than half of those on NBC, the NBA previously said.
As part of the new 11-year agreement, ESPN will remain a rights-holder while Amazon has gained NBA broadcast rights for the first time.
Jordan is set to join NBC, which will broadcast NBA basketball for the first time since 2002
Jordan is revered for his career with the Bulls but has stayed out of the spotlight since retiring
He will be a part of NBC’s revived NBA coverage, with the network re-gaining rights
While it’s been over two decades since the network broadcast the league, NBC’s relationship to the NBA is viewed through a nostalgic lens by many basketball fans, due to the presence of Jordan and other 90’s stars on its airwaves back in the day, and its hit intro song ‘Roundball Rock.’
Jordan was thrust back into the spotlight amid the 2020 release of ‘The Last Dance,’ an in-depth docuseries focused on the Bulls’ championship runs featuring him and many of his ex-teammates.
Notably, Jordan had control of the archival footage used in the project, and many of his teammates – including Scottie Pippen – were unhappy with how things were portrayed in the project.
Monday’s announcement was celebrated by many NBA fans, including ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who wondered what kind of Jordan viewers would be getting on air.
‘I just wanna know, is it gonna be the Michael Jordan you see on television? Or is it gonna be the Michael Jordan we speak to? Because if it’s the Michael Jordan we speak to, it’s gonna be epic,’ he said on First Take.
‘The things that he will say, and the way that he says them, and the way that he breaks them down, lord have mercy.’
‘… But if it’s NBC and the little kids out there are watching and he wants to mind his manners about every little syllable he utters – eh, he’ll be alright.’
Meanwhile, the official NBA account wrote: ‘AIR JORDAN ON THE AIR NEXT SEASON.’
The former Bulls star Jordan is widely recognized as the greatest NBA player of all-time
He won a staggering six championships with Chicago and won five MVPs as well
Former NBA player Caron Butler also added: ‘What the game needs education from a tactical perspective. Enough of the comical nonsense and false teachings. Kobe has been missed. The GOAT to the rescue!!’
As Butler alluded to, much has been made in recent years of the state of NBA analysis, including TNT’s Inside the NBA.
While the show – which features Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and host Ernie Johnson – will be produced by TNT and shown on ESPN moving forward under a unique agreement, TNT as a network will no longer have rights to show games.
NBC, along with Amazon and ESPN, holds NBA rights through 2036, and Jordan should go a long way in gaining viewers.
