Sports gambling has become such an issue for the NBA that Michael Jordan shared his thoughts on this subject.
Jontay Porter, a former forward for the Toronto Raptors, was banned by the NBA in 2024 for his role in a gambling scheme. Former Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, meanwhile, was mentioned in an illegal sports betting case back in October 2025.
“Sportsbooks in multiple states flagged suspicious betting interest on Rozier’s statistics ahead of a Charlotte Hornets-New Orleans Pelicans game on March 23, 2023,” ESPN’s Shams Charania wrote. “An unexpected surge of bets — including 30 wagers in 46 minutes from a professional bettor totaling $13,759 — came in on the under on Rozier’s points, rebounds and assists, causing sportsbooks to halt betting on the veteran guard. Rozier, then with the Hornets, played just 10 minutes before leaving the game, citing a foot injury.”
So how would Jordan handle the rise of gambling if he was playing in the NBA today? The six-time champion claims he’d overcome it because he’d strictly be worried about winning games.
“If I were to play today… I can’t worry about what people are betting on,” Jordan said. “I can’t worry about what the stats are. I never worry about the stats. All I care about is the end of the game… If we win, I couldn’t care less who won the bet, who didn’t win the bet. I know I won the game. Ultimately, that’s all that I even focused on… Today, you’ve got to build a brand… That takes away from the team aspect… I don’t envy that. I’m glad I was born at the time that I was born.”
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Will NBA fans hear from Jordan this upcoming season?
Prior to the start of the 2025-26 season, NBC announced that Jordan was joining the network as a “special contributor.” Although he was supposed to have a docuseries called “MJ: Insights To Excellence,” it never really took off the way fans hoped it would.
Unfortunately, Front Office Sports reported that Jordan is unlikely to return to NBC.
Barring a sudden change of plans, NBA fans won’t hear much from Jordan over the next few months.
