NEED TO KNOW
- Michael Jordan made a surprising admission in an interview on NBC on Tuesday night
- The NBA legend told the network’s Mike Tirico that he hadn’t “picked up a ball in years”
- The GOAT was recently asked to do just that as a favor, and he swished the free throw
Don’t expect to see Michael Jordan playing in a pick-up game anytime soon!
In an interview on Tuesday, Oct. 21 pegged to his new job as a special contributor for NBC’s NBA coverage this season, the hoops legend said he hasn’t played basketball “in years.”
While discussing his role on the broadcast, the Hall of Famer shared a story with NBC’s Mike Tirico in which he said he was recently asked to shoot a free throw as a favor to a man who owned a home where he stayed for the Ryder Cup.
“When I stepped up to shoot the free throw, it’s the most nervous I’ve been in years,” Jordan, 62, said, as the homeowner’s grandchildren looked on. “The reason being is those kids heard the stories from their parents about what I did 30 years ago.”
As his level of play has stood the test of time, Jordan now wants to pay it forward.
Michael Jordan.
NBA on NBC/X.com
“I have an obligation to the game of basketball,” Jordan said, and explained that he is taking on the new role on NBC so that he can “be able to pass on messages of success and dedication to the game.”
As the season opened with two games on the network — the first a double overtime classic between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets — and the second a late-night (at least for most of the country) matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors, Jordan is looking on with a mixture of gratitude and nostalgia.
“I love it like you wouldn’t believe,” he told Tirico about his playing days. “In all honesty, I wish I could take a magic pill, put on shorts and go out and play the game of basketball today, because that’s who I am. That type of competition, that type of competitiveness, is what I live for, and I miss it. I miss that aspect of playing the game of basketball.”
As for that stressful free throw on Long Island last month? Of course the GOAT swished it.
“That made my whole week — that I was able to please that kid, not knowing if I could,” Jordan said.
