Michael Jordan’s pre-taped appearances on NBC are “probably not what everyone wanted,” admits Mike Tirico

When NBC was preparing for its return to NBA broadcasts, the network’s biggest victory was probably catching one of sports media’s white whales: Michael Jordan.

The six-time NBA champion and billionaire has been a rarity in broadcasting since his retirement, which made it a coup when NBC said he would work as a “special contributor” this season. Details, however, were scarce and the reality was disappointing to many fans.

Announcement

Jordan’s special contributions consisted solely of discussions with NBC’s Mike Tirico, in which he discussed his vision for the game of basketball. Each segment of “MJ: Insights to Excellence” comes from the same interview, recorded before the season, so nothing topical is discussed.

A sample:

Speaking with Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina on a podcast airing Thursday, Tirico addressed the reception of the segments and confirmed they all come from the same interview. In total, the veteran broadcaster estimated the interview lasted anywhere from an hour and 40 minutes to an hour and 45 minutes.

Announcement

And he made it very clear who was leading the conversation:

“Are there a lot of topics you’d like to cover? Of course, but Michael really wanted to talk about how he sees the game right now and we haven’t heard much about it. So it was interesting, it was fun, it was a good perspective.

“My takeaway was how much he still cares about the games. He loves the game, and in some ways he doesn’t like some of the directions of the game, and he wanted to talk about it.”

To be fair to NBC, the network never made it seem like Jordan would fill a Charles Barkley role, commentating on late games and news throughout the season. Tirico still seems aware that there are some dissatisfied customers out there and noted that it was better than nothing:

“Was it what everyone wanted? Probably not. Was it better than not hearing from Michael Jordan? You’re damn right. And if we get another chance, will I be more than excited to be a part of it? You bet. In our world right now, all you want to do is give the final answer before you know everything. I love that Michael trusted us enough to sit down and do something he hasn’t done in a long, long, long time.”

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Tirico also confirmed that no further interviews with Jordan are scheduled, so any other NBC broadcasts will come from the same session. He noted that another interview is a possibility and said he was ready for whatever the legend wants to do, although it seems possible that this deal is a one-off for the two parties.

Announcement

That aside, the NBA’s return to NBC appears to be going well, with national viewership increasing for the league after the move from cable TNT to one of the big broadcast networks.