Michael Jordan is officially back on the airwaves.
The retired basketball icon Jordan debuted his new series “Insights to Excellence” during Tuesday’s “NBA on NBC” season opener. The debut segment, during which Jordan was interviewed by NBC’s Mike Tirico, aired at halftime of the Houston Rockets-Oklahoma City Thunder game.
During the roughly three-and-a-half-minute segment, Jordan said that he was contributing to NBC because he still felt an obligation to the game of basketball. Jordan also told a story about hitting a free throw at a rental property basketball court after having not picked up a ball for years.
You can check out Jordan’s full segment here.
“We have an obligation to pay it forward. That’s part of what this is all about.”
Watch Michael Jordan’s first conversation with Mike Tirico in the first edition of MJ: Insights To Excellence. pic.twitter.com/7tfzGm6SpM
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) October 22, 2025
Plenty of memes ensued online over Jordan’s debut for NBC. Some joked about the spliced-up interview format as well as about Tirico’s rapport with Jordan. Others simply expressed excitement at getting to see Jordan on TV.
So basically NBC shot one long interview with Michael Jordan & they’re gonna slowly show it to us 2 mins at a time over the season? pic.twitter.com/BmgCfphSkf
— K E V I N (@KevChestnut) October 22, 2025
NBC is going to microdose a single Michael Jordan interview for the ENTIRE season pic.twitter.com/5rxDbyqnoJ
— kevikev (@KevCoke6) October 22, 2025
Michael Jordan: *says literally anything*
Mike Tirico: pic.twitter.com/56Ea3brCiS
— AcuñaMVP (@ballknower1525) October 22, 2025
“Have you picked up a basketball since you retired?”
Michael Jordan: pic.twitter.com/ICmNjx87e6
— santana grant (@santagclaus_) October 22, 2025
Listening to Michael Jordan talk basketball on my television right now pic.twitter.com/QPPHD6vDtQ
— Davey (@Daveydelphia76) October 22, 2025
Now 62 years old, the Basketball Hall of Famer Jordan was announced back in May to have joined NBC in a “special contributor” role. The news sent fans into a frenzy, and there were even some crazy rumors about what kind of salary Jordan might be making from NBC.
For months, details on Jordan’s role with the network carried something of an air of mystery. But Tuesday’s debut segment looks like it will serve as the blueprint for what to expect from Jordan on NBC this season.