The 2024-2025 NBA season kicks off October 22, and back-to-basketball season is an exciting time of year for fans. But it's an especially important time for local husband-and-wife Jordan and Shae Cornette. Jordan is a host/analyst for NBC Sports, and Shae is a host of ESPN’S SportsCenter. The couple are both lifelong basketball fans— Shae, a Chicago native, grew up loving the ‘90s Bulls and went on to Indiana University where “basketball is like a religion,” she says. Jordan, the middle of three boys, was always playing basketball with his brothers, the older of whom tragically passed away in 2016. (They started The Joel Cornette Foundation in his honor, to provide funding to study, predict, and prevent sudden cardiac arrest among athletes.) “We’d always be outside at our neighbors’ hoop playing basketball, trying to mimic moves from guys like Magic Johnson, Isaiah Thomas, Larry Bird, and Michael Jordan,” he says. “It was a romanticized time for me.” The constant playing paid off: Jordan went on to play for Notre Dame from 2001 to 2005.
While he was playing for the Fighting Irish, he began to consider a career on the other side of the mic. “I was intrigued by Shae Cornettes of the world in our locker room,” he says with a laugh. “I was always curious: what does this job entail? How do you put together these post-game packages? I [think I] was inquisitive because I knew one day that's what I wanted to do.” Shae, for her part, started working at the newly launched Big 10 Network after graduating from college— it was her first taste of covering basketball, and she was hooked.
Since moving to Fairfield County in 2019, the Cornette family has kept true to their roots— Shae says her three-year-old might be the only Bulls fan at his preschool!— but have also embraced their new home. “Now that we’re on the East Coast, we’ve both kind of immersed ourselves with a big rival of the Bulls, the Knicks,” says Shae. “I’m super juiced to watch the New York Knickerbockers this year,” agrees Jordan. “I think they’re the biggest threat to the reigning champ Celtics in the East, and this was one of the best off-seasons in recent memory for the Knicks. There’s a supreme optimism about the franchise, which is great for the brand of basketball. When the Knicks are good, it’s good for the sport, and good for fans. They generate so many eyes.”
Shae says the Knicks aren’t the only team she's watching this season. “Bronny James is going to play with his dad [LeBron James] for the Lakers. This is something we haven’t seen before— what is that gonna look like? I’m sure Bronny is not going to play a ton, but it’s something to pay attention to, especially with new coach JJ Redick.” She’s also excited about this year’s Philadelphia 76ers, who, with Paul George, “have been looking for that missing piece, and I wonder if this is actually going to be it.”
But no matter who they’re covering— or rooting for—Shae and Jordan are beyond grateful for their careers. “Living vicariously through the players, and reminiscing back on my time — that’s the fun of it,” says Jordan. Shae agrees. “It’s so fun to watch together. The cool thing about Jordan and I working in the same field is that we watch these games and learn together, and now we can do it with our kids, too. Sports are fun in our house. That makes me so happy.”
“I was always curious: what does this job entail? How do you put together post-game packages? I [think I] was inquisitive because I knew that's what I wanted to do.”