I'm not going to regale you with my memories of NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC because I had none. I saw its promotion ads a lot in video game magazines but never wanted to buy or rent it. The arcade cabinet for it was a rare beast, with my only sighting of it being at my city's sports arena. My love for arcade basketball games at the time pretty much ended with Hangtime; things would slightly turn around two years later with the release of NBA Street.
Instead of continuing the tradition of 2D sprites, Midway had NBA Showtime adopt the 3D technology that they created and used for their NFL Blitz series. The team no longer had to hand draw the players' heads anymore because of the advancements in face-mapping. They could now have accurate player likenesses albeit ones on awkward 3D models. Even with the change in graphics, the Jam gameplay remained largely the same.
The only new notable inclusion to the gameplay is the additional of fouls. Pushing your opponent still allow you the opportunity to take the ball but now it also caused you to earn a foul. If you earn too many in a quarter, your opponent heads to the free throw line to play a timed button press mini-game and a chance at extra points.
As evident in the title, the game not only has the license of the NBA but also NBC, allowing it to feature probably the most iconic basketball tune, John Tesh's "Roundball Rock".
NBA Showtime was released in arcades in January 1999. After some revisions, the arcade game and was bundled with NFL Blitz 2000 in a single cabinet as part of Midway's ambitious and unprecedented Midway SportStation line. The game was ported to the Playstation, Nintendo 64 and Sega Dreamcast, all of which were released on November 16, 1999. A port to the Game Boy Color was released in the first months of 2000. To end with a big bang, Midway again broke their tradition by releasing the final update of Showtime, dubbed the "Gold Edition", to arcades in February/March 2000. This update was also bundled with NFL Blitz 2000 Gold for the second iteration of the Midway SportStation.
Finding information on the arcade release proved to be a bit tough. It's practically impossible to locate any footage or exact details of Version 1.0. Wherever you look, you see the same fun fact about it, that Dennis Rodman is on the Lakers and you could change his hair color. I couldn't prove this being a real thing because Version 1.0 doesn't seem to exist anymore. The only arcade versions that can be emulated or are still programmed in cabinets floating in the wild are Version 2.0, Version 2.1 (The SportStation update), and Version 3.0 (Gold Edition).
The cover of the console ports prominently and purposefully features a certain athlete. After many licensing issues throughout the series, Shaquille O'Neal is finally back and playable again. A big upgrade from Hangtime's cover star, an ugly caricature of Not Patrick Ewing. Unfortunately, this ended up being a foreboding sign: Midway would eventually run themselves out of business largely due to them spending more money on marketing, big promotional stars and important licenses than the actual games themselves.
Also making his return to the series, but buried away, is Charles Barkley. Too bad his reappearance coincided with the twilight years of his career.
Before I get into more about the rosters and players, it's finally time to talk about a certain something. I've been hinting at it in the previous articles but we finally reach one of the most bizarre issues with this series: the pointless reordering of the players. The PSX, N64 and Dreamcast have near exact team rosters yet they scramble the player order between the console generations for no exact reason. Hell, the PSX and N64 are identical except for the ordering of the Los Angeles Clippers. Then you get to the Gold Edition where the rosters are reconfigured again, with some teams being listed alphabetical by the player's last name while others forgo it.
The initial arcade versions featured rosters from the 1998-99 season. The console ports and the Gold Edition had updated rosters matching the 1999-2000 season. The Gold Edition makes this even more clear, advertising its roster update as being accurate "As of 2/10/2000" on the demo screen.
The PSX/N64 ports receive one home console exclusive player: Lamar Odom for the Los Angeles Clippers. The Dreamcast, however, trumps them with two home console exclusive players: Paul Pierce for the Boston Celtics and Joe Dumars for the Detroit Pistons. However, none of the home consoles truly have console exclusive players because both Odom and Pierce are playable in the Game Boy Color version (Joe Dumars is also playable in the original arcade release).
In fact, the Game Boy Color version is the only port to truly have exclusive players, that being Eric Piatkowski for the Clippers and Rodrick Rhodes for the Orlando Magic. Oh wow, what heavy hitters that system got. Seriously, Piatkowski was (debatably) just a body for the Clippers. Meanwhile, Rhodes didn't even play for the Magic; he was traded to them on 8/23/1999 and was waived on 10/4/1999. So much for the GBC credits screen saying that "All teams are accurate as of 10/29/99".
Johnny Newman gets the "nobody's favorite" award for this game. He goes from the Cavs in the arcade version, to the Clippers in the PSX/N64/Dreamcast versions, to the Nets in the GBC and Arcade Gold Edition versions.
Now onto the teams. To reiterate, 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, much to my chagrin this time around.
Special thanks to the Retro Sports Gamer and Jet Set Willy on YouTube for providing valid info and footage for this game.
76ers
Arcade
Allen Iverson
Theo Ratliff
Aaron McKie
Matt Geiger
Tyrone Hill
PSX/N64
Allen Iverson
Theo Ratliff
Aaron McKie
Matt Geiger
Tyrone Hill
Billy Owens
Dreamcast
Billy Owens
Allen Iverson
Theo Ratliff
Aaron McKie
Matt Geiger
Tyrone Hill
Game Boy Color
Theo Ratliff
Allen Iverson
Billy Owens
Tyrone Hill
Matt Geiger
Aaron McKie
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Matt Geiger
Allen Iverson
Tyrone Hill
Theo Ratliff
George Lynch
Bucks
Arcade
Glenn Robinson
Ray Allen
Ervin Johnson
Sam Cassell
Chris Gatling
Tim Thomas
Dell Curry
PSX/N64
Glenn Robinson
Ray Allen
Ervin Johnson
Sam Cassell
Tim Thomas
Danny Manning
Dale Ellis
Dreamcast
Danny Manning
Dale Ellis
Glenn Robinson
Ray Allen
Ervin Johnson
Sam Cassell
Tim Thomas
Game Boy Color
Ray Allen
Glenn Robinson
Dale Ellis
Danny Manning
Tim Thomas
Sam Cassell
Ervin Johnson
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Ray Allen
Sam Cassell
Dale Ellis
Danny Manning
Glenn Robinson
Ervin Johnson
Bulls
Arcade
Toni Kukoc
Ron Harper
Brent Barry
Andrew Lang
Kornel David
PSX/N64
Toni Kukoc
Ron Harper
Andrew Lang
Kornel David
B.J. Armstrong
Will Perdue
Dreamcast
Will Perdue
B.J. Armstrong
Toni Kukoc
Ron Harper
Andrew Lang
Kornel David
Game Boy Color
Kornel David
Toni Kukoc
Will Perdue
B.J. Armstrong
Arcade (Gold Edition)
B.J. Armstrong
Ron Artest
Elton Brand
Toni Kukoc
Kornel David
Will Perdue
Fred Hoiberg
Cavaliers
Arcade
Shawn Kemp
Brevin Knight
Bob Sura
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Wesley Person
Johnny Newman
PSX/N64
Shawn Kemp
Brevin Knight
Bob Sura
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Wesley Person
Lamond Murray
Dreamcast
Lamond Murray
Shawn Kemp
Brevin Knight
Bob Sura
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Wesley Person
Game Boy Color
Brevin Knight
Shawn Kemp
Lamond Murray
Wesley Person
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Bob Sura
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Shawn Kemp
Brevin Knight
Wesley Person
Bob Sura
Celtics
Arcade
Kenny Anderson
Antoine Walker
Ron Mercer
Dana Barros
Tony Battie
Paul Pierce
PSX/N64
Kenny Anderson
Antoine Walker
Dana Barros
Tony Battie
Danny Fortson
Calbert Cheaney
Dreamcast
Danny Fortson
Calbert Cheaney
Kenny Anderson
Antoine Walker
Dana Barros
Tony Battie
Paul Pierce
Game Boy Color
Antoine Walker
Kenny Anderson
Paul Pierce
Calbert Cheaney
Danny Fortson
Tony Battie
Dana Barros
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Kenny Anderson
Dana Barros
Tony Battie
Calbert Cheaney
Antoine Walker
Paul Pierce
Clippers
Arcade
Maurice Taylor
Darrick Martin
Stojko Vrankovic
Lamond Murray
Rodney Rogers
PSX
Maurice Taylor
Lamar Odom
Stojko Vrankovic
Johnny Newman
N64
Maurice Taylor
Stojko Vrankovic
Johnny Newman
Lamar Odom
Dreamcast
Johnny Newman
Maurice Taylor
Stojko Vrankovic
Game Boy Color
Lamar Odom
Maurice Taylor
Michael Olowokandi
Eric Piatkowski
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Lamar Odom
Brian Skinner
Derek Anderson
Maurice Taylor
Michael Olowokandi
Grizzlies
Arcade
Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Bryant Reeves
Tony Massenburg
Cherokee Parks
Doug West
Mike Bibby
PSX/N64/Dreamcast
Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Bryant Reeves
Cherokee Parks
Doug West
Mike Bibby
Game Boy Color
Bryant Reeves
Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Mike Bibby
Doug West
Cherokee Parks
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Mike Bibby
Othella Harrington
Bryant Reeves
Cherokee Parks
Dennis Scott
Hawks
Arcade
Steve Smith
Mookie Blaylock
Dikembe Mutombo
Alan Henderson
LaPhonso Ellis
PSX/N64
Dikembe Mutombo
Alan Henderson
LaPhonso Ellis
Bimbo Coles
Isaiah Rider
Jim Jackson
Dreamcast
Bimbo Coles
Isaiah Rider
Jim Jackson
Dikembe Mutombo
Alan Henderson
LaPhonso Ellis
Game Boy Color
Alan Henderson
Dikembe Mutombo
Jim Jackson
Isaiah Rider
Bimbo Coles
LaPhonso Ellis
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Bimbo Coles
LaPhonso Ellis
Alan Henderson
Jim Jackson
Dikembe Mutombo
Isaiah Rider
Heat
Arcade
Tim Hardaway
Alonzo Mourning
Voshon Lenard
Terry Porter
P.J. Brown
PSX/N64/Dreamcast
Tim Hardaway
Alonzo Mourning
Voshon Lenard
P.J. Brown
Game Boy Color
Alonzo Mourning
Tim Hardaway
P.J. Brown
Voshon Lenard
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Tim Hardaway
Alonzo Mourning
Voshon Lenard
Jamal Mashburn
P.J. Brown
Hornets
Arcade/PSX/N64/Dreamcast
Eddie Jones
Anthony Mason
Bobby Phills
Derrick Coleman
Elden Campbell
Game Boy Color
Anthony Mason
Eddie Jones
Elden Campbell
Derrick Coleman
Derrick Coleman
Bobby Phills
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Elden Campbell
Derrick Coleman
Anthony Mason
Eddie Jones
David Wesley
Jazz
Arcade/PSX/N64/Dreamcast
John Stockton
Karl Malone
Greg Ostertag
Jeff Hornacek
Bryon Russell
Game Boy Color
Karl Malone
John Stockton
Bryon Russell
Jeff Hornacek
Greg Ostertag
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Jeff Hornacek
Karl Malone
Greg Ostertag
Bryon Russell
John Stockton
Kings
Arcade
Chris Webber
Jason Williams
Corliss Williamson
Vlade Divac
Lawrence Funderburke
PSX/N64
Chris Webber
Jason Williams
Corliss Williamson
Vlade Divac
Lawrence Funderburke
Darrick Martin
Nick Anderson
Dreamcast
Darrick Martin
Nick Anderson
Chris Webber
Jason Williams
Corliss Williamson
Vlade Divac
Lawrence Funderburke
Game Boy Color
Jason Williams
Chris Webber
Nick Anderson
Darrick Martin
Lawrence Funderburke
Vlade Divac
Corliss Williamson
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Nick Anderson
Vlade Divac
Jason Williams
Chris Webber
Corliss Williamson
Lawrence Funderburke
Knicks
Arcade/PSX/N64/Dreamcast
Patrick Ewing
Allan Houston
Latrell Sprewell
Larry Johnson
Charlie Ward
Marcus Camby
Game Boy Color
Allan Houston
Patrick Ewing
Andrew Lang
Marcus Camby
Charlie Ward
Larry Johnson
Latrell Sprewell
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Marcus Camby
Patrick Ewing
Allan Houston
Larry Johnson
Latrell Sprewell
Charlie Ward
Lakers
Arcade
Shaquille O’Neal
Glen Rice
Kobe Bryant
Rick Fox
Travis Knight
PSX/N64
Shaquille O’Neal
Glen Rice
Kobe Bryant
Rick Fox
Travis Knight
A.C. Green
Dreamcast
A.C. Green
Shaquille O’Neal
Glen Rice
Kobe Bryant
Rick Fox
Travis Knight
Game Boy Color
Glen Rice
Shaquille O’Neal
Ron Harper
A.C. Green
Travis Knight
Rick Fox
Kobe Bryant
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Kobe Bryant
A.C. Green
Ron Harper
Rick Fox
Shaquille O’Neal
Glen Rice
Travis Knight
Magic
Arcade
Penny Hardaway
Nick Anderson
Horace Grant
Bo Outlaw
Danny Schayes
B.J. Armstrong
Darrell Armstrong
PSX/N64
Bo Outlaw
Danny Schayes
Darrell Armstrong
Chris Gatling
Dreamcast
Chris Gatling
Bo Outlaw
Danny Schayes
Darrell Armstrong
Game Boy Color
Rodrick Rhodes
Bo Outlaw
Chris Gatling
Darrell Armstrong
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Bo Outlaw
Darrell Armstrong
Ron Mercer
Chauncey Billups
Pat Garrity
Mavericks
Arcade
Michael Finley
Cedric Ceballos
A.C. Green
Shawn Bradley
Steve Nash
PSX/N64/Dreamcast
Michael Finley
Cedric Ceballos
Shawn Bradley
Steve Nash
Game Boy Color
Cedric Ceballos
Michael Finley
Steve Nash
Shawn Bradley
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Shawn Bradley
Cedric Ceballos
Michael Finley
Steve Nash
Robert Pack
Dennis Rodman
Nets
Arcade/PSX/N64/Dreamcast
Stephon Marbury
Keith Van Horn
Jayson Williams
Kendall Gill
Game Boy Color
Keith Van Horn
Stephon Marbury
Johnny Newman
Kendall Gill
Jayson Williams
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Kendall Gill
Kerry Kittles
Stephon Marbury
Keith Van Horn
Jayson Williams
Johnny Newman
Nuggets
Arcade
Antonio McDyess
Nick Van Exel
Bryant Stith
Chauncey Billups
Danny Fortson
PSX/N64
Antonio McDyess
Nick Van Exel
Bryant Stith
Chauncey Billups
Ron Mercer
Dreamcast
Ron Mercer
Antonio McDyess
Nick Van Exel
Bryant Stith
Chauncey Billups
Game Boy Color
Nick Van Exel
Antonio McDyess
Ron Mercer
Chauncey Billups
Bryant Stith
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Tariq Abdul-Wahad
Chris Gatling
Nick Van Exel
Antonio McDyess
Raef LaFrentz
Pacers
Arcade/PSX/N64/Dreamcast
Reggie Miller
Dale Davis
Jalen Rose
Sam Perkins
Mark Jackson
Chris Mullin
Game Boy Color
Dale Davis
Reggie Miller
Chris Mullin
Mark Jackson
Sam Perkins
Jalen Rose
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Dale Davis
Mark Jackson
Reggie Miller
Jalen Rose
Chris Mullin
Sam Perkins
Pistons
Arcade
Grant Hill
Lindsey Hunter
Christian Laettner
Bison Dele
Jerry Stackhouse
Joe Dumars
PSX/N64
Grant Hill
Lindsey Hunter
Christian Laettner
Bison Dele
Jerry Stackhouse
Dreamcast
Grant Hill
Lindsey Hunter
Christian Laettner
Bison Dele
Jerry Stackhouse
Joe Dumars
Game Boy Color
Lindsey Hunter
Grant Hill
Jerry Stackhouse
Christian Laettner
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Grant Hill
Lindsey Hunter
Christian Laettner
Jerry Stackhouse
Jerome Williams
Raptors
Arcade
Vince Carter
Charles Oakley
Doug Christie
Tracy McGrady
Kevin Willis
Dee Brown
PSX/N64
Vince Carter
Charles Oakley
Doug Christie
Tracy McGrady
Kevin Willis
Dee Brown
Dell Curry
Dreamcast
Dell Curry
Vince Carter
Charles Oakley
Doug Christie
Tracy McGrady
Kevin Willis
Dee Brown
Game Boy Color
Charles Oakley
Vince Carter
Muggsy Bogues
Dell Curry
Dee Brown
Kevin Willis
Tracy McGrady
Doug Christie
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Muggsy Bogues
Dee Brown
Vince Carter
Doug Christie
Tracy McGrady
Charles Oakley
Rockets
Arcade
Scottie Pippen
Charles Barkley
Hakeem Olajuwon
Eddie Johnson
Matt Maloney
PSX/N64
Scottie Pippen
Charles Barkley
Hakeem Olajuwon
Eddie Johnson
Matt Maloney
Tony Massenburg
Dreamcast
Tony Massenburg
Scottie Pippen
Charles Barkley
Hakeem Olajuwon
Eddie Johnson
Matt Maloney
Game Boy Color
Charles Barkley
Walt Williams
Tony Massenburg
Matt Maloney
Hakeem Olajuwon
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Charles Barkley
Hakeem Olajuwon
Walt Williams
Steve Francis
Cuttino Mobley
Spurs
Arcade
David Robinson
Sean Elliott
Tim Duncan
Will Perdue
Steve Kerr
Avery Johnson
PSX/N64
David Robinson
Sean Elliott
Tim Duncan
Steve Kerr
Avery Johnson
Terry Porter
Dreamcast
Terry Porter
David Robinson
Sean Elliott
Tim Duncan
Steve Kerr
Avery Johnson
Game Boy Color
Sean Elliott
David Robinson
Terry Porter
Avery Johnson
Steve Kerr
Tim Duncan
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Tim Duncan
Sean Elliott
Avery Johnson
Steve Kerr
Terry Porter
David Robinson
Suns
Arcade
Jason Kidd
Tom Gugliotta
Rex Chapman
Danny Manning
Luc Longley
PSX/N64
Jason Kidd
Tom Gugliotta
Rex Chapman
Luc Longley
Rodney Rogers
Penny Hardaway
Dreamcast
Rodney Rogers
Penny Hardaway
Jason Kidd
Tom Gugliotta
Rex Chapman
Luc Longley
Game Boy Color
Tom Gugliotta
Jason Kidd
Penny Hardaway
Rodney Rogers
Luc Longley
Rex Chapman
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Rex Chapman
Tom Gugliotta
Penny Hardaway
Jason Kidd
Luc Longley
SuperSonics
Arcade
Gary Payton
Vin Baker
Detlef Schrempf
Dale Ellis
Billy Owens
PSX/N64
Gary Payton
Vin Baker
Horace Grant
Brent Barry
Dreamcast
Horace Grant
Brent Barry
Gary Payton
Vin Baker
Game Boy Color
Vin Baker
Gary Payton
Brent Barry
Horace Grant
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Vin Baker
Brent Barry
Horace Grant
Gary Payton
Vernon Maxwell
Timberwolves
Arcade/PSX/N64/Dreamcast
Kevin Garnett
Terrell Brandon
Dean Garrett
Joe Smith
Bobby Jackson
Malik Sealy
Game Boy Color
Terrell Brandon
Kevin Garnett
Danny Schayes
Malik Sealy
Bobby Jackson
Joe Smith
Dean Garrett
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Terrell Brandon
Kevin Garnett
Malik Sealy
Joe Smith
Wally Szczerbiak
Trail Blazers
Arcade
Damon Stoudamire
Rasheed Wallace
Arvydas Sabonis
Isaiah Rider
Jim Jackson
Walt Williams
PSX/N64
Damon Stoudamire
Rasheed Wallace
Arvydas Sabonis
Walt Williams
Steve Smith
Detlef Schrempf
Dreamcast
Detlef Schrempf
Steve Smith
Damon Stoudamire
Rasheed Wallace
Arvydas Sabonis
Walt Williams
Game Boy Color
Rasheed Wallace
Damon Stoudamire
Detlef Schrempf
Steve Smith
Scottie Pippen
Arvydas Sabonis
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Scottie Pippen
Brian Grant
Steve Smith
Damon Stoudamire
Rasheed Wallace
Arvydas Sabonis
Detlef Schrempf
Warriors
Arcade
John Starks
Donyell Marshall
Erick Dampier
Bimbo Coles
Muggsy Bogues
PSX/N64
John Starks
Donyell Marshall
Erick Dampier
Muggsy Bogues
Mookie Blaylock
Dreamcast
Mookie Blaylock
John Starks
Donyell Marshall
Erick Dampier
Muggsy Bogues
Game Boy Color
Donyell Marshall
John Starks
Mookie Blaylock
Erick Dampier
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Mookie Blaylock
Donyell Marshall
John Starks
Chris Mills
Antawn Jamison
Wizards
Arcade
Juwan Howard
Rod Strickland
Calbert Cheaney
Mitch Richmond
Tracy Murray
PSX/N64/Dreamcast
Juwan Howard
Rod Strickland
Mitch Richmond
Tracy Murray
Game Boy Color
Rod Strickland
Juwan Howard
Tracy Murray
Mitch Richmond
Arcade (Gold Edition)
Juwan Howard
Tracy Murray
Mitch Richmond
Rod Strickland
