If there was a highlight of Michael Jordan’s debut as a special contributor to NBC’s NBA coverage, it came in the form of a story about a free throw he shot on the backyard basketball hoop of a house he had rented for the Ryder Cup.
“I rented a house from the owner,” Jordan told Mike Tirico. “He came over to do pictures. He had grandkids. And I was meet-and-greet and thanking him for allowing me to stay in the house. And he had a basketball court. He says, ‘I want you to shoot one free throw.’ I said, ‘Really?’ Now, I already paid for the house — it’s not like he got to see me. So when I stepped up to shoot the free throw, that’s the most nervous I’ve been in years.”
After Tirico predicted that Jordan swished the shot, the 6-time NBA champion confirmed that’s exactly how it played out.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I got the most gratifying of that — that made my whole week, is that I was able to please that kid not knowing if I could.”
In many ways, Jordan’s story seemed too good to be true, the type of legend-building that served as the primary ethos throughout The Last Dance. But while the timeline of when this backyard free throw occurred is still unclear, we now know it did, in fact, happen, thanks to a viral video of it that has emerged in the days since the 62-year-old’s NBC debut.
The video pretty much plays out exactly as Jordan described it, including a verbal acknowledgement of the nerves he was feeling after having allegedly not picked up a basketball in years. The clip also includes a cool moment in which the North Carolina product explains the origins of why the free throw line is structured the way it is, before he seamlessly swished the shot.
“Lord have mercy, please make this,” he said right before doing so.
While it’s certainly fair to wonder how much of Jordan’s “MJ: Insights to Excellence” will focus on the current NBA product, many — if not most — viewers will be more than happy to take what they can get when it comes to access to the living legend. Especially if each story he tells winds up with an accompanying video confirming that he’s doing more than just telling tall tales.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.