Michael Jordan is back, but Michelle Beadle isn’t ready to celebrate his ‘special contributor’ role with the NBA on NBC as anything more than a PR move yet.
NBC dominated the sports news cycle at upfronts this week, announcing that Jordan would be joining their NBA coverage when its media rights deal kicks in next season. The announcement undoubtedly garnered a lot of headlines and intrigue. Still, considering the vagueness around the deal, many have speculated Jordan is being used more as a PR hire than an analyst.
On Thursday morning’s Run It Back, Beadle scoffed at the notion Jordan will have any NBA hot takes to offer in his role as a special contributor. She similarly questioned how many opportunities he will have to give opinions, predicting just two appearances with the NBA on NBC all season for Jordan.
“Michael Jordan don’t care about no basketball player that ain’t wearing that Jumpman symbol.”
Lou Williams believes M.J. will make LESS than 2 appearances on NBC next season 😳@MichelleDBeadle | @TeamLou23 | @ChandlerParsons pic.twitter.com/ey8RiJxm8t
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) May 15, 2025
After setting the over/under at two appearances, Beadle asked her Run It Back co-hosts to comment, with Chandler Parsons taking the over and Lou Williams confidently taking the under.
Williams said the addition of Jordan is just about nostalgia. NBC is looking to bring back 90s-era basketball via John Tesh’s Roundball Rock and plans to emphasize starting lineup introductions again.
“Michael Jordan don’t care about no basketball player that ain’t wearing the Jumpman symbol,” Williams said.
But even if it is just a PR move for NBC, it appears to be working. “I’ll say this, it’s a brilliant hire,” Beadle admitted. “Because as soon as that news broke, all of us were like ‘Oh!’ And we’re gonna watch, because ‘Is this the day Michael Jordan shows up in this broadcast?’”
Beadle compared Jordan joining NBC to Kobe Bryant’s deal with ESPN in 2017. Bryant brought his Musecage series to ESPN, but did make a couple of appearances on NBA Countdown. Similarly, there’s a strong assumption that Jordan will contribute pre-recorded content for NBC, while making minimal live appearances.