TITLE
NBA Jam Oral History: Where Are They Now
AUTHOR
Alex Abnos
Dan Greene
PUBLICATION
Sports Illustrated
YEAR
2017
ARTICLE TYPE
Interview
FROM THE ARTICLE
NBA fans of a certain age speak of the 1990s in reverent tones, nostalgic for a bygone era in which physical play ruled and larger-than-life stars made jaws drop. And nowhere was that style more apparent than on the virtual courts of NBA Jam, an over-the-top video game in which the league’s actual stars—minus one contractually excluded Chicagoan—bullied and somersault-slammed their way through a cartoonish brand of two-on-two ball. Dunkers launched as if powered by jet packs. Hot shooters saw the ball literally catch fire. In the absence of fouls, defenders full-arm shoved. It was absurd. And it was an absolute smash hit.When Midway released Jam, in April 1993, the game shattered arcade revenue records like digitized backboards, birthing new entries in basketball’s exclamatory lexicon (Boomshakalaka!) and eventually spawning sequels and spinoffs. Nearly a quarter century later, SI assembled the game’s makers and stars—in some cases one in the same—to recount how the phenomenon came to be, why the NBA was so slow to sign on and how everyone from Shaq to Macaulay Culkin couldn’t get enough.
COMPANIES MENTIONED
Midway
GAMES MENTIONED
NBA Jam (1993)
PEOPLE MENTIONED
Eddie Adlum
Michele Brown
John Carlton
Sal Divita
Kendall Gill
Jonathan Hey
Benjamin Hochman
Stephen Howard
Mike Iuzzolino
Steven L. Kent
Trey Kerby
Tim Kitzrow
Brandon Krisztal
Shawn Liptak
Neil Nicastro
Shaquille O’Neal
Mark Price
Glen Rice
Roger Sharpe
JE Skeets
Josh Tsui
Mark Turmell