NBC Triggers Nostalgia for ’90s NBA: Michael Jordan Hired by Network, Which Will Air League After 23 Years

Michael Jordan, widely regarded as the greatest player to have ever set foot on an NBA court, became a special contributor to NBC’s league coverage. The Hall of Famer and NBA legend expressed his excitement at becoming a part of the network’s coverage, which will start in October.

Photo: Michael Jordan sitting courtside at an NBA game (screenshot: youtube.com/@TheCauldronSI)

When the 2025–26 NBA season starts, Michael Jordan will be a special contributor to NBC Sports, the NBC network’s programming division. During its upfront presentation at Radio City Music Hall in Midtown Manhattan, the New York-based American commercial broadcast television and radio network revealed the news while showcasing its forthcoming television season options. In the TV business, an upfront is a meeting that’s attended by large advertisers and the media and is organized by television network executives at the beginning of significant advertising sales seasons.

“I’m so excited to see the NBA back on NBC. The NBA on NBC was a meaningful part of my career, and I’m excited about being a special contributor to the project. I’m looking forward to seeing you all when the NBA on NBC launches this October,” Jordan said during a video message.

After a 23-year break, NBC is back to broadcasting the NBA. It held the NBA’s rights from 1990 to 2002. As the Bulls won six NBA titles led by Jordan over the network’s airwaves in the 1990s, the five-time NBA MVP and 14-time NBA All-Star propelled NBC Sports to record viewership figures.

It’s too early to tell exactly what Jordan’s job will be yet, but NBC Sports said he has been actively involved in talks with the organization about it. Although Jordan’s precise role is unknown, a person with knowledge of the situation told CNBC that the NBA Hall of Famer will make appearances during the season but not be a “regular” in the network’s lineup. Jordan regularly attends the Ryder Cup, which is broadcast on NBC, and has strong relationships with the network, particularly with longtime NBC Sports executive Jon Miller.

NBA Fans May Relive Some of Their 1990s Nostalgia Thanks to NBC’s 2025–26 Lineup

With this hire, NBC continues its nostalgic journey back to the 1990s, when the league was said to be presenting tougher basketball and when it wasn’t as easy as now to bet on the game outcomes (sportsbooks weren’t allowed to operate, and the Internet was in its infancy, so there were no betting sites for basketball, unlike now) in preparation for its comeback to NBA coverage. Through an agreement between the network and Jim Fagan’s family, it recently announced that John Tesh’s “Roundball Rock” would once again be its official anthem (a popular anthem that gained notoriety with NBC basketball in the ’90s), and it will employ Fagan’s AI-generated voice to create contemporary ads with an old-time feel. Fagan was an American voice-over artist and performer. He gave voiceovers for the NFL, NBA, Olympics, and NBC Sports, among others, during his career. He died in 2017. This autumn, NBC’s NBA coverage will also feature former NBA players Jamal Crawford, Reggie Miller, and Carmelo Anthony, along with sports commentators Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle.

The NBA and NBC signed an agreement in July for NBC to start airing games of the most popular men’s basketball league in the world on Peacock and NBC Sports this fall. In the NBA’s new 11-year, $76 billion broadcast agreement, NBC joins incumbent ABC/ESPN and Amazon Prime Video. The All-Star Game, Monday evenings exclusively on Peacock, Tuesday games on NBC, and Sunday nights are all included in the NBC package. In six of the upcoming 11 years, it will have the right to air a conference final, for instance, as part of the rights for one-third of the playoffs broadcasting.