"This was Michael Jordan. The face of the NBA’s greatest era. The man who helped make the original NBA on NBC a cultural phenomenon. The opportunity to put him back in that environment should have been impossible to screw up. And somehow, NBC did."
It was the highest-rated primetime Saturday for the network since its breaking news coverage in July 2024 after the assassination attempt against Donald Trump.
During his tenure at The New York Times, Griggs worked under now CNN CEO Mark Thompson, who had previously served as the President and CEO of the publication from 2012 to 2020.
"This was Michael Jordan. The face of the NBA’s greatest era. The man who helped make the original NBA on NBC a cultural phenomenon. The opportunity to put him back in that environment should have been impossible to screw up. And somehow, NBC did."
Tuesday's tribute worked because it felt honest, not staged. Consequently, it's the kind of moment that reminds viewers why they tuned in beyond the headlines.