Evaluating Michael Jordan’s First NBA on NBC Appearance

Michael Jordan made his first appearance on NBC as a "special contributor" for the network's NBA coverage. While there wasn't much to it, we have thoughts on his first on-screen appearance as an NBA commentator.

Tuesday night's first edition of "MJ: Insights to Excellence" consisted of Jordan sitting down in his home for a three-plus-minute interview with Mike Tirico. As you'd expect, there wasn't much ground covered.

The section of the piece that we liked was where Jordan discussed wanting to "pay it forward." He said he had an obligation to the game of basketball. He wants to "pass on messages of success and dedication to the game of basketball." Presumably, Jordan will be imparting knowledge in these segments this season. The six-time champion reiterated, "As professional athletes, we have an obligation to pay it forward. That's part of what this is all about."

Jordan also said that he wished he "could take a magic pill" that would allow him to play at his former level today. The competition and competitiveness are what drove him to say that, as he admitted he missed it.

That section was the highlight of the segment.

Now for the things we didn't love...

Honestly, the segment was far too short. It was like a trailer for Jordan's segments instead of an actual segment itself. If that was going to be the case, it should have aired last week to hype up his debut or something, not on the first night of the 2025–26 season.

While Jordan waxed poetic about paying it forward and wishing he could still play, he and Tirico didn't talk basketball at all. The five-time NBA MVP revealed he hadn't picked up a basketball in years, but there was nothing about the NBA today. In the future, we'll presumably get his thoughts about how the modern game is played, which players he admires the most and maybe some X's and O's. None of that was present in the first segment.

NBC has hyped Jordan's future contributions to its NBA coverage for a while now, and his first segment landed with a bit of a thud. Yes, it was cool seeing the greatest basketball player of all time on television for a big broadcast, but there was little substance to it.

Jordan played 15 seasons in the NBA, 13 with the Bulls, and two with the Wizards. During his time with Chicago, he established himself as the greatest basketball player of all time by winning six championships in six trips to the NBA Finals and taking home series MVP in each of them. He won five regular-season MVPs, 10 NBA scoring titles, was a 14-time All-Star and was named first team All-NBA on 10 occasions. He also won two Olympic gold medals.

It was a no-brainer for NBC to bring Jordan aboard now that he's willing to work in media. The network just has to make sure it uses him correctly. After Night 1, there is plenty of room to improve.