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Report: Michael Jordan not expected to return to NBC’s NBA coverage

By Thomson Reuters Aug 26, 2026 | 8:04 PM

By Field Level Media

Aug 27 (Field Level Media) – Hall of Famer Michael Jordan was once hailed as an ​important piece of NBC’s NBA ‌coverage.

A year later, his tenure might be over.

That’s according to an article from Front Office Sports, which reported on Wednesday that Jordan’s ‌tenure ​as a special on-air ⁠contributor with NBC ⁠is expected to end after a single year.

Jordan’s surprising addition to NBC Sports’ coverage of the NBA last season ​was touted as a coup for the network due to Jordan’s lack ⁠of press availability ⁠in recent years.

The 2020 documentary ‘The ​Last Dance’ marked Jordan’s most recent previous ​extensive televised discussion of basketball.

But Jordan’s contributions ‌for NBC consisted of five pre-recorded segments split from one interview with longtime broadcaster Mike Tirico, which drew ⁠criticism from some NBA analysts and fans.

“It’s a bad look for NBC and it’s just a ⁠bad ‌look, plain and simple,” NBA ⁠analyst Charles Barkley said earlier ​this ‌year.

Tirico defended the segments, saying, “Was ​it better ⁠than not hearing from Michael Jordan? You’re damn right it was.”

The outlet did not report a reason for the departure, saying NBC had declined to comment.

(–Field ​Level Media)