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Game entry
NBA Jam
1993 · Sports · Super Nintendo, Mega Drive, Mega-CD, Arcade · Midway
NBA Jam holds position no. 2,179 in the world ranking on GameForever, with 1,490 ELO points and 53% of duels won out of 62 played. Wii Play is the rival it has faced most: 3 duels, 3 wins and 0 losses. Where it fares best, it sits at no. 33 out of 69 (1993).
World rank
no. 2,179
ELO score
1,490
Wins
53%
Duels played
62
About NBA Jam
NBA Jam is a basketball arcade game published and developed by Midway in 1993. It is the first entry in the NBA Jam series. The main designer and programmer for this game was Mark Turmell. Midway had previously released such sports games as Arch Rivals in 1989, High Impact in 1990, and Super High Impact in 1991. The gameplay of NBA Jam is based on Arch Rivals, another 2-on-2 basketball video game. However, it was the release of NBA Jam that brought mainstream success to the genre.
The game became exceptionally popular, and generated a significant amount of money for arcades after its release, creating revenue of $1 billion in quarters. In early 1994, the Amusement & Music Operators Association reported that NBA Jam had become the highest-earning arcade game of all time.
The release of NBA Jam gave rise to a new genre of sports games which were based around fast, action-packed gameplay and exaggerated realism, a formula which Midway would also later apply to the sports of football (NFL Blitz), and hockey (2 on 2 Open Ice Challenge).
ELO progression
Score moved from 1,500 to 1,490 ELO points over the last 170 days.
Head-to-head
Direct record on the most played match-ups.
- against Wii Play 100% 3 duels played · 4 points ahead
- against Steep 50% 2 duels played · 110 points behind
- against Starwhal 0% 2 duels played · 89 points ahead
- against Need for Speed: Payback 50% 2 duels played · 81 points behind
- against Rocket League 0% 2 duels played · 243 points behind
In the same genre
All Sports games →
Keep exploring
Around this spot
The games NBA Jam sits between in the world ranking.
More games from Midway
The standing
Where NBA Jam ranks
The world rank mixes every family of games. Here is where NBA Jam stands in each of the ones it belongs to. Its best standing, all families considered: 33 out of 69 (1993).
| Ranking | Position | Games competing |
|---|---|---|
| World ranking | 2,179 | 5,035 |
| Sports | 56 | 200 |
| 1990s | 297 | 659 |
| 1993 | 33 | 69 |
The community
The debate
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