Michael Jordan’s legendary competitiveness defined an era as he led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles during the 1990s, broadcast with great success by NBC — whose coverage of the league returns this year with Jordan part of the crew. Widely considered the greatest basketball player ever, Jordan guided the Bulls to two three-peats across eight seasons, going head-to-head with numerous legends like Indiana Pacers icon Reggie Miller.
The two elite shooting guards frequently battled for control of the Eastern Conference, though Jordan’s Bulls consistently had the edge. During a heated 1993 confrontation, the superstars came to blows, with Jordan landing a punch to Miller’s throat.
More than three decades later, Miller vividly recalled the incident a few months before the pair got to work together as colleagues on NBC’s NBA broadcasts. Meanwhile, NBA on NBC’s return was rocked by technical difficulties that put NBA Showtime hosts in an awkward spot.
“I was like, ‘All right, tip-in, got you – now I’m going straight to him, let him know,'” Miller told Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the ‘All The Smoke’ podcast in April 2025. “OK, I had to hurry up and turn around because I didn’t want him to come and like chokehold me.
“So I’m like, ‘OK.’ We both get into it – we get into this – he scrapes my eye. Like I can’t see. He was trying to scratch it. … Look at this scratch. Scratched the crap out of me. Look at this big hand! But look, I’m holding him and controlling him – I’m like, ‘OK, but you ain’t going anywhere.'”
Miller was ejected and slapped with a one-game suspension at the time, while Jordan racked up 45 points in that game. However, the Bulls icon was later handed a three-game suspension.
Now, the two are set to join forces as part of NBC’s NBA coverage this season. Miller is among the many game analysts NBC will be featuring this season, while Jordan serves as a special contributor.
One of Jordan’s contributions includes a segment titled ‘MJ: Insights to Excellence,’ which is slated to premiere during halftime of the Houston Rockets-Oklahoma City Thunder game on opening night Tuesday.
Full NBA on NBC broadcast team
Mike Tirico – Play-by-play
Noah Eagle – Play-by-play
Terry Gannon – Play-by-play
Michael Grady – Play-by-play
Jamal Crawford – Analyst
Reggie Miller – Analyst
Grant Hill – Analyst
DON’T MISS
Brad Daugherty – Analyst
Derek Fisher – Analyst
Robbie Hummel – Analyst
Austin Rivers – Analyst
Brian Scalabrine – Analyst
Carmelo Anthony – Studio analyst
Vince Carter – Studio analyst
Tracy McGrady – Studio analyst
Jordan Conette – Courtside reporter.
Ashley ShahAhmadi – Courtside reporter.
Zora Stephenson – Courtside reporter.
Maria Taylor – Studio host.
Ahmed Fareed – Studio host.
Grant Liffman – Contributor.
Chris Mannix – Contributor.
Michael Jordan – Special contributor
