Layups: Name the Original NBA Jam Players
Posted by Neil Paine on April 1, 2009
As a child of the early 90s, I'm embarrassingly well-acquainted with some of the finest early sports video games ever made -- Tecmo Super Bowl, Mike Tyson's Punchout, NHL '94... You get the idea. And perhaps the best early hoops game was the iconic NBA Jam, which introduced the concept of 720-degree dunks and literally being "on fire". So, courtesy of our friends over at Sporcle, we ask: Can you name all of the 2-man rosters from the original arcade version of Jam?
April 1st, 2009 at 8:55 pm
That was hard. I got 33/54.
I missed both Nets, both T-Wolves, both Clippers, and both Bucks.
I also missed a Hawk (formerly one of my favorite players, too), a 6er, a Bullet (one of two brothers on the list), a Rocket (obvious one), a Sun (obvious one), a Sonic, a Hornet, a Pacer, a Blazer (obvious one), a Nugget, a Laker (whom I thought had retired already), and a King.
And I wasted a minute repeatedly misspelling a Mav's name incorrectly.
April 2nd, 2009 at 3:53 pm
That was fun. i got 35 players. couldn't get any sixers, clippers, kings, bucks, mavericks, or even celtics. i was thinkin lewis but didn't know when he died. thought mchale retired. i knew both hawks, bulls, cavs, pacers, nuggets, warriors, lakers, suns, blazers, and jazz (obviously). i coulda sworn payton was on the sonics. i had no idea benjamin was on there...i challenge someone to beat my score or @ least someone born in '85 or later. i'm born in '88
April 2nd, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Very fun.
I had 35. (born in 86).
I can't believe a few of those names (one of the mavs - played 122 games in his career!, 1 of the bucks, one of the sonics, ) actually appeared on the video game !
Only a couple that I shouldn't have missed)
There were multiple instances where the top 2 players on the team weren't chosen (hornets, magic, t'wolves, sonics, mavs).
April 2nd, 2009 at 4:41 pm
I got 40, but I was kicking myself for missing Danny Manning, Sean Elliott, Dikembe, and Charles Oakley. I definitely didn't remember Brad Lohaus, Blue Edwards, Mike Iuzzolino, etc. being in that game. Wayman Tisdale is much more memorable as a great human being and a fine bass player than for his pro career and his appearance in NBA Jam, which isn't a bad legacy to have in the end.
April 2nd, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Will - who would you have put in for those Hornets and Magic teams, instead of the given players? I think those were the right choices for those 4 players.
April 2nd, 2009 at 9:15 pm
More importantly, who was your favorite team to use in the game? Who do you think was the best team in the game?
My fave was the Warriors: Chris Mullin had a perfect 3-point-shot rating, and Hardaway never had the ball stolen.
April 2nd, 2009 at 10:51 pm
Gabe, I can understand Scott Skiles although I probably would have gone for Nick Anderson or maybe even Dennis Scott. The omission of Alonzo Mourning, however, seems curious at best.
April 3rd, 2009 at 4:31 am
I got 39 (born in 85). No clue how Mike Iuzzolino got in the game! That's probably the only one I really wouldn't have known. Also thought laimbeer and worthy had retired by then. Can't believe I forgot petrovic, gill, and manning.
April 3rd, 2009 at 7:23 pm
I played the TE much more, which I used the knicks (starks, ewing, and oakley, if I remember correctly) and the sonics (payton, detlef, and kemp). Those 2 teams or the rockets were pretty good as I remember.
On the original, with the hornets, I would have used Mourning with LJ, Dell Curry (lights out @ 3), or Muggsy (why not have the shortest player in the game ?! He was at least a decent producer at the time) .
As I looked back on the 92-93 magic stats, I was surprised to find skiles did have a solid year then, but I thought Nick Anderson deserves the nod.
April 4th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Got 41. Holy cow were the Bucks, Kings and Mavs terrible (though I got Harper). Have to admit I only got Harvey Grant b/c they gave it to me with Horace.
I also preferred the Warriors--Mullin from three was unstoppable.
April 7th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
I was always the Cavs. Price never missed from 3 and Daugherty had clutch dunks.
June 14th, 2010 at 3:45 am
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