Michael Jordan made his debut as a special contributor to NBC Sports\u2019 return to NBA broadcasting on Tuesday night, saying he\u2019s doing so as a way to give back to basketball.<\/p>\n
Jordan, speaking to NBC play-by-play voice Mike Tirico in the first installment of a series the network is calling \u201cMJ: Insights to Excellence,\u201d said he makes a conscious decision to prioritize time with family over being seen more in the public basketball eye.<\/p>\n
That said, he also acknowledged a desire to \u201cpay it forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have an obligation to the game of basketball \u2026 as a basketball player is to be able to pass on messages of success and dedication to the game of basketball,\u201d Jordan said during a segment at halftime of the season-opening game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets.<\/p>\n
Jordan\u2019s presence was part of a night where NBC \u2014 back in the NBA broadcasting game for the first time in more than 20 years \u2014 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\u2019t have any memories since they either weren\u2019t born yet or were very young.<\/p>\n
John Tesh\u2019s famed \u201cRoundball Rock\u201d \u2014 the soundtrack that was NBC\u2019s NBA theme music through 2002 \u2014 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.<\/p>\n