Michael Jordan accepted the offer to shoot the 1996 movie Space Jam during an odd juncture in his career. He had just returned to NBA basketball after his one-and-a-half-year hiatus and the Chicago Bulls had suffered a brutal playoff defeat against a comparatively inexperienced Orlando Magic side—Jordan’s first playoff loss since winning his inaugural NBA Championship in 1991.
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Knowing MJ’s vindictive character, it may have surprised many that the Bulls superstar would choose to shoot a movie instead of training hard without distractions in the summer of 1995. Well, Jordan did both.
Bob Daly, the head of Warner Bros., ordered the creation of an inflatable dome in the VIP parking lot of WB studios just to make sure His Airness didn’t have to compromise on the 1995-96 season because of his shooting stint. The dome, also known as the bubble, was designed based on the instructions of Jordan’s trainer, Tim Grover.
It was a state of the art basketball gym with weight-lifting facilities, locker rooms, couches, TVs, speakers, a putting green and even a table for playing cards. Jordan sent out invitations to the best players in LA at the time so that he can do some serious training.
“When the Jordan Dome first opened, invitations went out to local pros, other NBA players affiliated with Space Jam, additional clients of Jordan’s agent, David Falk, and the reigning NCAA champion UCLA Bruins,” a SLAM magazine article recorded.
MJ had guys to filter players and set up teams inside the bubble. The games were also tailor-made to help MJ improve, specifically in the areas that he felt he lacked confidence.
Michael Jordan playing in pick-up games on the SPACE JAM set at The Jordan Dome aka The Bubble.
Each night from 7:30-10PM, MJ & up to 22 NBA players would play there. pic.twitter.com/qGF0HnuGAS
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) November 15, 2024
The shooting for the movie went on till 6-7 pm in the evening. Jordan headed straight to the dome after that to play pick-up till late at night.
Initially, mostly college players showed up for the pickup games. But soon the games started to look like an unofficial NBA All-Star Weekend of sorts.
“You had at least 100 players on the sidelines on days where everybody was in town. You’d look up and you’d have one team with Rod Strickland, Michael Jordan, Glen Rice, Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning. And then on the other team you’d have Tim Hardaway, Reggie Miller, Grant Hill, Charles Oakley and Pat Ewing,” a then UCLA player had noted.
The bubble was a grand success in every way imaginable. Space Jam came out 28 years ago from today and became a blockbuster hit. MJ and the Bulls kickstarted another three-peat campaign in the 1995-96 season. And lastly, the most underrated bit, LA got to witness some of the best pickup ball in history.
The only regret NBA fans will have is that these games were not recorded for posterity to witness despite being played in the parking lot of a studio.
