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Not only is NBC back in the basketball business, it brought back the OG that was the star of their primetime slot in the ’90s. And he’s back for real now. Not sitting at Charlotte Hornets games and creating meme moments. He’s going to give actual basketball input as the season goes. NBC finally revealed how it’s going to involve His Airness into the NBA on NBC reboot and answer some burning questions. Especially how that time away from the game went. NBC is going to microdose us with Jordan-ness for the rest of the season with snippets of a larger sitdown interview with Mike Tirico. It’s not the same as him giving soundbites at NASCAR events or his off and on presence as an NBA governor before he sold the Hornets for $3 billion in 2023. MJ is camera-shy in every sense. Only NBC maximized his media availability in the ’90s. He’d retire in 2003 and take a backseat in basketball while passively cashing in the Air Jordan royalty check (at 5% of total sales, it’s estimated $330 million annually as of 2024). It’s hard not to wonder what retirement has been like for him when no one’s looking. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Jordan told Tirico, “You never really know when you’re in the prime of your career how much time you really do not have for family.” With a lot of appreciation for newfound time, Jordan dedicated it to family. “That’s what I have time to do now. The most valuable asset I have is time. So that’s probably why you don’t see enough of me, because that time I’m trying to spend with family members and things that I’ve been missing out on for such a long time.” Michael Jordan’s ascent to stardom made the NBA a prime commodity. His face and his silhouette were a fixture for as far as eyes could see. Today he’s recognizable for his sneakers. In the decades that belonged to Bulls dynasty, he played basketball, retired, played baseball, unretired, won half a dozen championships, and retired twice more. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad For a long time, the Hornets remained his only connection to basketball and soundbites from him were in short supply. He did many things in his public life through 23XI, Cincoro, owning a sports fishing team, expanding the Jordan Brand, giving high school talent a platform through the Jordan Classic, and producing a docu-series that torched his relationship with his ex-teammates. Since selling the Hornets that boosted him on the Forbes 500 list with a $3.5 billion net worth, Jordan seemed distant from the game. Instead, the only time we see him was with his family on a boat. He was either vacationing on his $115 million superyacht, M’Brace with his wife, Yvette Prieto and their daughters, or he was with his youngest son Marcus fishing for marlin on Catch 23. Sure, the time away from the game brought Michael Jordan closer to his family. There was a time when it wasn’t so. Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Michael Jordan’s family is getting used to having more of him There’s a reason why Jordan’s dedicating his time to his family now. The Last Dance showed a more personal side to the recluse that was inseparable from his public life. The tragic loss of his father was tied into his NBA career. He and his wife, Juanita Vanoy divorced in 2006 because his work-life balance was non-existent. Even Vanoy said so about the reason behind their divorce. “If someone didn’t step up and say no, there would be no time for his family. I know it makes me look like a b—-, but I can’t worry about it, because I’m protecting what we have. If that is what I have to be, then I will be a b—.” Jordan married Prieto and they had twin daughters. Together with his eldest three kids, the family stayed out of the media. It was almost a shocker when Marcus Jordan was podcasting and appearing on RHOM during his relationship with Larsa Pippen. Since then, even he’s discovered the value of time with family. After his February arrest, Marcus has been on a sobriety journey, vacationed with his brother’s family, went to Paris with his mom, and was spotted with his dad in public for the first time in half a year at the White Marlin Open in August. During that time, his dad was already announced to NBC’s lineup. So why come back to the thing that cost him his family? “I have an obligation to the game of basketball … as a basketball player is to be able to pass on messages of success and dedication to the game of basketball,” he told Tirico.
