It just wouldn’t be the NBA on NBC without Michael Jordan.
So, perhaps unsurprisingly, His Airness is going to be associated with the return of pro basketball on the Peacock network.
NBC announced Monday it is adding the six-time champion, five-time MVP and former Charlotte Hornets owner to its NBA coverage as a special contributor.
Jordan was a mainstay on NBC when it first held the national broadcast rights from 1990-02, since the Chicago Bulls won the championship in six of its first eight years of broadcasting basketball. He won four MVP awards during NBC’s tenure as rightsholder, even though he was retired for parts of two seasons, 1993-94 and 1994-95.
Made for TV
Jordan’s entire professional basketball career has unfolded on live television, and he was the star of the original “Space Jam,” movie that was released in 1995. He also was the main character of “The Last Dance” documentary, which ESPN released in spring 2020.
So Jordan should do just fine on television, especially given his stature and vague title. NBC shared the announcement on its social-media channels but did not detail what specific work Jordan would be doing for the network.
https://x.com/NBAonNBC/status/1921944482917806384
Jordan’s basketball credentials are hard to top, especially among basketball fans of a certain age. He was the NBA Finals MVP in all six years the Bulls won, plus was a 14-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA team member, 10-time scoring champ, nine-time All-Defense team member and was the All-Star Game MVP three times.
Still, his post-Bulls days have shown that he isn’t perfect. As a member of the Washington Wizards, Jordan did not even qualify for the playoffs, and as governor of the Charlotte Hornets, the club did not win a playoff series over his 13-year tenure.
The Latest Addition
The NBA on NBC, which will return after NBC won a national-rights package with an 11-year deal in 2024, is going to have a star-laden lineup — with Jordan only the latest add to the rich group of talent the league intends to employ.
Mike Tirico, who called the NBA Finals for ABC and has called Sunday Night Football and the Olympics since being a member of NBC, will be the sport’s No. 1 play-by-play commentator, with Noah Eagle serving as its second-booth lead voice.
Reggie Miller, Jordan’s longtime nemesis with the Indiana Pacers, will bolt from Turner Sports to NBC to serve as a color analyst. Jamal Crawford, who like Jordan started his career for the Bulls, will also serve as a game analyst.
Other NBC on-air talent will continue to be announced in the days ahead, but the network has already added Carmelo Anthony as a studio analyst starting next season.
Just like having Miller and Jordan on the network, NBC is also tapping into nostalgia for its NBA rollout. It will have John Tesh’s “Roundball Rock,” which was the original NBA on NBC theme song, again as its theme. It also has made headlines by announcing it would use generative AI to recreate Jim Fagan’s legendary intro voice work, since the longtime voice and TV actor died in 2017.
NBC and Peacock will air 100 regular-season games, plus All-Star Weekend and playoff games every season.
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