Jul 08 2008
NBA Jam Revisited - Western Conference Edition
Tags: NBA Jam
Inspired by this excellent recollection of NHL 94, I felt basketball was equally deserving of such an honor with none other than the original NBA Jam.
Looking back at the rosters, some of these 2-player combinations seemed utterly ridiculous. Its also definitely entertaining to see all the names and realize what they’ve been through and where they’ve ended up since Jam’s release in 1993.
Time to boot up the ol’ SNES/Sega Genesis and see where we were 15 years ago in the West…
Western Conference
Dallas Mavericks - Derek Harper, Jim Jackson
Harper was a fixture on most consoles, and with a moustache like his, how could he not be? Kudos to Jim Jackson for still being on the active NBA radar. He actually originally replaced Mike Iuzzolino, a 2nd round draft pick that played a tidy 2 seasons in the NBA before bolting for Europe
Denver Nuggets - Dikembe Mutumbo, LaPhonso Ellis
After asking the coeds of Georgetown who wanted to sex Mutumbo, the big man burst onto the NBA scene. He could have definitely used help in this game though from a quicker shooting guard, a la Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. C’mon - the big man/guard dunk/outside shooting combination is necessary for Jam success.
Golden States Warriors - Tim Hardaway, Chris Mullin
Too bad John Amaechi wasn’t in this game to potentially complete one of the most awkward pairings possible. Mullin made it rain and is still a Warrior, acting as their current GM, but you really needed a guy like Latrell Sprewell to throw it down here.
Houston Rockets - Hakeem Olajuwon, Vernon Maxwell
Bam - perfect combination right here. The Dream would stuff you on one end and then stuff it down your throat on the other, and Maxwell was the outside touch. They HAD to have given Mad Max some extra attributes for his turbo elbow throws based on the fact that he was, well, mad.
Los Angeles Clippers - Danny Manning, Ron Harper
Is it just me, or has Ron Harper always seemed old and cagey, even though he had only been in the league for like 7 years at this point? Also, does anyone realize that Elgin Baylor was an executive with the Clips even back then and was responsible for drafting Manning? Also part two: Loy Vaught. You were awesome.
Los Angeles Lakers - Vlade Divac, James Worthy
Post-Showtime rebuilding Lake Show. Magic-less and scared. Nick Van Exel probably would have been a better pick. Paired with a young Vlade, they presented the most tremendous upside potential to maybe squeak out wins.
Minnesota Timberwolves - Christian Laettner, Chuck Person
Surprising that Doug West wasn’t in this pairing, considering he was the team’s leading scorer the previous season. The wizards at Midway did the right thing in pairing Person with budding big man Laettner.
Phoenix Suns - Dan Majerle, Kevin Johnson
Where’s Barkley, you ask? Oh he was busy teaming with Accolade on Shut Up And Jam, thus keeping his rights to himself and out of the hands of midway. KJ was the next clear choice, despite his prior injury-riddle campaign. For the sake of the outside/inside balance, Cedric Ceballos may have been better. Sigh… Sir Charles would’ve been a stud in this game given the use of glowing turbo sneakers.
Portland Trail Blazers - Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter
Before they were the Jail Blazers, Portland was a high caliber team that had been to the Finals 2 of the previous 3 years. But alas, Clyde was already gliding downhill and this franchise would turn ugly fast. Bold prediction: Terry Porter is fired as Suns head coach by the All-Star break.
Sacramento Kings - Wayman Tisdale, Mitch Richmond
One of them piggybacked his way to a championship, the other started cutting jazz records. Excellent omission of Spud Webb. Dude would’ve gotten KILLED by one of Vernon Maxwell’s turbo elbows.
San Antonio Spurs - David Robinson, Sean Elliott
The three-point prowess of a Dale Ellis or the speed of an Avery Johnson may have been better pairings next to the Admiral. Perhaps the powers that be were simply letting Elliott shine knowing that he would be suffering some hardships down the road. Additionally, Chuck Person was the starter in the Sega CD version, yet appears with the Timberwolves in this SNES/Genesis version were using as a template. Shenanigans!
Seattle Supersonics - Shawn Kemp, Detlef Schrempf
Astute move by Midway adding Schrempf to the roster despite his existing as a Pacer the year prior. Everyone knows this should have been Gary Payton feeding the Reignman. Any guesses on how many kids Kemp had fathered at this point in his career? I’ll say 4.
Utah Jazz - Karl Malone, John Stockton
Of COURSE it was gonna be these two. Who did you think it was gonna be? A young Ike Austin? As good of a pair as these two were throughout their careers and in the game, did anyone ever even want to play with them?
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Do you remember playing the game as well? Got something to add to the post? Did I screw up anywhere (I’m sure I did)? Let me know!
Thanks to Basketball-Reference and Wikipedia for making this happen. Check back in the coming days for the Eastern Conference recap!
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My first exposure to NBA Jam was through the Tournament Edition. My brother and I would dominate with Kevin Johnson and Danny Manning! I still remember hitting 69 threes in a game with KJ…and he was only a 7 at shooting! =)
Back off Mullin , he’s clearly Drunk right now .
No mediocre player’s career or notoriety was affected more by a video game than Mike Iuzzolino. He’s always the first player that comes to mind for me when I think about NBA Jam.
Ahh. I still play NBA Jam from time-to-time. I hit 40 3s with Reggie Miller before, all 120 points, but 69 is outrageous. I only have the Tournament Edition now and Rodman/Admiral is the way to go.
Great post.
Awesome post. We still play this up at my house all the time. I totally agree with you on the Rockets, though, they are my team. Throw up 3-pointers with Maxwell and more often then not they drop (especially once you get the shooting touch down) and if not The Dream is right there for the putback Jam.
Oh, and I could swear Barkley is in my game. Am I going completely insane or was he in a later release?
There wasn’t a team in the West that could match up with the Bulls and Magic. What happened to the Eastern Conference of old?
ichiban:
barkley only appeared in the arcade version. when the game dropped for home consumption, so did he
b-hoff:
the east is biding their time… biding their time…
LJ and Zo were the best combo - both could dunk and both could shoot the 3.
You could also catch the ball out of midair when the opponents shot it, and absolutely destroy the computer by scores of like 224-8.
Played Jam with my cousin in our younger days, we would draw up plays on yellow legal pads and then execute them. Simple stuff, like pick and rolls and some creative ones I can’t easily remember. Did anyone else draw up plays? I will be a coach one day, I think.
Worth noting:
Jordan was not in the game (you can tell whether or not someone who claims they played the game is lying based on whether or not they say “oh, I was always the Bulls with MJ”).
Barkley was in the Arcade version and some earlier runs of the SNES/Sega version DID include him but he was taken out later on. So, if you remember playing as Barkley at home, you’re not going crazy, just very fortunate.
Shaq was only in the Arcade version.
The worst team was easily the Bucks, with Brad Lohaus and Blue Edwards. The Heat tried to challenge them with Rony Seikaly and Harold Miner but never could quite get over the hump.
The Nets had the All-Unrealized Potential 1-2 Punch with Derrick Coleman and Kenny Anderson (Petrovic, who was in the Arcade version, was unstoppably good).
The Cavs, with Mark Price and Brad Daugherty were secretly the best team in the game that I would always use, whether or not I was Player 2.
Abdul-Rauf and Van Exel did replace Ellis and Worthy, respectively, in later versions (Sega CD, I believe).
Detlef appeared in the Arcade version with Indy and then on SNES/Sega with the Sonics, making him, Dominique (Hawks, then Celtics) and Chuck Person (Minny and then San Antonio) the only guys to JAM in multiple uniforms.
way to give spoilers for the 2nd eastern conference part of this post, justin!
Who would be the NBA Jam rosters for the Grizzlies, Raptors, Bobcats, etc?
My vote:
Grizzlies would have been Bryant Reeves and Mike Bibby. Raptors, Damon Stoudamire and Big O? Bobcats Okafor and Brevin Knight.
hahaha okafor and brevin knight hit it right on the head. thats definitely an nba jam lineup if i’ve ever seen one
My buddy at college used to destroy me using the Tisdale/Richmond combo. It used to make me furious. Come to think of it, I’m still furious. WAYMAN FUCKING TISDALE!
Shaq was in TE. But my favorite team was Penny and D. Scott. A little weak inside, but Scott would light it up from 3 and Penny did everything else