The Charlotte Hornets defeated Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in their very first match-up

With the sporting world showing renewed interest in all things Michael Jordan, why not take a look back at when the brand new Charlotte Hornets pulled off the improbable against the Chicago Bulls?

ESPN’s ‘The Last Dance’ sure has everyone buzzing about current Charlotte Hornets owner, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls of the ’80s and ’90s. It’s a chance for sports fans, young and old, to come together to commiserate on a player many consider to be the greatest of all-time.

With this insanely informative documentary, older fans can travel back in time and relive what many of them would say is the greatest era of basketball. Younger fans can get an unfiltered glimpse of what M.J. truly was like as a competitor, winner, and someone other than the playful butt of an internet meme.

For those who grew up in North Carolina during that time period—especially those who were fans of the Charlotte Hornets and UNC Tar Heels—Michael Jordan was a different entity all to himself. This was before social media and the World Wide Web. Yet, Jordan had every bit of notoriety and hype surrounding him that LeBron James has now, if not more.

Jordan helped put the state of North Carolina on the map and to this day, is still synonymous with the region. So, when it came time for him to return home to face the team of which he would eventually become the majority owner, eyes were glued to their TV sets to see if “His Airness” would be humbled in his home state.

Now, this was in 1988 and M.J., much like the Bulls of that era, was still on the rise. The reigning 1987 NBA Slam Dunk champion was already the unquestioned leader of a team still trying to crack their way into the elite teams of the NBA, but he still had a lot to prove.

At this time, many still doubted Jordan’s ability to lead a team to a championship, saying he would never get past Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, or Isaiah Thomas on the way to a title. They would eventually be proven wrong, of course, but this was still before Michael would outright dominate the league. This was very different from the Hornets’ situation at the time.

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Many know that the Charlotte Hornets’ success really started nearly five years later with the additions of Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning. But, in the early days, moral victories were more commonplace. If and when the team could notch actual victories was somewhat of a rarity. Even rarer were the times when they could beat the greatest to ever play.

In his time with the Bulls, Michael Jordan had a record of 29-5 against the Charlotte Hornets. You’ll have to remember that he took 18 months off after the 1992-1993 season, coming back in March of 1995, meaning there could be more wins in that total had he stayed in the league.

When the Hornets could best the Bulls with M.J., it was only by an average margin of fewer than 3 points a contest, with the highest margin of victory being a mere eight points. That’s not even including the playoffs, where Jordan would continue to dominate Charlotte, losing just twice in nine postseason games against the Hornets.

For those statheads wondering, the Charlotte Hornets fared a bit better against Jordan when he came out of retirement a second time with the Washington Wizards, beating him three times in the 2001-2002 season series. They would, of course, be moved to New Orleans after that, and if you’re still curious, the Hornets would beat Michael and the Wiz twice in three games in his final year.

It should go without saying that Michael Jordan had a successful career against the team he now owns, which paints this loss as eerily poignant, given what would transpire over the next 30 years. As I’ve stated before, this was a huge deal having Jordan come back to his home state to play professional basketball for the first time.

Expectations were high for him and low for the new guys, and if there were just about any other time, he would be the victor. But, on this characteristically mild December night in the Queen City, fate would favor the little guys.

Charlotte came into this game with a 6-17 record. For a first-year NBA franchise, that wasn’t terrible. The Bulls were riding a record of 13-10, and if that seems low for a Jordan team, again, this was before the Bulls as most knew them.

Jordan got his, of course, going for 33 points on 14-26 shooting. To further prove how much this team belonged to Jordan, the player with the next highest field goal attempts for Chicago was Sam Vincent, who took nine shots. Scottie Pippen, who was still relegated to a bench role at this point, took just four shots.

So, who did the damage for Charlotte? Most of the scoring output was from Kelly Tripucka, a former NBA All-Star who had previously played for the Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz. He would average 23 points a game in the Hornets’ first year, becoming their first proto-superstar. In fact, Tripucka would finish his NBA career in Charlotte, retiring after the 1990-1991 season.

He dropped 30 in this one, which wasn’t uncharacteristic as he was a fairly prolific scorer in his day. Tim Kempton would score 16 in a supporting role and long-time Hornet, Dell Curry, chipped in with 11. These were very much your father’s Hornets… or maybe even your grandfather’s.

Anyhow, this game was close pretty much throughout, with the Bulls holding just a 46-44 lead at the half. Charlotte would then go on to score 59 points in the second, but it was still a one-point game at the end of the third.

With both teams still battling, both of whom would have a few players in foul trouble (including M.J. himself), it all came down to a Robert Reid shot from the perimeter. Reid, who was guarded by Jordan, would nearly airball it, but Kurt Rambis would knock it back in the air, secure the rebound from that, and lay it in as time expired.

The Hornets won 103-101, handing the Bulls their 11th loss of the season. Michael would obviously go on to be the greatest to ever play, winning six championships and an ungodly amount of awards and accolades, so I don’t think he’s sweating that loss too much.

As for Charlotte, if you’re reading this, you probably know how things have worked out since; some good with probably even more bad. And now, Jordan is the owner of the team from his home state. Whether you put that in with the good or the bad is up to you.

Either way, it did help propel the Charlotte Hornets to some bigger things. It started their notorious home sellout streak, which lasted an astounding 364 games. It also put the Hornets brand on the map alongside their iconic purple and teal jerseys.

It might have even paved the way for Charlotte to get the Hornets name back when New Orleans changed their name to the Pelicans. Or, it could just be because they’re from North Carolina.

In any case, that win was the first big-time win for the franchise. Sure, it was a close one with the deciding points coming in the final seconds, but how many of Jordan’s teams won by a similar fashion by his own power?

It might not seem like it now, especially with how the Hornets have struggled the past few years, but beating M.J. in his home state meant a lot, not only to Charlotteans but to many in the state of North Carolina. Some would say that the team is due for some similar magic against another all-time great.