Last month, NBC dropped a bomb by announcing that Michael Jordan was hired to become a special contributor when they resume with their NBA coverage starting next season. Many wonder what version of the Bulls legend will we see, as most hope to witness his sincere, ruthless perspective. 

One who is convinced that the Hall of Famer will be “brutally honest” is none other than Stephen A. Smith, who recently went on Patrick Bet-David’s PBD Podcast to guarantee that Jordan won’t hold back his true thoughts on live television.

“Let me tell you something about Michael Jordan: He’s going to be brutally honest—I can assure you that,” he said. “He’s not going to be somebody who’s going to be passive. … The Michael Jordan I know, when talking basketball, he is as candid as it gets. He ain’t trying to hurt nobody’s feelings. He ain’t trying to be insulting—but he’s going to tell you what’s going on.”

Stephen A. Smith hit the PBD podcast and further revealed how Michael Jordan is planning to expose the NBA's current product of accidental basketball 🏀👀

And the world can't wait for MJ to call it out in a politically correct way, with the hopes of restoring the game. 🔥🐐 pic.twitter.com/1pX1aHlzlj

— NBA Strife ツ (@strifeomg) June 8, 2025

Smith further explained why Michael has nothing to lose: “I don’t think he’s going to be passive at all. I really, really don’t, and I’m actually proud of him for doing it because, with the Jordan brand and him being worth over $2 billion, he don’t need this.”

The ESPN icon admitted to urging Jordan to participating on public commentary about the sports world, by telling him to “stop acting like you have nothing to say about basketball now that you’re retired—you talk about it all the damn time!”

“I don’t think he’s going to be shy about saying what he sees—at all. As a matter of fact, if he is, he’s going to have to deal with me because I’m going to be in his ear telling him, ‘You’re getting shy now. That’s what we’re doing? That ain’t the MJ I know!’” Stephen concluded.

After NBC confirmed the Chicago legend on next season’s coverage, rumors about his payment started flooding the internet, most suggesting that the network will be playing MJ about $40 million annually. When asked, NBC declined to comment.

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