NBA Jam Tournament Edition was, well, my jam. Just like the first game, my mom was cool enough to buy me the Genesis port during a mini-vacation. I poured so much time into the game, only ever going back to the original NBA Jam whenever I wanted a break or felt like playing as Charles Barkley. I eventually beat the game, knocking down all 27 teams on my way to be the grand champion. Granted, I needed a little help with the Always Fire cheat but there were some tooth and nail matchups where you need all the help you could get.
I think it's safe to say that, similar to Midway's Mortal Kombat II, this second entry was the pinnacle for the NBA Jam series. What followed afterwards lead to public confusion and a severe downturn and distrust to the franchise's name.
The big things that this sequel/update brought to the table were three players to each team (at least with the home ports), more player attributes, halftime substitutions, more secret power-ups and cheats, a huge surprise for those who conquer all teams, and of course "Tournament Mode", where inputing a simple code allowed gamers to compete against each other on an even level. This meant no cheats of any kind and no computer assistance.
As for the huge surprise: If you beat all of the 27 NBA teams in the game, whenever you logged in your user profile, you would be granted access to expanded team rosters. However, with the arcade version, it was very limited. You wouldn't always get one or two more for each team. Some teams like the 76ers and Mavericks were positively screwed until the home ports came along. You would also unlock the "???" team which consisted of NBA All-Stars and secret characters.
NBA Jam Tournament Edition hit the arcades in January 1994, two months before the release of the first game to home consoles. It received several revisions that we will get into in a bit. In February 1995, the Genesis, SNES, and Game Gear once again received the first set of ports. The Game Boy would get its port in June of that year. Instead of the Sega CD, Sega's failed console add-on the 32X would receive a port some time later in 1995. Towards the end of the year, the newest consoles on the block, the Sony Playstation and Sega Saturn, would receive substantial home ports in time for the holiday season. The Playstation version is particularly special because it was released on the system's North America launch date of September 9, 1995. The final edition of NBA Jam TE would be released for the Atari Jaguar in 1996.
The arcade version featured rosters from the 1993-94 season. The first and second wave of ports had the rosters updated to match the 1994-95 season, with the second wave featuring some of the most notable trades that happened in the later half. With its late development and game release, the Jaguar port was lucky enough to obtain rosters from the 1995-96 season.
The arcade game had several revisions and updates, with the two most infamous being version 1.0 and 2.0. Ever the mischievous sneaks, the Midway team planted Mortal Kombat characters Raiden, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Reptile as secret players. They also added the ability to do a "fatality", which largely consisted of pushing an opponent player and causing them to be briefly set ablaze. When the NBA caught wind of this, they were furious and forced Midway to immediately remove them from arcades. I vividly remembered when these secret characters were announced in magazines and I wasted several quarters trying to play as them, not fully understanding the idea of a "game patch".
The last arcade edition, version 4.0, brought back Charles Barkley to the series, albeit temporarily. However, the biggest change ending up severely backfiring for the game. Sean Elliott, then a player for the Detroit Pistons, was set to be traded to the Houston Rockets for Robert Horry and some extra perks. When Elliott failed his physical, more than likely due to his later noted kidney issues, the trade was immediately voided. Unfortunately, Midway implemented the trade into version 4.0. To have even more egg on their face, though their names and stats appear on their "new" teams, the character portraits of Elliott and Horry weren't swapped as well and they both retained their previous team colors on their player models. This is made even more worse nowadays as version 4.0 was used for the NBA Jam Arcade Cabinet by Arcade1Up.
One of the biggest incentives for the home ports of the game was the Rookies team, which took over the "???" slot on the team select screen. This team consisted of 17 college players who were part of the 1994 NBA draft. The most notable rookies include Jason Kidd, Jalen Rose and Grant Hill. When you beat the game and login, the Rookies team is converted into the NBA All-Stars team and the majority of the rookies are assigned to the team they were drafted to. One of my favorite memories of NBA Jam TE is when I was really mad that I couldn't play as Kidd and Hill anymore because I beat the game. Once I realized that I actually unlocked the expanded rosters, and that Kidd and Hill were with the Mavericks and Pistons respectively, I was able to relax.
One name sprung out when I was going over the Rookies team again: Eric Montross. Holy shit, what a blast from the past. I remember a lot of people talking up a storm about him coming to the league. The supposed new "Great White Hope" for the NBA and the Boston Celtics. Yeah, that didn't happen.
And now for another aside: As I was doing research for this game, I started to craft a small little tale I call "The Ballad of Bobby Hurley". For those who don't know or remember, Hurley was the middle child of the Big Three of Duke University in the early 90's. Dubbed "Bart Simpson" by his former teammate Christian Laettner, he was supposed to be one of the next big things for the NBA coming into the 1993-94 season. This is shown here in this game, as he is given the second player slot for the Sacramento Kings over the more popular Mitch Richmond in the original arcade version. Unfortunately, he would get into a severe car accident in December 1993 that nearly took his life. He returned to the court but he just couldn't hang with the big boys. By the time the home ports of TE came, this new "superstar" was regulated to being a locked character. He would later be the third player for the Kings by the time the Jaguar version came out but that was largely due to Spud Webb and Wayman Tisdale being traded. He wouldn't be brought back for the next game. Makes you really thing about the fickleness of life and pro basketball.
Now that I got that off my chest, we now need to talk about Kevin. Kevin Edwards that is. The New Jersey Nets player suffered one of the biggest blunders of the home console ports. While the first wave of ports (Genesis/SNES/Game Gear) have his correct character portrait, all of the other ports instead gave him a portrait of Blue Edwards. This is most likely due to the programmers using Blue Edwards as a placeholder before they could do the swap only for them to ship the game out with the gaffe intact.
The biggest inclusion of the Playstation and Saturn ports, other than enhanced graphics and better gameplay and presentation, is the appearance of the 1994-95 championship team Houston Rockets and the ability to play as the reunited Phi Slama Jama. You also get the Rockets' new logo that would plague the team for quite some time.
Now onto the teams. To reiterate myself, 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. A couple of the teams, for example the SuperSonics, have the same players across ports but for some reason the programmers changed the order slightly in one or the other. Again, this will get worse moving forward.
If you see an asterisk (*) next to a name, that means you have to unlock the player by beating all 27 NBA teams.
For those wondering where are the rosters for the Game Boy, Game Gear, 32X, and PC ports: I'm still in the process of researching them so I can be 100% accurate with them. I will update the teams when I do. From what I gathered so far: the PC version matches up significantly with the PSX/Saturn ports; the 32X appears to be an early version of the PSX/Saturn ports, most evident by Clyde Drexler being on the Rockets (though the old logo is still present); the Game Gear matches up closely with the Genesis/SNES ports though with less players on the Rookies team; and the Game Boy is somewhere stuck in the middle, having Drexler on the Rockets but still has Wilkins with the Cavs.
Special thanks and credit to the Retro Sports Gamer on YouTube for providing the info on the Jaguar version of the game.
76ers
Arcade
Clarence Weatherspoon
Shawn Bradley
Genesis/SNES
Shawn Bradley
Clarence Weatherspoon
Jeff Malone
Dana Barros*
Sharone Wright*
PSX/Saturn/Jaguar
Shawn Bradley
Clarence Weatherspoon
Dana Barros
Jeff Malone*
Sharone Wright*
Bucks
Arcade
Vin Baker
Blue Edwards
Todd Day
Brad Lohaus*
Genesis/SNES/PSX/Saturn/Jaguar
Vin Baker
Todd Day
Eric Murdock
Eric Mobley*
Glenn Robinson*
Bullets
Arcade
Tom Gugliotta
Pervis Ellison
Calbert Cheaney
Genesis/SNES
Chris Webber
Calbert Cheaney
Scott Skiles
Rex Chapman*
PSX/Saturn
Chris Webber
Calbert Cheaney
Juwan Howard
Scott Skiles*
Rex Chapman*
Jaguar
Chris Webber
Calbert Cheaney
Juwan Howard
Scott Skiles*
Bulls
Arcade
Scottie Pippen
B.J. Armstrong
Toni Kukoc
Horace Grant*
Genesis/SNES
Scottie Pippen
B.J. Armstrong
Toni Kukoc
Luc Longley*
PSX/Saturn/Jaguar
Scottie Pippen
Ron Harper
Toni Kukoc
Luc Longley*
Cavaliers
Arcade
Mark Price
Brad Daugherty
Larry Nance
Genesis/SNES
Mark Price
Brad Daugherty
Gerald Wilkins
Hot Rod Williams*
PSX/Saturn
Mark Price
Brad Daugherty
Hot Rod Williams
Jaguar
Mark Price
Hot Rod Williams
Brad Daugherty
Harold Miner*
Celtics
Arcade
Xavier McDaniel
Dee Brown
Kevin Gamble
Genesis/SNES
Dominique Wilkins
Dee Brown
Dino Radja
Xavier McDaniel*
Eric Montross*
PSX/Saturn
Dominique Wilkins
Dee Brown
Dino Radja
Eric Montross*
Xavier McDaniel*
Jaguar
Dee Brown
Dino Radja
Xavier McDaniel
Eric Montross*
Clippers
Arcade
Dominique Wilkins
Ron Harper
Stanley Roberts
Genesis/SNES/PSX/Saturn
Pooh Richardson
Stanley Roberts
Malik Sealy
Loy Vaught*
Jaguar
Pooh Richardson
Malik Sealy
Stanley Roberts
Loy Vaught*
Hawks
Arcade
Danny Manning
Stacey Augmon
Kevin Willis
Genesis/SNES
Mookie Blaylock
Kevin Willis
Stacey Augmon
PSX/Saturn
Mookie Blaylock
Steve Smith
Stacey Augmon
Jaguar
Mookie Blaylock
Steve Smith
Stacey Augmon
Spud Webb*
Heat
Arcade
Glen Rice
Rony Seikaly
Harold Miner
Genesis/SNES
Glen Rice
Harold Miner
Steve Smith
Billy Owens*
Khalid Reeves*
PSX/Saturn
Glen Rice
Harold Miner
Kevin Willis
Billy Owens*
Khalid Reeves*
Jaguar
Glen Rice
Kevin Willis
Billy Owens
Khalid Reeves*
Rex Chapman*
Hornets
Arcade
Larry Johnson
Hersey Hawkins
Alonzo Mourning
Genesis/SNES
Alonzo Mourning
Larry Johnson
Muggsy Bogues
Dell Curry*
Hersey Hawkins*
PSX/Saturn/Jaguar
Alonzo Mourning
Larry Johnson
Muggsy Bogues
Dell Curry*
Kendall Gill*
Jazz
Arcade
Karl Malone
John Stockton
David Benoit
Jeff Hornacek*
Genesis/SNES/PSX/Saturn/Jaguar
Karl Malone
John Stockton
Jeff Hornacek
David Benoit*
Kings
Arcade
Lionel Simmons
Bobby Hurley
Mitch Richmond
Spud Webb*
Wayman Tisdale*
Genesis/SNES/PSX/Saturn
Mitch Richmond
Spud Webb
Lionel Simmons
Bobby Hurley*
Jaguar
Mitch Richmond
Lionel Simmons
Bobby Hurley
Knicks
Arcade
Patrick Ewing
Anthony Mason
John Starks
Charles Oakley*
Derek Harper*
Genesis/SNES/PSX/Saturn/Jaguar
Patrick Ewing
Charles Oakley
John Starks
Derek Harper*
Anthony Mason*
Lakers
Arcade
Anthony Peeler
Vlade Divac
Elden Campbell
James Worthy*
Genesis/SNES
Vlade Divac
Anthony Peeler
Nick Van Exel
James Worthy*
Eddie Jones*
PSX/Saturn/Jaguar
Vlade Divac
Anthony Peeler
Nick Van Exel
Eddie Jones*
Magic
Arcade
Penny Hardaway
Nick Anderson
Scott Skiles
Genesis/SNES/PSX/Saturn
Penny Hardaway
Horace Grant
Nick Anderson
Dennis Scott*
Jaguar
Penny Hardaway
Horace Grant
Nick Anderson
Dennis Scott*
Brooks Thompson*
Mavericks
Arcade
Jim Jackson
Jamal Mashburn
Genesis/SNES
Jamal Mashburn
Jim Jackson
Terry Davis
Jason Kidd*
Tony Dumas*
Tony Dumas*
PSX/Saturn/Jaguar
Jamal Mashburn
Jim Jackson
Terry Davis
Jason Kidd*
Tony Dumas*
Nets
Arcade
Derrick Coleman
Kenny Anderson
Chris Morris
Benoit Benjamin*
Genesis/SNES/PSX/Saturn/Jaguar
Derrick Coleman
Kenny Anderson
Kevin Edwards
Armen Gilliam*
Yinka Dare*
Nuggets
Arcade
Dikembe Mutombo
LaPhonso Ellis
Rodney Rogers
Genesis/SNES/PSX/Saturn/Jaguar
Dikembe Mutombo
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
LaPhonso Ellis
Robert Pack*
Jalen Rose*
Pacers
Arcade
Reggie Miller
Malik Sealy
Rik Smits
Genesis/SNES/PSX/Saturn/Jaguar
Reggie Miller
Rik Smits
Derrick McKey
Antonio Davis*
Pistons
Arcade
Isiah Thomas
Joe Dumars
Sean Elliott
Lindsey Hunter*
Arcade (Version 4.0)
Isiah Thomas
Joe Dumars
Robert Horry
Lindsey Hunter*
Genesis/SNES/PSX/Saturn/Jaguar
Joe Dumars
Terry Mills
Oliver Miller
Grant Hill*
Bill Curley*
Rockets
Arcade
Hakeem Olajuwon
Vernon Maxwell
Robert Horry
Kenny Smith*
Arcade (Version 4.0)
Hakeem Olajuwon
Vernon Maxwell
Sean Elliott
Kenny Smith*
Genesis/SNES
Hakeem Olajuwon
Otis Thorpe
Robert Horry
Vernon Maxwell*
Sam Cassell*
PSX/Saturn/Jaguar
Hakeem Olajuwon
Clyde Drexler
Robert Horry
Sam Cassell*
Rookies
Genesis/SNES
Eric Montross
Jason Kidd
Tony Dumas
Jalen Rose
Grant Hill
Bill Curley
Glenn Robinson
Eddie Jones
Khalid Reeves
Eric Mobley
Donyell Marshall
Yinka Dare
Monty Williams
Brooks Thompson
Sharone Wright
Wesley Person
Aaron McKie
Spurs
Arcade
David Robinson
Dennis Rodman
Dale Ellis
Genesis/SNES/PSX/Saturn/Jaguar
David Robinson
Dennis Rodman
Sean Elliott
Chuck Person*
Terry Cummings*
Suns
Arcade
Dan Majerle
Kevin Johnson
Arcade (Version 4.0)
Charles Barkley
Dan Majerle
Kevin Johnson
Genesis/SNES/PSX/Saturn/Jaguar
Danny Manning
Kevin Johnson
Dan Majerle
Wayman Tisdale*
A.C. Green*
SuperSonics
Arcade
Shawn Kemp
Gary Payton
Kendall Gill
Genesis/SNES
Shawn Kemp
Gary Payton
Detlef Schrempf
Kendall Gill*
PSX/Saturn
Shawn Kemp
Gary Payton
Detlef Schrempf
Hersey Hawkins*
Jaguar
Shawn Kemp
Detlef Schrempf
Gary Payton
Hersey Hawkins*
Timberwolves
Arcade
Christian Laettner
Chuck Person
Isaiah Rider
Genesis/SNES
Isaiah Rider
Christian Laettner
Doug West
Donyell Marshall*
Sean Rooks*
PSX/Saturn/Jaguar
Isaiah Rider
Christian Laettner
Tom Gugliotta
Doug West*
Sean Rooks*
Trail Blazers
Arcade
Clyde Drexler
Terry Porter
Cliff Robinson
Harvey Grant*
Genesis/SNES
Clyde Drexler
Cliff Robinson
Terry Porter
Rod Strickland*
Aaron McKie*
PSX/Saturn/Jaguar
Otis Thorpe
Cliff Robinson
Rod Strickland
Terry Porter*
Aaron McKie*
Warriors
Arcade
Tim Hardaway
Chris Mullin
Chris Webber
Genesis/SNES
Tom Gugliotta
Latrell Sprewell
Rony Seikaly
Tim Hardaway*
Chris Mullin*
PSX/Saturn/Jaguar
Tim Hardaway
Latrell Sprewell
Rony Seikaly
Donyell Marshall*
Chris Mullin*
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