“Michael Jordan torched the Hornets the same night Space Jam released”: How the Bulls legend dropped a light 38 points as his 1996 basketball classic released in theatres

Michael Jordan dropped 38 points on the Charlotte Hornets the same night his 1996 Space Jam released to the world in theatres. 

Michael Jordan is a man of many talents, as proven right by his extensive resume ranging from sports, obviously, to a decent resume in filmography. His 1996 Space Jam has developed into a basketball movie classic, up there with the likes of ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ and Spike Lee’s ‘He’s Got Game’, even resulting in a sequel 25 years later. 

Despite the fact that many would say LeBron James is a superstar of Jordan’s caliber, his Space Jam 2 simply did not recreate the magic that the original from 1996 did. There is something to be told about repurposing the same exact concept for a movie with similar characters and doing it with someone who’s as unnecessarily controversial as LeBron.

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While Michael Jordan had Space Jam release in theatres however, he was focused on something more important; at least to him. 

Michael Jordan torched the Hornets for 38 points. 

The 1996-97 NBA season saw the Chicago Bulls come off a historic season, winning 72 games during the regular season and also claiming their 4th championship in 6 years. The ‘97 Bulls looked to replicate a similar level of success and with Michael Jordan on the team, they did. 

Space Jam released in theatres on November 15th, 1996, merely a few games into the season. On this same night, Michael Jordan and the Bulls were slated to duke it out against Glen Rice and his Charlotte Hornets. Despite the fact that ‘His Airness’ had a blockbuster movie of his release the same day, he went on to torture the Hornets defense. 

Jordan would put on a vintage ‘Michael Jordan’ performance, hitting fadeaways and driving to the hoop with ease. The Bulls go on to win the game 110-87, en route to starting the season off with a perfect 9-0 start.

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Seems as though Space Jam’s $27.5 million opening weekend did nothing to distract the 6x champ from routinely getting after defenses.