Michael Jordan made his debut as a special contributor to NBC Sports’ return to NBA broadcasting on Tuesday night, saying he’s doing so as a way to give back to basketball.
Jordan, speaking to NBC play-by-play voice Mike Tirico in the first installment of a series the network is calling “MJ: Insights to Excellence,” said he makes a conscious decision to prioritize time with family over being seen more in the public basketball eye.
That said, he also acknowledged a desire to “pay it forward.”
“I have an obligation to the game of basketball … as a basketball player is to be able to pass on messages of success and dedication to the game of basketball,” Jordan said during a segment at halftime of the season-opening game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets.
Jordan’s presence was part of a night where NBC — back in the NBA broadcasting game for the first time in more than 20 years — delicately blended both the present with the past. The opening intro included some players from this era asked their memories of when the game was on NBC, and of course, many of them didn’t have any memories since they either weren’t born yet or were very young.
John Tesh’s famed “Roundball Rock” — the soundtrack that was NBC’s NBA theme music through 2002 — was back, and with some help from artificial intelligence, so was the voice of the late Jim Fagan, a longtime NBC Sports narrator who was part of those NBA broadcasts a generation ago.
Posted in Professional Sports
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 48 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.