On March 18, 1995, David Falk publicized a fax that put the NBA on notice in two words – “I’m back.” Three decades later, we’re reliving the next best thing to that historic moment. NBC announced in May 2025 that Michael Jordan is coming back on their airwaves as a special contributor. Now that it’s back in the NBA media fold again, NBC is bringing back the ’90s nostalgia through MJ. But will it really be the same?

A few within the NBA community hailed the move, but are also realistic. Not only will Jordan’s very first studio analyst job be irregular, but it’s not going to be the same as 30 years ago. NBA player Michael Jordan gave some hot soundbites back in the day. The older, retired MJ is more reserved in the media. Even an Air Jordan superfan is keeping expectations low on this Studio Analyst version of His Airness.

Aries Spears is a huge MJ fan. Most notably, he’s had his back in the Scottie Pippen-Last Dance saga every time. Yet he told DJ Vlad, “I got to tell you what the big disappointing news for me is because I just don’t see the point. You know I’m a Michael Jordan fan, but the fact that people are making a big deal that he’s coming to NBC… he’s not playing. If he’s not suiting up, who gives a f—?”

Spears is a self-proclaimed Jordan megafan who began his career on Fox’s iconic Mad TV in 1995, the year Jordan came out of his first retirement after his baseball stint. So he knows what a huge deal it is for MJ to get back to basketball once more. It’s such a big deal to Spears that if the 62-year-old billionaire suited up and played in the NBA or BIG3, he’d cheer for him. He even feels Jordan could give 15 points minimum today.

What he doesn’t think will work is the 6x NBA champion as an analyst. Because he’s going to compare what he saw on The Last Dance.

Michael Jordan’s NBC job: An unexpected disappointment?

The Netflix docu-series was the last time we got to see MJ’s brand of trash talk. Unlikely we’d see him dish that to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Nikola Jokic on NBC. Even Spears says, “One of the things I loved about The Last Dance was it showed you the Michael that we always wondered if he ever truly existed. Like, you know, Michael was always image-conscious, the brand – ‘Sometimes I dream.'” referring to the line from the famous ‘Be Like Mike’ Gatorade commercial.

The comedian re-enacted the scenes between Jordan and Scott Burrell seen in The Last Dance to say, “It’s like, ‘Yo, Mike’s a real…’ Like, ‘Mike curses. Mike’s raw. Mike’s a real one.’” And he knows we won’t be seeing that on the few appearances Jordan will make on NBC for a rumored $40 million paycheck.

His disappointment might be contagious when he says, “Unless I can see some of that personality, which we know we won’t because it’s too corporate, it’s too family… But I wanna… if he can bring that to the commentating section, I’m all in. But he’s not gonna be that guy that we saw on The Last Dance. So again, unless he’s suiting up, I don’t even see what the big deal is.”

Spears’ comments give MJ’s NBC return a new perspective. It could revive the staggering ratings problem of the league, or NBC is handing out nine figures for nothing.