NBA Jam
1993 · Sports · Arcade
Overview
NBA Jam reduced basketball to its most exciting elements: dunks, blocked shots, and turnovers, with two players per side, unlimited dribbling, and boosted jumping. Licensed NBA players with real statistics made it feel authentic; 'He's on fire!' and 'Boom-shakalaka!' made it feel like nothing else. It became the highest-grossing arcade game of 1993.
Deep Dive
NBA Jam was designed by Mark Turmell at Midway and used digitised player images. The game's exaggerated physics — players could jump three times their height for slam dunks — combined with real NBA licensing created an arcade experience that felt like basketball amplified to its most dramatic moments. The commentary by Tim Kitzrow became culturally pervasive.
Developer Story
NBA Jam was designed by Mark Turmell at Midway and developed in approximately one year. The game used the same hardware as Mortal Kombat and similar digitised actor photography techniques. It launched in arcades in March 1993 and became the fastest-selling arcade game of its year.
Did You Know?
- NBA Jam was the highest-grossing arcade game of 1993, earning approximately $1 billion in quarters — Midway produced enough cabinets that the game appeared in almost every arcade in North America.
- The game contained hidden unlockable characters including Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and various celebrities — accessible through specific button combinations on the character select screen.
- Mark Turmell, the game's designer, programmed the Chicago Bulls' opponent to miss shots at clutch moments — a bias he built in because he was a Detroit Pistons fan.
- 'He's on fire!' — the commentary line for a player who had made three consecutive baskets — entered mainstream sports broadcasting vocabulary after NBA Jam's cultural saturation.
