The Plausibility Of Space Jam

It’s no secret that Space Jam is a cinematic masterpiece. I mean, Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny playing a basketball game against a bunch of evil monsters with an entire planet at stake? Remind me how this thing didn’t win an Oscar? What’s most impressive about the film, though, is just how darn realistic the whole thing was. No, I’m not talking about the illustrations or the special effects; I mean the sheer plausibility of it all. If you remove extra-terrestrial cartoons from the equation, then Space Jam could have easily been a documentary.

On October 6th, 1993, Michael Jordan announced his retirement from the game of basketball, citing a loss of desire to play. Following his basketball career, he went back to his first love; baseball. It didn’t go exactly as planned and Jordan never really excelled on the diamond the way he did on the court. 528 days later, on March 18th, 1995, Jordan came back to the NBA and continued his dominance right where he had left off. There was never really a concrete explanation as to why Jordan chose to return…

…until November 15th, 1996. That’s the date when the movie Space Jam got released to theatres. Finally, we had our answer to why Jordan came back to basketball. At the risk of spoiling the ending for any morons who haven’t seen it yet, the movie ends with Jordan winning the game for the Tune Squad and saving the day. The whole ordeal reminds Jordan of how much he misses basketball, and in the final scene, we see our protagonist return to the Chicago Bulls. It makes perfect sense and the timeline could not be more accurate. Not only does the timing make sense, but there’s a ton of evidence that proves the plausibility of Space Jam, so let’s take a look:

• The entire conflict of the movie is centred around a bet between Jordan and the evil businessman Swackhammer (voiced by Danny DeVito). If Jordan’s side wins, then the Looney Tunes get left alone and the NBA players who had their talent stolen get it returned. If The Monstars win, then Jordan must be the star attraction at Swackhammer’s amusement park (which is really a smart business acquisition) and the Looney Tunes are doomed forever. Is that not so typical of Michael Jordan? This is the same guy who plays million-dollar rounds of golf and who famously wins and loses millions at a time at various casinos (typically loses more than wins). Of course Jordan would make a wager like this, and of course he would bet on himself too.

• Mike’s Secret Stuff, which in reality, was just a bottle of water, was given to the Tune Squad during the break and it completely riled everyone up and shifted the entire momentum of the game. Ladies and gentlemen, the scientific term for this is called The Placebo Effect. Those little cartoon creatures thought they were consuming some miracle elixir that would amp up their basketball skills, when it was actually just regular, old H2O. This was a huge turning point in the game, and also a very real psychological treatment.

• Michael Jordan gets sucked into the Looney Tunes world through a hole in the earth (a golf hole, to be exact). In fact, sinkholes are a very real thing and quite common throughout the globe. It’s not unheard of for someone to unexpectedly fall into a hole in the earth. Granted, there have yet to be any survivors telling tales of alternate cartoon realities, but alternate realities are a very highly debated subject in general. Many believe that different realities exist and that our universe is not the only one. You could not prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that it’s impossible for a man to wind up in an alternate universe, just like Michael Jordan did.

• Now this one is really interesting; the four players who lost their talents to The Monstars; Shawn Bradley, Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, Larry Johnson and Muggsy Bogues, all never got their talent back. Look at their careers:

• Bradley was an up-and-comer in 1996, with just three promising seasons under his belt. He showed flashes of brilliance, but his post-Space Jam career was mostly filled with backup duties and being featured on the wrong side of posters. He never developed into the player he was supposed to be.

• Patrick Ewing was a perennial All-Star since entering the league in 1985. He was one of the most dominant big men of all time, but 1996–97 would prove to be his final All-Star season. The rest of his career, after the release of Space Jam, featured a broken Knicks legend hobbling up and down the court, eventually ending up in Seattle and Orlando, where he did more icing his knees than scoring baskets.

• Charles Barkley was another NBA superstar and was even once the NBA MVP in 1993. Just like Ewing, though, Barkley’s last All-Star season would be 1996–97 and after Space Jam he would only play in 130 more NBA games over three seasons before calling it a career.

• LJ was another up-and-comer destined to dominate the league. Care to guess when his final All-Star campaign was? 1994–95, after just four seasons in the league. His per-game averages went from 21 points per game and 8 rebounds in 1995–96 to 13 points and 5 rebounds per game the following season, when Space Jam was released. He would never return back to his old form.

• Lastly, the 5 foot 3 Muggsy Bogues was an assist machine early on in his career. He was considered a top-tier point guard, until 1995–96 rolled around. Space Jam came out, and Muggsy missed nearly the entire season, playing only 6 games. He came back in 1996–97 but wasn’t the same player and was traded away the following season.
• Not a single one of the Monstar NBA players (Bradley, Ewing, Barkley, Johnson and Bogues) won an NBA Championship in their career. Not only did Jordan defeat them in Space Jam, but he consistently beat them throughout their NBA careers as well. This just goes to show how consistently accurate the movie is.

• Finally, in Space Jam just like in real life, Bill Murray was the best part.