The NBA was booming in the 1990s as the game continued to grow, especially on the global level. Another medium that was growing larger in the 90s was video games.
When you combine the two, basketball and video games, you get a whole other level of excitement. If you don’t believe me, just look at the hype that surrounded the release of NBA 2k23.
But what about the 90s? The NBA 2k series wasn’t around back in the 90s, but there was a basketball game that dominated the video game world. This game was NBA Jam.
NBA Jam Creator Put A Code In To Make Bulls Miss In Final Seconds Against Pistons
Mark Turmell is the man who created NBA Jam, and Turmell was a huge Detroit Pistons fan. By the time NBA Jam was being created, the Bulls and Pistons’ rivalry was at an all-time high.
NBA Jam was released in 1993, and the Bulls, who failed to beat the Pistons in 1988, 1989, and 1990, redeemed themselves by sweeping Detroit in 1991. The two teams wouldn’t face each other in the playoffs again in that era, but having the Bulls win back-to-back titles in 91 and 92, really ate at Pistons’ fans.
What made things worse for Turmell was that Midway, the company that made NBA Jam, was located in Chicago. This was something once talked about Turmell:
“Making this game in Chicago during the height of the Michael Jordan era, there was a big rivalry between the Pistons and the Bulls, but the one way I could get back at the Bulls once they got over the hump was to affect their skills against the Pistons in NBA Jam. And so I put in special code that if the Bulls were taking last-second shots against the Pistons, they would miss those shots. And so, if you’re ever playing the game, make sure you pick the Pistons over the Bulls.”
Whenever a user played as the Chicago Bulls, and they were facing off against the Detroit Pistons, the Bulls would miss every last-second shot, giving them no chance at defeating Detroit in a close game. On top of this code hurting the Bulls against the Pistons, it’s famously known Michael Jordan was not in the game.
Jordan decided to opt out of the NBA Players Association’s licensing agreement in favor of a personal licensing deal back around the time NBA Jam was being made. This is why MJ isn’t a playable character in the game.
Even without His Airness and the special code to hurt Chicago’s chances against Detroit, NBA Jam was a massive success, as it made more than $1 billion in its first year. NBA Jam is a classic, and we are all thankful for its release and how it helped take the basketball video game level to the next level.
BOOMSHAKALAKA!
