Michael Jordan reveals he has not picked up basketball 'in years,' recalls last time he did

Throughout Michael Jordan’s career, he was the ultimate competitor. As evidenced by stories told in The Last Dance, he’d find some sort of motivation to get a win – and do whatever it took to get there.

Now at age 62, though, Jordan is downshifting. He’s now a “special contributor” to NBC and spending more time with his family. He told Mike Tirico he has a new perspective as he looked back on his playing days and being away from his loved ones.

In fact, Jordan rarely picks up a basketball anymore. When Tirico asked if he ever got the itch to do so, “His Airness” pointed out something unique about his home. There isn’t a hoop nearby.

“We have an obligation to pay it forward. That’s part of what this is all about.”

Watch Michael Jordan’s first conversation with Mike Tirico in the first edition of MJ: Insights To Excellence. pic.twitter.com/7tfzGm6SpM

— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) October 22, 2025

“I haven’t picked up a ball in years. … You don’t see a hoop anywhere around here, right?” Jordan said at halftime of Tuesday’s Houston Rockets at Oklahoma City Thunder game.

Recently, though, Michael Jordan ended up stepping to the free throw line. He rented a house in New York while attending the Ryder Cup and met the owner as he got ready to leave. The owner brought his grandchildren, and he had a request for arguably the greatest basketball player of all time.

“He came over to do pictures,” Jordan recalled. “He had grandkids. I was … thanking them for allowing me to stay in the house. He had a basketball court, he says, ‘I want you to shoot one free throw.’ I said, ‘Really?’ I’d already paid for the house and he got to see me.

“So when I stepped up to shoot the free throw, it’s the most nervous I’d been in years. In years. The reason being is, those kids heard the stories from their parents about what I did 30 years ago. So their expectation is 30 years prior and I haven’t touched a basketball.”

So, did he make it? Well, Jordan answered that question in a way only he could – and shared how special that moment was.

“Absolutely,” he said. “That made my whole week that I was able to please that kid not knowing if I could.”