Michael Jordan may be the GOAT, but a couple of Long Island kids had him shaking in his boots last month.
During his first appearance on the NBA on NBC broadcast, Jordan recalled how, when he made the trip out to Long Island for the Ryder Cup last month, the owner of the Airbnb he was staying at asked him to shoot a free throw in front of his grandkids, the New York Post reports.
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Jordan dove into the story because Mike Tirico, who was calling the game between the Thunder and Rockets in NBC’s first televised NBA game since 2002, was shocked to hear that the NBA legend hadn’t picked up a basketball “in years.”
“I was at the Ryder Cup,” Jordan said. “And I rented a house from the owner. He came over to do pictures. He had grandkids. And I was meet and greet, thanked him for allowing me to stay in the house. And he had a basketball court. He said, ‘I want you to shoot one free throw.’ I said, ‘Really?’
“Now I had already paid for the house. … So, when I stepped up to shoot the free throw, that’s the most nervous I’ve been in years. In years. The reason being is those kids heard the stories from the parents about what I did 30 years ago. So, their expectation is 30 years prior, and I haven’t touched a basketball.”
Tirico joked that he “hoped” Jordan had “swished it.”
“Absolutely,” Jordan replied.
The prerecorded sit-down interview with Tirico was part of Jordan’s role on the NBC broadcasts in a segment called “MJ: Insights to Excellence.”
The network had announced in May that Jordan would be a part of their NBA coverage.
Tuesday marked the start of the first year in an 11-year, $27 billion media rights deal that the NBA had inked with NBC.
This article originally appeared on the NY Post and was reproduced with permission.
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