Michael Jordan was brilliant.

And it still wasn’t close to enough.

On an Opening Night when Luka Doncic scored 43 points (without LeBron James) and new Rocket Kevin Durant took the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder to two overtimes , the best thing about the return of the NBA came down to two huge initials: MJ.

NBC must get more out of special relationship

I could spend the rest of the column fawning over the miraculous TV return of the greatest basketball player of all-time.

But this is 2025.

The NFL is the one true king, the NBA regularly falls behind Major League Baseball and college football in America’s daily sports consciousness, and three minutes of Jordan back on NBC isn’t going to save The Association. 'Dumb question' - Michael Jordan shut down NBA's

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