NBC has roped in Michael Jordan as a special contributor to its coverage of the NBA for the 2025-26 season. There is a lot of chatter about how Jordan will speak about today's game, and Stephen A. Smith stated on the PBD Podcast that he doesn't expect him to pull any punches.
“Let me tell you something about Michael Jordan, he's going to be brutally honest," Smith said."I can assure you that. He's not gonna be somebody that's gonna be passive... Not the Michael Jordan I know. The Michael Jordan I know? When talking basketball, he is as candid as it gets.
"He ain’t trying to hurt nobody’s feelings, he ain’t trying to be insulting," Smith stated. "But he’s going to tell you what’s going on. Just like I just described something with [Anthony Edwards], that's something he'll tell you. He's talking about the game of basketball.
"I don't think he's going to be passive at all, I really, really don't," Smith continued. "I'm actually proud of him for doing it because with the Jordan Brand and him being worth over $2 billion, he don't need this. So his mentality [was], 'Oh please, not wasting my time with that.'
"Because he never wants to be interviewed and all of this other stuff," Smith added. "I said, 'Come on, man. Let me tell you something. Stop acting like you have nothing to say about basketball now that you're retired. You talk about it all the damn time.'"
Smith claims Jordan has reached out to him on numerous occasions when he's disagreed with a take of his. The Chicago Bulls icon clearly has strong opinions, and Smith wants him to let it all out. He also added that if Jordan isn't brutally honest, he'll have some strong words for him.
"He's candid and I don't think he's going to be shy about saying what he sees at all," Smith stated. "A matter of fact, if he is, he's going to have to deal with me because I'm going to be in his ear telling him, 'Oh, we getting shy now? That's what we doing? That's what we do? That ain't the MJ I know. What you doing? Let's go.'"
We don't really know what exactly Jordan's role is going to be. It has been reported that he won't do any live segments for NBC. The initial plan is for him to appear in taped segments during the season.
Anyone expecting Jordan to put today's players on blast all the time might end up being a bit disappointed. An associate close to NBC's production stated that Jordan believes today's superstars deserve more respect.
“Mike told us flat-out. If hearing it from him is what it takes for these fans to stop disrespecting guys like LeBron, Steph, or even Harden, then so be it. He wants the game to move forward.”
Jordan reportedly wants his fans to stop tearing the game down and show appreciation to the incredibly skilled players they get to watch. Ultimately, time will tell how exactly the 62-year-old handles this new role, for which NBC is rumored to be paying him $40 million a year.
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