Michael Jordan to join NBC Sports NBA coverage as special contributor

Six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan will join NBC Sports’ coverage as a special contributor this fall, it was announced Monday.

“I am so excited to see the NBA back on NBC,” Jordan said in a statement. “The NBA on NBC was a meaningful part of my career, and I’m excited about being a special contributor to the project. I’m looking forward to seeing you all when the NBA on NBC launches this October.”

The announcement was made during NBCUniversal’s Upfront presentation in New York City. NBC Sports President Rick Cordella said he was “incredibly proud” to have the basketball legend join the coverage.

“Michael’s legacy both on and off the court speaks for itself,” Cordella said.

Jordan, considered by many as the greatest NBA player of all time, won six championships with the Chicago Bulls and just as many NBA Finals MVP awards. He is a 14-time NBA All-Star and has 10 scoring titles. He won the Olympic gold medal with Team USA in Los Angeles in 1984 and Barcelona in 1992.

Last year, NBCUniversal and the NBA announced an 11-year deal to broadcast NBA and WNBA regular-season and playoff games beginning with the 2025-26 season. Peacock will livestream exclusive national Monday night games.

NBC and Peacock will have national coverage of regional doubleheaders on Tuesday nights, while NBC Sports will launch “Sunday Night Basketball” next year.

Former NBA players Jamal Crawford and Reggie Miller will serve as game analysts, and Carmelo Anthony will be a studio analyst.

The announcement comes a week after NBC Sports announced that it would use Artificial Intelligence to recreate the voice of the late Jim Fagan, who was the narrator for NBC from 1990 to 2002. His voice will be used for “select title sequences, show opens, and promos,” the company said in a news release.

Cordella said that adding Fagan’s voice as a narrator will stir a “deep sense of nostalgia” for longtime basketball fans.

The network will also bring back “Roundball Rock” from John Tesh that served as the theme song for NBA coverage during the 1990s.