What Do the New Tune Squad Jerseys Tell Us About 'Space Jam: A New Legacy'?

From Esquire

As Bubble NBA spins madly on, virtual fans and all, the basketball world got an out-of-nowhere surprise late Monday night. Courtesy of The LeBron James Family Foundation, we got a sneak peek of the new digs Bronny and the Looney Tunes will wear in the sequel to 1996’s Space Jam, titled Space Jam: A New Legacy. Until this point, we knew just about nothing about the film, only that Don Cheadle will likely be the villain, and it’ll be a little bit of a Sandler-style powwow for James’s Lakers teammates.

As for the jerseys: Aside from a reminder—courtesy of the Mandela Effect—that we’re living in the universe where it’s Tune Squad, and not Toon Squad, there’s actually a hell of a lot to interpret here. Or maybe not. We’re a year out from Space Jam: A New Legacy’s Summer 2021 release date, so let’s do an entirely-too-deep close read of the jersey anyway.

Reintroducing the Miami Heat-era, No. 6, LeVillain James

A reading from the Book of LeBron: When James did the whole taking my talents to South Beach bit in 2010’s ‘The Decision,” he traded number 23 for number 6. The new digit became synonymous with his newfound status as a villain in the league, something he played into a lil' bit (R.I.P. Mask LeBron), which wouldn’t really be redeemed until he won a ring in Cleveland.

Check the shorts—number 6 is back. There’s a chance that Bugs and his crew just retired Michael Jordan’s number 23 out of respect (if you don’t remember, they kind of worshipped the guy), but let’s go ahead and think way too hard about this. Space Jam: A New Legacy could be a time-hopping epic that actually starts in the early 2010s, when Bron was—like Jordan in the OG—at a crossroads. Even better, the Space Jam sequel treats "The Decision" like Michael Jordan's retirement, doing a meta, Tunesified meta riff on the moment. (Cut to an angry hoard of mice burning LeBron jerseys.) Or maybe, James starts the sequel as a Monstar, straight-up bullying the living hell out of Daffy Duck, dunking poor Tweedy Bird into the Gatorade cooler, until the TBD Bill Murray equivalent convinces him to switch sides.

The Tune Squad... has a Nike sponsorship?

OK. What’s the next logical thing to do after you save your planet from the grubby green hands of a raging alien capitalist? Secure a Nike sponsorship! With the entire NBA devoting little squares of jersey real estate to sponsors like Bumble, even the Tune Squad, apparently, isn’t opposed to making an extra buck from a corporate overlord. You have to ask: Did word of the Tune Squad’s heroics somehow reach Earth? Making them something of a well-known, traveling hoops act actually worth sponsoring—a la the Harlem Globetrotters?

Here’s where things get complicated: LeBron’s jersey also sports his signature crown logo, the one Nike slaps on apparel/shoes/assorted Bronny swag it produces with the superstar. The best comparison for that move is what Michael Jordan does with his team, the Charlotte Hornets, stitching the Jumpman logo on the squad’s jerseys. So, technically, James has some financial/business stake in the Tune Squad. Which… hints that LeBron’s off-court, entrepreneurial pursuits might factor into the film. Will Bugs Bunny be the stand-in for James’s right-hand business partner, Maverick Carter, in this world? Will Space Jam: A New Legacy just be a two-hour-long version of The Barbershop, only James has a roundtable discussion with Marvin the Martian and Elmer Fudd, while Pepé Le Pew gives him a cut?

More importantly: Does the whole team get LeBrons? Will Space Jam: A New Legacy see Porky Pig become a sneakerhead and fumble up and down the court in the splatter-painted LeBron 17s?

The fit!

… is okay! Some major Aquaman meets ’80s Astros vibes, but it’s at least a little more inspired than the ’90s version. And slimming! Bronny looks great. Who knows what it’ll look like on his rounder (Tasmanian Devil, Foghorn Leghorn), tinier (Speedy Gonzalez, Tweedy Bird), lankier (Road Runner, Sylvester the Cat) teammates, but we’ll see. Maybe Granny can knit them some new ones.

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