When Michael Jordan sat down with Mike Tirico for NBC’s halftime show on Tuesday night, basketball fans expected to hear from the greatest player of all time. What they got instead was something far more revealing — a 62-year-old legend grappling with the passage of time and the limitations of his own body.
The interview, which aired during the Thunder-Rockets season opener as part of NBC’s MJ: Insights to Excellence series, showed a side of Jordan that felt surprisingly vulnerable. Throughout the three-plus-minute conversation, the six-time champion made several comments that suggested he’s coming to terms with his own mortality.
Perhaps the most striking moment came when Tirico asked Jordan if he still loves basketball. Jordan’s response was immediate. Love it like you wouldn’t believe, he said before adding, 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. (Source: Newsweek)
But then came the reality check. Jordan didn’t just leave it at nostalgia. He continued with a stark acknowledgment of his physical limitations: But it’s better for me to be sitting here talking to you as opposed to popping my Achilles and being in a wheelchair for a while. The comment was delivered with Jordan’s typical matter-of-fact tone, but the imagery was jarring — the man who seemed invincible on the court openly discussing the fragility of his aging body.
This wasn’t the only comment that hinted at Jordan’s awareness of time slipping away. Earlier in the conversation, he revealed something that stunned Tirico and fans alike: he hasn’t picked up a basketball in years. When pressed about the last time he actually shot, Jordan recounted a story from a Ryder Cup event where a homeowner asked him to shoot a free throw in front of his grandchildren. (Source:AwfulAnnouncing.com)
What made the anecdote so telling wasn’t just that it had been years since he’d touched a ball, but Jordan’s emotional reaction to the moment. When I stepped up to shoot that free throw, that’s the most nervous I’ve been in years, Jordan admitted. The reason being is those kids heard the stories from the parents about what I did 30 years ago. So, the expectation is 30 years prior, and I haven’t touched a basketball.
The phrase 30 years ago hung in the air. Jordan’s dynasty with the Bulls feels like yesterday to fans who watched it unfold, but he’s aware of how much time has actually passed. He isn’t the same person he was back than anymore, and he knows it.
Even more revealing were his comments about how he spends his time now. You never really know when you’re in the prime of your career how much time you really do not have for family, Jordan told Tirico. That’s what I have time to do now. The most valuable asset I have is time.
For a man worth an estimated $3.5 billion, with royalties from Air Jordan bringing in around $330 million annually, to say that time — not money — is his most valuable asset carries significant weight. It’s the kind of reflection that typically comes when someone realizes they have more years behind them than ahead.
Jordan emphasized this point again, explaining why he’s rarely seen in public anymore. 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. There’s an unmistakable note of regret in those words — an acknowledgment that decades of relentless competition came at a cost he’s only now fully appreciating.
According to Sports Illustrated, when Tirico asked why he decided to participate in these NBC segments, Jordan framed it as an obligation. I have an obligation to the game of basketball, he said, carefully noting, Not financially, I’m okay. He wants to pass on messages of success and dedication to the game of basketball and to pay it forward to the next generation.
The interview offered a rare glimpse of Jordan without the competitive armor. This wasn’t the trash-talking, hyper-competitive Jordan from The Last Dance documentary. This was a man who’s watched 30 years pass since his championship runs, who hasn’t picked up a basketball in years who openly acknowledges he’s nearing the end of his days.
Jordan has spent most of his post-retirement life avoiding the spotlight, focusing on business ventures like his NASCAR team 23XLRacing and his former ownership of the Charlotte Hornets. His decision to return to television at this stage of his life, with these candid reflections about time and physical limitations, suggests he’s entering a new phase — one where legacy and giving back matter more than maintaining the mystique.
Here’s the thing, folks: The basketball world has always struggled to see Michael Jordan as anything other than invincible. But on Tuesday night, in those few minutes with Mike Tirico, we saw something different. We saw a man who misses the game desperately, who wishes he could compete again, but who’s realistic enough to admit magic pills do not exist. We saw someone acutely aware that time, not championships or billions of dollars, is the most precious thing he has left.
With that… NBC has promised more segments throughout the season, with Jordan set to discuss topics like load management when he appears again on October 28. But it’s hard to imagine any future installment being more revealing than this debut, where the greatest basketball player of all time let us see him not as a legend, but as a 62-year-old man using NBC to make peace with the team he made his name with the Jerry Reinsdorf and the Chicago Bulls.
If you cannot play with them, then root for them!