“Michael Jordan Don’t Care About No Basketball Player”: Lou Williams Had Predicted MJ Would Have Less Than 2 NBC Appearances

When NBC resumed its coverage of the NBA after a 25-year hiatus, part of the deal it advertised to the world was the return of Michael Jordan to our TV screens. Jordan was set to join the network as a ‘special contributor,’ and fans expected to hear from the Chicago Bulls legend every so often, especially since the 6-time NBA champion had avoided the media like the plague for years. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case.

According to reports, MJ taped a fairly long interview with Mike Tirico for NBC, but that appears to be it. So naturally, fans feel shortchanged.

Tirico himself admitted that while it was special to hear from Jordan, fans have been left wanting more. Who could have seen this coming? Well, former point guard Lou Williams did, back in May last year. He even joked about it on air.

Appearing on the Run It Back podcast on FanDuel, Williams asserted that Jordan was never going to be in front of the camera on a weekly basis. It didn’t seem realistic. He also noted that Jordan was not about to shell out opinions the way podcast regulars do.

“I don’t think we are going to see Michael Jordan weekly or bi-weekly talking about today’s basketball,” he had said, while predicting that Jordan was going to do less than a couple of appearances on NBC.

“Michael Jordan don’t care about no basketball player that ain’t wearing that ‘Jumpman’ symbol,” he added, laughing. “We are getting tricked, ya’ll. [We’re getting] under two appearances,” he reiterated.

And as if to further establish his clairvoyance, Williams predicted, “Whatever Michael Jordan is contributing, he’s probably recorded it already!”

After walking away from the hardwood, Jordan largely abstained from sharing his opinions on basketball, except during his time as the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets. Since stepping back from that role, he has been busy running his NASCAR team, 23XI Racing, alongside Denny Hamlin. He remains a minority owner of the Hornets, though.