Back in the ’90s, NBA Jam was an alternative for anybody who preferred good old fun to the in-depth simulation of what would eventually become the NBA Live series. And now it is available for devices that are mobile, with EA Sports releasing the game for iOS, Android, and even Windows Phone. The game includes all 30 NBA teams of the present, with their stars and a definite nod to the first ‘title — high-flying arcade action with moves that you won’t see on any highlight reel.
For this NBA Jam strategy guide, we are going to be dealing with methods to unlock the teams that are secret, and the special characters that the game comes with. Let’s get to those tips and tricks.
Unlocking The Secret Teams
Apart from the 30 NBA teams, you can unlock other teams that feature players that are…let’s just say players who you can not see on any NBA roster. When entering your initials for the Play Now option, entering DEM would unlock. REP, on the other hand, unlocks the Republicans, which feature George W. Bush, John McCain, Dick Chaney, and (believe it or not) Sarah Palin.
It’s not only politicians who are part of these teams. The MAS original code will give you the Mascots team, starring team mascots like Rufus Lynx, Rumble the Bison, Rocky the Mountain Lion, and others. Lastly will get you the Jam Team, featuring NBA Jam founder Mark Turmell and announcer Tim Kitzrow.
By meeting with certain in-game achievements, you may also unlock secret teams. The 100 Club accomplishment gets one of the EA Mobile group of Ryan Winterholler, Josh Valensi, and Sean Chapel, the Southwest Division Represent achievement gets you a team of four Stickmen of different colors, and Buzzer Beater allows you to play as rap legends the Beastie Boys — Mike D, MCA, and Ad-Rock.
Take note that the special teams can only be selected in Play Now or Multiplayer, but not in Career.
Unlocking Secret Players Through Player Achievements
When it comes to unlocking secret players, and by this we mean retired NBA superstars, you’ll have to reach achievements, which we’ll detail to you below.
If you hit a Buzzer Beater, which is a last-second shot you won’t only be unlocking former players George Gervin, but also the Beastie Boys and Mark Price. Buzzer Beaters can be any shot except for a dunk, just as long as it enters the hoop as the clock hits zero. And as stated above, you have to win the game, so you’ve got to make certain that you’re only one point down (or two points down, if you’re aiming to get a three-point shot) in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter. So you can go for that bucket in the last second you need to be sure you ask your AI teammate to pass you the ball.
Ideally, you will want to set quarter length to 2 minutes for best and easiest chances of scoring a Buzzer Beater and go for this accomplishment on your first or second Classic Campaign playthrough, but not any later, as the degree of difficulty in Classic Campaign rises in each following game.
Double Up would mean beating the AI player by scoring better or as much as them — unlocked players include Brad Daugherty, Nick Anderson, and Mitch Richmond. Again, two-minute quarters are here, for you to double your opponent’s score, as that means fewer points for an easier time and score.
The Century Scorer accomplishment can be reached by scoring 100 points in a single game, and contrary to what you expect, you won’t be unlocking the NBA’s only 100-point man, Wilt Chamberlain — instead, you get two other retired NBA stars, Magic Johnson and Dan Majerle. We suggest setting the quarter span to five minutes so you can get to the mark easier; moreover are not those that your partner does and the ones that you score.
Let us tell you a little bit about how NBA Jam determines not or whether you are on Fire before we inform you that you can unlock Fired Up, which means getting On Fire four times in a game. This would indicate scoring three baskets with no competition scoring; usually, you can do so by setting up a score with a block or a steal and playing defense. We propose five-minute quarters for trying for the Fired Up achievement, which will unlock Larry Johnson and Chuck Person.
The Sticky Fingers achievement is gained when you steal the ball ten times this will unlock the Lava and Bowling basketballs, as well as Kenny Anderson. It is best to be as close as possible to the player handling the ball when it comes to stealing the ball. One way to grab a good deal of rebounds is to deliberately miss your own shot so that someone in your team can rebound it. Because of the difficulty, five-minute quarters are ideal, for these two achievements.
Lastly, dunks and alley-oops can make you some sweet rewards in NBA Jam. The High Flyer achievement is awarded if you score ten alley-oops and will get you Julius “Dr. J” Erving, the Happy Face Basketball, and the Camera Hog Privilege. You can execute an alley-oop by moving close to the basket and leaping by holding the green button (if your teammate has the ball), or simply by hitting the blue button to pass and going to your alley-oop if you are the one handling the ball.
Dunking ten times in a game — the Throw it Down Man achievement — is probably the easiest accomplishment as dunks are by far the simplest shot in the sport. You unlock the Cobalt and Globe basketballs, and also will unlock Rony Seikaly.
We are not done with the achievements and unlockable players, as we have also got campaign and multi-game achievements that are based on the division of the team you are playing as. That means having to complete Classic Campaign mode six times, once for each division, with a whole campaign lasting 37 games. That’s a great deal of playing time, but you can cut down on this by sticking to two-minute quarters. One thing you can try is to complete the Eastern Conference (Atlantic, Central, Southeast) divisions first, so you can get Unlimited Turbo privileges that will let you finish the Western Conference division campaigns.
You will see that the NBA legends unlocked by finishing a Classic Campaign are best-known for their stints with teams from the division you’ve completed if you’re an NBA fan. Atlantic Division Represent unlocks Patrick Ewing, Kevin McHale, and John Starks. Southeast Division Represent unlocks Manute Bol, Spud Webb, and Dominique Wilkins, Central Division Represent unlocks Bill Laimbeer, Scott Skiles, and Isiah Thomas, Northwest Division Represent unlocks Kevin Johnson, Karl Malone, and John Stockton, Southwest Division Represent unlocks Hakeem Olajuwon and Kenny Smith (on top of the aforementioned Stickman team), and Pacific Division Represent unlocks Tim Hardaway, Chris Mullin, and Glen Rice.
That we’re done with the achievements, let us move. Winning 100 games in Classic Campaign unlocks the EA Mobile team and Bryant Reeves. Eastern Conference Domination, or winning three Classic Campaigns with a team from every Eastern Conference division stated, gets you Unlimited Turbo. Except that it entails Conference divisions Western Conference Domination, that’s the same as the Eastern achievement, unlocks Shaquille O’Neal from his Orlando Magic days, and the One Shot Fire Privilege. (Strange, as Orlando has ever been at the Eastern Conference.) And as soon as you’ve beaten a team against Classic Campaign mode in the NBA, you unlock the USA basketball and Clyde Drexler.
There are two other accomplishments you can pull in here. If you go on a winning streak in Classic Campaign, you complete. It’s a fantastic idea if you feel you’re going to lose it, and restart it, to give up a game — it won’t count as a loss anyway. And finally, if you score a few thousand points (meaning you, not your spouse) in Classic Campaign, you have pulled off the Grand Scorer achievement, which is going to unlock Danny Manning and the NBA Jam basketball.
So are you ready to be a superstar?
