Everyone is fawning over the NBA on NBC, making a comeback with Roundball Rock, Michael Jordan, and ‘90s nostalgia. Everyone except Colin Cowherd.
The NBA on NBC returned from its 23-year hiatus Tuesday night, and it delivered. It felt big, it felt like an event, and it proved the games can still be more important and entertaining than the postgame show. Cowherd, however, watched the NBA on NBC and believed it only accentuated everything that’s wrong with the league.
“You’ve gotta turn the page on this thing. You’ve gotta market your young guys.”@colincowherd has thoughts about the NBA leaning on Michael Jordan and nostalgia pic.twitter.com/WHjzLnQeex
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) October 22, 2025
“I thought it was cool that NBC had MJ on their coverage,” Cowherd admitted before laying down the hammer. “He’s 62. Reminiscing, embracing the good old days, the NBA is falling into a trap that baseball had for about 20 years. ‘There’s a way to play the game, it was way better years ago.’ No, it wasn’t.
“But last night, the NBA had 62-year-old MJ in the pregame and was hoping they’d get 40-year-old LeBron and 37-year-old Steph to get TV viewers…We’ve seen the KD and the Steph and LeBron and MJ’s 62, and they’re all great, but you’ve gotta turn the page on this thing. You’ve gotta market your young guys.”
Cowherd is right about today’s game being better than it was in the ‘90s. There are valid complaints about load management, fouling late in games, or too many three-pointers, but NBA games are of better quality today than they ever have been. And that’s what NBC is trying to lean into during this new media rights era for the NBA. Lure fans in with a little nostalgia, but keep them with the best quality of basketball ever offered.
According to Cowherd, the NBA needs to fix its product by promoting Anthony Edwards and Cooper Flagg more than Michael Jordan or LeBron James. But networks just need to find the right balance of both. Because as much as NBA fans love to relive ‘90s era basketball, there’s also a base of fans who never experienced the NBA on NBC or watched Jordan play. And to NBC’s credit, they hit on that balance in their first opportunity Tuesday night.
Remember, Cowherd is the one who told LeBron to step aside for Ben Simmons back in 2018. So, even though he might be ready to put the 62-year-old Michael Jordan out to pasture, history shows he might not be the best judge. If anything, the NBA can always take a little more MJ, not less.
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