“When ‘NBA Jam’ hit the arcade, I was barely tall enough to reach the joystick and view the screen at the same time,” says Menard.

Another “NBA Jam” fan is baseball great Ken Griffey Jr.

Basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal had teammates over to play his NBA Jam arcade cabinet, then organized Sega Genesis tournaments while on the road, while Michael Jordan, whose likeness could not be licensed by Midway for the game, asked Midway to create a custom version for him so he could be included as a playable character. The game counts many NBA greats among its fans, including Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, Glen Rice, Larry Johnson, Patrick Ewing and Mark Price. When programmer Mark Turmell and his team at Midway Games released the original “NBA Jam” in 1993, it had an immediate impact and spawned numerous home adaptations, sequels and remakes, including Acclaim’s famous 1994 conversion for Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. The book, released by Boss Fight Books in October 2019, is built on extensive research and dozens of original interviews with developers, journalists, fans and NBA players. Initially released more than 25 years ago as an arcade game, it shattered records by earning more than $1 billion in quarters, becoming a memorable piece of pop culture.īestCrosses Studios, the production arm of the basketball-themed social media platform BestCrosses created by Jack Sussman, has optioned Reyan Ali’s book “NBA Jam” to produce a feature documentary about the history and success of the game.Įmmy-nominated Sean Menard, who has several sports documentaries to his credit, including the acclaimed “The Carter Effect” about now-retired NBA superstar Vince Carter, will develop and direct. Iconic basketball-themed game “ NBA Jam” will be the focus of a new documentary.

Nba jam reyan ali