With baseball on hold because of a player strike, Jordan began to consider a return to the NBA, and by late winter rumors were flying that he would rejoin the Bulls in time for the playoffs. Chicago was puttering along with a 34-31 record when Jordan took the floor for the club on March 19 against the Indiana Pacers. He scored 19 points in that game but looked a little rusty. Jordan hit for 27 points three nights later against the Boston Celtics, scored 21 against the Orlando Magic on March 24, and then popped in 32 against the Atlanta Hawks the following night. On March 29 he showed that his skills were undiminished with a memorable 55-point performance against the Knicks in New York. With Jordan back for the final 17 games of the regular season, the Bulls went 13-4 to finish at 47-35 overall. He led the team in scoring in 11 of those games, topped the club in assists four times, and led the Bulls in rebounding on six occasions.

He finished with averages of 26.9 points, 5.3 assists, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.76 steals in 39.3 minutes per game. Jordan struggled from the field, however, shooting just .411. The Bulls drew the Charlotte Hornets as opponents in the opening round of the postseason. Jordan kicked off the playoffs by scoring 48 points in Game 1, then followed that up with a 32-point performance in Game 2. The Bulls eliminated Charlotte in four games as Jordan averaged 32.3 points per outing in the series. In Chicago's second-round matchup with the Orlando Magic he scored 38 points in Game 2, 40 in Game 3, and 39 in Game 5, but the Bulls fell in six games. In 10 postseason games he averaged 31.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists, but he also coughed up 4.1 turnovers per contest.