In case you missed it, Michael Jordan returned to the NBA on NBC a few days ago as the league kicked off its new season.
I’ll forgive you if you missed it because MOST of us missed it because MOST of us don’t watch the NBA anymore.
I used to love the NBA so much, I’d watch almost all of the playoffs and finals.
We got so spoiled when we had Michael Jordan who was obviously a once-in-a-generation talent but then we got a second once-in-a-generation talent with Kobe Bryant.
Truly the golden years.
But now the league is trash and apparently fake as hell, compromised by gambling….BUT if there is anything that could get people to tune back in it’s Michael Jordan.
Sadly, he’s not suiting up and playing but he did return to the NBA on NBC for an interview and it was great as expected.
In any other context with any other person, I’d probably be here criticizing it because it was just a taped interview and not what we were led to believe, which was Mike joining the other commentators for the Half Time show and breaking down the current game.
We didn’t get that, but because it’s Michael Jordan and because he’s so authentic, it was still somehow awesome!
Here he is describing his love for the game and how he wishes he could take a magic pill that would allow him to put the shorts on again and go out and play:
Michael Jordan when asked if he still loves the game:
“Love it like you wouldn’t believe. I wish I could take a magic pill, put on shorts and go out and play the game of basketball, today…it’s what I live for, I miss it.”
via: @NBAonNBC pic.twitter.com/HMsAneF1fX
— JordanMuse (@JordanMuse_) October 22, 2025
But here is the clip I really wanted to show you.
The interviewer asks Mike when the last time he shot a basketball was, and Mike says he hasn’t even touched a basketball in years, maybe decades — and then he proceeds to tell a story about how he was staying in a rented house and the owner’s kids asked him if he’d shoot a free throw….and it ends the only way it possibly could, with a classic Michael Jordan ending.
Watch here:
Michael Jordan
“I haven’t picked up a ball in years…I rented a house…and [the owner] had a bball court. He says, ‘I want you to shoot one free throw.’…When I stepped up to shoot the FT, it’s the most nervous I’ve been in years.”
(h/t @ClutchPoints)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 22, 2025
Do you ever, do you ever pick up a ball and just shoot it?
I haven’t picked up a ball in years.
No, come on. Just, like, walk past—there’s gotta be a hoop somewhere at your place.
ADVERTISEMENTYou don’t see a hoop anywhere around here, right?
I, I don’t. But seriously—there’s a reason, there’s a reason, there’s a reason. The last time you picked up a basketball and shot it?
I was at the Ryder Cup. And I rented a house from, uh, from the owner.
Sure.
He came over to do pictures. He had grandkids. And I was meet and greet and thanked him for allowing me to stay in the house, and he had a basketball court.
He says, “I want you to shoot one free throw.”
I said, “Really?”
Now, I already paid for the house.
Right.
This guy liked—he gotta see me. So, when I stepped up to shoot the free throw, that’s the most nervous I’ve been in years.
Stop it.
In years.
Stop it, come on.
And the reason being is those kids heard the stories from their parents about what I did 30 years ago.
Right.
So, their expectation is 30 years prior, and I haven’t touched a basketball.
ADVERTISEMENTI hope you swished it.
Absolutely.
I got the most gratifying—that made my whole week, that I was able to please that kid.
Not knowing if I could.
Mike’s still got the magic!
What makes him so special and so likable is the same thing Kobe had….
Three things actually….
ONE: They are each authentic, nothing fake of any kind.
TWO: They both simply LOVE the game. True love for the game itself, not the fame or the money but the game. They love the game and want to master it.
THREE: They love their fans and they know they only get to play this game because of the fans, so they’re always wanting to make sure they never disappoint the fans. Mike and Kobe would famously play hurt as far as they possibly could, because they knew there would be kids and fans coming to that game and even though it’s 1 of 82 games for Mike and Kobe, it’s possibly the only game that kid or that fan would ever come to, and they never wanted to disappoint. Truly special.
And that story that Mike told in the clip above perfectly demonstrated all 3 of those things.
So perfectly, in fact, that many people online started to claim it was fake, just made up for the interview.
The only problem with that?
Those people don’t understand #1 above….
I can understand why you might go there, because for the past 10 years with LeBron it’s been nothing but fake and lame, but Mike doesn’t do fake and lame.
Mike’s the real deal.
And then this video emerged today completely proving the story was 100% true — like we knew all along:
Backup here if needed:
“I was nervous!”
Michael Jordan says this FT was the first time he’s ‘picked up a ball in years’
(Via @MyBodyTutor) pic.twitter.com/apWIgx69ZV
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 23, 2025
Winners are winners and game recognizes game, and the things that make people love Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are the exact same reasons people love Donald Trump.
I wrote about it recently here:
HILARIOUS: President Trump Tells World Leaders “There are two of you I don’t like at all”
President Trump is truly one of a kind....
He's 1 of 1.
We need to enjoy every minute of him while we have him because we will not get another one for a very long time.
Kind of like when we had Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant in the NBA and we thought it would be like that forever. And it wasn't. After they both retired we got an era of horrible basketball, flopping and unwatchable gameplay, and I haven't watched the NBA in years.
The same will eventually happen to politics, but not right now.
No, right now we have a real treasure.
We essentially have Batman -- when he's not busy ending another war, freeing hostages, and literally bringing Peace to the Middle East, he's standing in a room full of the most powerful world leaders of nearly every country of consequence and he decides to take that opportunity to tell them that there are two world leaders who he just does not like at all.
TOTAL MAD MAN and I love every moment of it!
Watch here:
FULL REMARKS:
York, I met with many of the people in this room, and it all just started coming together.
I've known so many of you for so long. You're friends of mine. You're great people.
I have a couple I don't like in particular, but, uh, I won't tell you who.
I have actually a few of them I don't like at all, but you'll never find out who they are.
Eh, maybe you will, come to think of it.
Backup here:
JUST IN - TRUMP SAYS THERE'S A COUPLE OF WORLD LEADERS IN THIS ROOM WHO I DON'T LIKE AT ALL pic.twitter.com/IJ6PCHQltC
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) October 13, 2025
Any guesses as to which two he is talking about?
I have some ideas...
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.









