NBA fans are about to learn exactly what being a “special contributor” entails.
That’s the title NBC gave to Michael Jordan ahead of its return to NBA broadcasting this season. Earlier this year, NBC shocked the basketball world by announcing Jordan would join the network in the “special contributor” role. And now, we’re getting an idea of just how limited that role is going to be.
According to a report by Michael McCarthy in Front Office Sports on Monday, Jordan “could do” two to three more interviews with NBC’s Mike Tirico throughout the remainder of the season. Those who tuned into the first two weeks of the NBA on NBC were treated to short, chopped up segments from Jordan’s first interview with Tirico, which the network is dubbing “MJ: Insights to Excellence.”
It’s unclear how much more NBC is planning to show from that first sitdown, but it’s now pretty clear that viewers shouldn’t expect an expansion of Jordan’s role once the season progresses. “I don’t think it’s one [more] sitdown—but I don’t think it’s 15 either,” McCarthy’s source claims. “If there are more interviews, they’ll be done at Jordan’s convenience,” McCarthy adds, also suggesting that Jordan will not be appearing in-studio or at games NBC is broadcasting.
The glass half full take to all of this is that any amount of Michael Jordan on television is substantially more Michael Jordan than basketball fans have had since The Last Dance. The half empty take would be that NBC over-promised and under-delivered after making a big show of Jordan’s hiring earlier this year. In the network’s defense, Jordan’s role was kept intentionally ambiguous, and NBC kept expectations for the six-time NBA champion relatively low.
It’s a bit disappointing that we’re only going to be seeing a pre-taped version of Jordan rather than some special live appearances around big games. But the reality is, anything Jordan says is news, even if he said it to Mike Tirico in his own home weeks before it ever airs on NBC.
Perhaps this opens the door for Jordan to be more involved in future seasons. But at least for now, basketball fans will have to be happy with what they’re getting.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.