Michael Jordan is a lot of things. He’s considered the greatest player to ever play basketball—a generational icon for merging sports, business, and entertainment. His silhouette is the symbol of the largest shoe company in the world, and he even dabbles in ownership of a NASCAR racing team.

When “His Airness” announced he would be a special contributor to NBC Sports’ coverage of the NBA this season, many speculated on what exactly that meant. Could Jordan be a featured commentator on NBA broadcasts? Possibly a studio analyst or make satellite drop-ins on halftime coverage from his palatial Jordan estate?

Instead, what long-suffering basketball fans yearning for Jordan’s commentary on the current-day NBA and its players have gotten is a soft, pre-taped monologue served in drops. Jordan’s latest episode last week discussed load management—an interesting take from someone dictating to a massive network when and how he wants to be featured in that network’s coverage. Doesn’t that add a new title to Jordan’s prestige? A hypocrite.

On Monday, Front Office Sports reported that Jordan’s appearances on NBC Sports have yet to be finalized for the season. Sources told FOS that his taped and edited commentary could consist of three to four more interviews with Mike Tirico. With one source saying it’s “definitely more than one, but not fifteen either.”

Is Michael Jordan allowed to work his own schedule? Of course he is. He’s been controlling his own availability since his playing days, so why would today be any different? Jordan is controlling everything related to his appearances—from the taping schedule to the amount he’s willing to do. I would imagine he also has some role in the editing process as well. Given the check he’s being delivered from NBC for the interviews.

Evergreen Doesn’t Mean Good

However, we live in an age of instant gratification. Where people desire the latest hot take on the most recent event in sports. Not a canned three-minute conversation on load management that’s been debated for years. Wouldn’t something more current, like the NBA’s investigation into players shaving points for prop bets, be more attractive for a viewer? Wouldn’t that make more of an impact for the price Jordan is being paid?

Otherwise, what NBC Sports has provided their massive viewing audience are Instagram reels with no significance. They might be better served to release the full podcast as a Peacock exclusive. Driving subscriptions instead of wasting time during their halftime programming with aged, irrelevant content.

Outside of not having the taping schedule secured yet—which is extremely confusing for a network the size and scope of NBC Sports—to be so “willy-nilly” with their signature piece of coverage is puzzling.

And yes, Michael Jordan is NBC Sports’ signature piece of their NBA coverage.

Hypocricy

The more confusing part is the messaging from Jordan himself. In one episode, he talked about how his obligation is to “pay it forward” to the game of basketball. To be able to pass on messages of success and dedication to the game.

The second installment was his criticism of the concept of load management, saying that as an entertainer, it was his duty to perform on the court.

In essence, Michael Jordan is attempting to pay it forward as an obligation to the game that made him who he is. He also feels that as an entertainer, it’s his duty to entertain if people are paying to watch. Isn’t the entire act of taping an interview to be dribbled out week after week its own version of “load management”?

That’s where the hypocrisy comes in with Jordan’s approach to his work with NBC Sports. Surely, if Jordan felt the obligation to give back to the game and be available to perform for the paying public on NBC and Peacock, wouldn’t he be doing more with the platform he’s been given?

Jordan’s segments on NBC Sports are called MJ: Insights to Excellence—an interesting name for a series that so far features an old player simply criticizing how the game is played today versus how it was back then. Maybe instead, these bite-sized reels should be called MJ: Why No One Is Like Mike.

Just Release the Podcast

It makes me wonder: what’s the win here for NBC Sports for the money they’re paying out? Is this what the network wanted or expected from Jordan—a slow drip of useless, evergreen content that matters to no one? Surely, they have bigger plans in the future to utilize him in a more impactful and meaningful way.

However, if the reporting is true that they’re still unsettled on how many taped appearances he’ll make, maybe they don’t—and that’s unfortunate.

For as much as NBC Sports is leaning into the nostalgia of the NBA, the game itself is completely different from Jordan’s era of the 1990s. Players have more control over nearly every aspect of the game than ever before. Jordan’s era was still growing the sport into the places where the generation after his exit has taken it.

If Wayne Gretzky, Tom Brady, and Derek Jeter can find time to discuss current-day league events, so can Michael Jordan.

Otherwise, the “Jordan load management” shown by himself reveals the hypocrisy behind his very inclusion on NBC Sports.

I guess Jordan is gonna Jordan.

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