Red Panda is back.
The iconic NBA halftime performer, whose given name is Rong Niu, returned from a fractured wrist for a scheduled performance at halftime of Tuesday’s Bulls-76ers game in Chicago. She did so with fitting showmanship — while rocking a No. 45 Michael Jordan jersey for the Chicago home crowd.
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The Bulls teased Red Panda’s performance and her outfit with a video ahead of Tuesday’s tip.
For years, Red Panda has been the marquee halftime performer at NBA games and elsewhere around basketball.
She dazzles crowds while riding high on an elevated unicycle and flipping stacks of bowls from her feet to her head. The show’s better seen than described:
If your basketball game is a big one, there’s a decent chance Red Panda will be providing the halftime entertainment.
In July, she suffered an injury while performing during the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final between the Indiana Fever and Minnesota Lynx. Red Panda fell off her unicycle and sustained a severe wrist fracture.
But four months later, Red Panda has recovered and is ready to make her return. Fittingly, she’s making that return in Chicago, where she rose to fame as a regular halftime performer during Jordan-era Bulls games.
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And she’s doing so in the No. 45 jersey that Jordan wore during his triumphant return to the Bulls after his break from basketball to play baseball.
Jordan went on to win three of his six NBA championships after his return. Here’s hoping that Red Panda likewise finds continued success upon her return to the court.
