We of course have to start with the very first NBA Jam, the granddaddy of all NBA-approved arcade basketball video games. The game that made Arch Rivals the demo that it pretty much became. I went over my memories of this game during the project introduction article so I'll spend these opening remarks on fun facts of the game or the interesting that I found from my research. But before I do that, let me establish the format going forward.
I have listed all of the NBA teams that are in the game by their team name, rather than by their city or by what conference they are in. I then list the players in the order that they are sorted in the game. What's great about the original NBA Jam is that there's only two players per team, which makes it easy for me to note. But with each subsequent game, the team rosters get more messier and confusing.
The arcade version of NBA Jam was released in February 1993 and featured rosters from the 1992-93 season. The Genesis, Super Nintendo and Game Gear were the first to receive home ports, which were all released on "Jam Day" (March 4, 1994). These ports were updated to feature rosters from the 1993-94 season. The Sega CD and Game Boy received the second and last set of ports, released much later in 1994 (some have the GB version being released in October of the year). These two also received updates to the roster, as indicated by "NEW PLAYER ROSTER!" boldly placed on their covers, but reflected some of the major shakeups at the end of the season and what transpired off the court.
This game, specifically the arcade version, is very notable for being the most tragic game of the series. Not too long after the game's arcade release, Reggie Lewis and Drazen Petrovic both unexpectedly died. They were removed from the home ports. The loss of Petrovic became even more eerier as one of the revisions of the arcade game apparently had a bug where the announcer Tim Kitzrow would shout out "Petrovic!" at random.
I learned very much later just how good the Cavs were in the early 90's but I never picked them in the game largely due to their character portraits. Price and Daugherty looked like elementary school science teachers.
The Boston Celtics suffered the most changes in this game, as they had three roster shakeups across the versions and are the only team to feature five playable ballers.
Ah, the Dallas Mavericks. This game, along with Tournament Edition, cemented the team as the Glass Joe of the league. Though the rubberband AI of the arcade version made beating them more of a chore.
Mike Iuzzolino. The man, the myth, the unknown non-legend. If you ever want to flaunt your video game/sports knowledge or need to create a question for trivia night, this bottom-tier player can help you out.
The reason for "Charles Barkley/Dan Majerle" below is because early copies of NBA Jam for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo had Charles Barkley as player one. Once Barkley signed a deal with Accolade for his name and likeness rights and proceeded to develop his own arcade basketball game (Barkley Shut Up and Jam!), he was removed from later copies and replaced with Dan Majerle. Though not as famously well known, the same treatment happened with the Game Gear version as well.
The San Antonio Spurs are noticeably out-of-date in the Genesis/SNES versions. Player two is Sean Elliott, despite the fact that he was traded to the Detroit Pistons at the end of 1992-93 season. This wouldn't be the only strange thing to happen to this team.
The Sega CD and Game Boy are pretty much identical with each other. Both feature player removals, new additions and complete overhauls of the Bucks, Pistons, and Warriors, the former due to trades while the latter two due to major retirements and injuries.
But these later ports have two noticeable differences. The first one involves the Chicago Bulls. At the end of the 1993-94 season, Horace Grant became a free agent and ended up signing with the Orlando Magic in July 1994. The Sega CD version has him removed from the Bulls and replaced with B.J. Armstrong. However, the GB version matches with the previous home ports and has Grant with the Bulls.
The second difference between the Sega CD and Game Boy versions ended up revealing the only examples of a home console exclusive for NBA Jam. In the Sega CD version, the Spurs have Chuck Person as player two, who joined the team for the 1994-95 season. The Game Boy version, however, has Dale Ellis as player two, who left the team at the end of the 1993-94 season.
Though I don't have exact times of their release, these two differences make it clear to see that the Game Boy version was completed first and that the Sega CD version is the definitive final edition of NBA Jam.
76ers
Arcade
Hersey Hawkins
Jeff Hornacek
Genesis/SNES/Game Gear
Clarence Weatherspoon
Jeff Hornacek
Sega CD/Game Boy
Clarence Weatherspoon
Jeff Malone
Bucks
Arcade/Genesis/SNES/Game Gear
Brad Lohaus
Blue Edwards
Sega CD/Game Boy
Vin Baker
Eric Murdock
Bullets
Arcade/Genesis/SNES/Game Gear
Tom Gugliotta
Harvey Grant
Sega CD/Game Boy
Tom Gugliotta
Calbert Cheaney
Bulls
Arcade/Genesis/SNES/Game Boy/Game Gear
Scottie Pippen
Horace Grant
Sega CD
Scottie Pippen
B.J. Armstrong
Cavaliers
Arcade/Genesis/SNES/Sega CD/Game Boy/Game Gear
Mark Price
Brad Daugherty
Celtics
Arcade
Reggie Lewis
Kevin McHale
Genesis/SNES/Game Gear
Dee Brown
Robert Parish
Sega CD/Game Boy
Dee Brown
Dominique Wilkins
Clippers
Arcade/Genesis/SNES/Game Gear
Danny Manning
Ron Harper
Sega CD/Game Boy
Pooh Richardson
Ron Harper
Hawks
Arcade/Genesis/SNES/Game Gear
Dominique Wilkins
Stacey Augmon
Sega CD/Game Boy
Stacey Augmon
Mookie Blaylock
Heat
Arcade
Glen Rice
Rony Seikaly
Genesis/SNES/Game Gear
Rony Seikaly
Harold Miner
Sega CD/Game Boy
Rony Seikaly
Glen Rice
Hornets
Arcade
Larry Johnson
Kendall Gill
Genesis/SNES/Sega CD/Game Boy/Game Gear
Larry Johnson
Alonzo Mourning
Jazz
Arcade/Genesis/SNES/Sega CD/Game Boy/Game Gear
Karl Malone
John Stockton
Kings
Arcade
Wayman Tisdale
Spud Webb
Genesis/SNES/Sega CD/Game Boy/Game Gear
Wayman Tisdale
Mitch Richmond
Knicks
Arcade
Patrick Ewing
Charles Oakley
Genesis/SNES/Sega CD/Game Boy/Game Gear
Patrick Ewing
John Starks
Lakers
Arcade/Genesis/SNES/Game Gear
James Worthy
Vlade Divac
Sega CD/Game Boy
Vlade Divac
Nick Van Exel
Magic
Arcade
Shaquille O’Neal
Scott Skiles
Genesis/SNES/Game Gear
Nick Anderson
Scott Skiles
Sega CD/Game Boy
Nick Anderson
Penny Hardaway
Mavericks
Arcade
Derek Harper
Mike Iuzzolino
Genesis/SNES/Game Gear
Derek Harper
Jim Jackson
Sega CD/Game Boy
Jim Jackson
Jamal Mashburn
Nets
Arcade
Derrick Coleman
Drazen Petrovic
Genesis/SNES/Sega CD/Game Boy/Game Gear
Derrick Coleman
Kenny Anderson
Nuggets
Arcade/Genesis/SNES/Game Gear
Dikembe Mutombo
LaPhonso Ellis
Sega CD/Game Boy
Dikembe Mutombo
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
Pacers
Arcade
Reggie Miller
Detlef Schrempf
Genesis/SNES/Game Gear
Reggie Miller
Derrick McKey
Sega CD/Game Boy
Reggie Miller
Rik Smits
Pistons
Arcade/Genesis/SNES/Game Gear
Isiah Thomas
Bill Laimbeer
Sega CD/Game Boy
Terry Mills
Joe Dumars
Rockets
Arcade
Hakeem Olajuwon
Kenny Smith
Genesis/SNES/Sega CD/Game Boy/Game Gear
Hakeem Olajuwon
Vernon Maxwell
Spurs
Arcade/Genesis/SNES/Game Gear
David Robinson
Sean Elliott
Sega CD
David Robinson
Chuck Person
Game Boy
David Robinson
Dale Ellis
Suns
Arcade
Charles Barkley
Dan Majerle
Genesis/SNES/Game Gear
Charles Barkley/Dan Majerle
Kevin Johnson
Sega CD/Game Boy
Dan Majerle
Kevin Johnson
SuperSonics
Arcade
Shawn Kemp
Benoit Benjamin
Genesis/SNES/Sega CD/Game Boy/Game Gear
Shawn Kemp
Detlef Schrempf
Timberwolves
Arcade/Genesis/SNES/Game Gear
Christian Laettner
Chuck Person
Sega CD/Game Boy
Christian Laettner
Isaiah Rider
Trail Blazers
Arcade/Genesis/SNES/Game Gear
Clyde Drexler
Terry Porter
Sega CD/Game Boy
Clyde Drexler
Cliff Robinson
Warriors
Arcade/Genesis/SNES/Game Gear
Tim Hardaway
Chris Mullin
Sega CD/Game Boy
Chris Webber
Latrell Sprewell
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