From Michael Jordan to Mike Tirico and Roundball Rock, NBC showed the impact it will have on NBA games this season.

Fans of NBA on TNT will have to adjust to the new schedule and studio shows. Major sports league contracts don’t change hands often. But on Oct. 21, Comcast’s (CMCSA) NBCUniversal wrested the U.S.’s second most-popular — and fastest-growing worldwide — league out of Warner Bros.

The last NBA tip-off doubleheader with a larger average audience came in Oct. 2010, helped by the Heat's 88–80 loss to the Celtics in the first game of the "Big Three" era. These figures come with the caveat that Nielsen has overhauled its data gathering processes this year.

Maybe it was the nostalgia kicking in, but Tuesday felt bigger than usual for the NBA as it returned to NBC for the first time since 2002.

Michael Jordan made his debut as a special contributor to NBC Sports' return to NBA broadcasting on Tuesday night, saying he's doing so as a way to give back to basketball.

NBA legend Michael Jordan sat down with NBC's Mike Tirico for the first edition of his special segment "MJ: Insights To Excellence."

Fans tuning into the NBA this season will have to adjust their viewing habits to new networks and a seven-day-a-week national TV schedule.

NBA fans roast Carmelo Anthony over fashion choice during NBC debut originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Carmelo Anthony decided to keep it casual for his highly-anticipated NBC sports analyst television debut.