Two weeks into Michael Jordan’s partnership with the NBA on NBC, Dan Patrick is hoping they give us more.
NBC was coy about Jordan’s role as a “special contributor” to their NBA coverage when it was announced in May. And now that we’ve seen Jordan in action twice, Patrick hopes this doesn’t end up being the full extent of their partnership.
Jordan’s debut as a special contributor to the NBA on NBC gave us a fun story about shooting a free throw in front of a group of kids in the backyard of a house he rented on Long Island for the Ryder Cup. His second appearance featured commentary against load management. Both clips were fine, but they came from the same interview. And that might work in the first two weeks, but if Jordan’s “special contributor” role for NBC ends up being one interview with snippets being released throughout the season, it will leave a lot to be desired.
“If you can somehow sit out instead of playing through something and it extends your career, you’re going to do that because the amount of money that’s there.”
– DP reacts to Michael Jordan’s comments regarding load management. pic.twitter.com/71buOW4a2u
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) October 29, 2025
“I think it’s just a one-time only, Mike Tirico visits Michael Jordan in Florida and they go over a variety of topics,” Patrick said on his radio show. “I’m assuming that’s what this is going to be. I hope it’s not. I hope it’s timelier… I hope it’s not just a one and done.”
When NBC announced the Michael Jordan acquisition, there was a hope that it would feature live in-studio appearances, but there was an expectation that it might just be taped content. NBA fans will always take an interview and any new content featuring Michael Jordan. As Bob Costas recently said, Jordan’s “mere presence” is a reason to watch NBC, regardless of what the extent of his partnership with NBC ends up being.
But if you’re going to hype and promote Michael Jordan joining the NBA on NBC, fans should be given more than a one-time interview that gets slowly released over a long period of time. And to be fair, it’s only been two weeks, maybe it still will be more than what Dan Patrick assumes. Maybe MikeTirico will visit Jordan every month to tape new content, maybe Jordan will eventually find his way in-studio to offer live analysis.
If we don’t get to hear Michael Jordan react to a game or performance in real-time, fine. But if Jordan never reacts to any current event topics, his NBA on NBC deal will ultimately be viewed as a letdown.