The NBA's return to NBC with a doubleheader on Tuesday night averaged 5.61 million viewers, the most-watched October opening night in 15 years according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel measurements and digital data from Adobe Analytics.

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.

NBC's broadcast of the NBA tip-off was up 87% in viewers compared to last year and marked the season opener's biggest audience in more than a decade.

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.

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

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

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.