The Top 10 Duo's For the New NBA Jam…Boomshakalaka!

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About a month ago it was announced that NBA Jam will be remade for Wii and possibly other systems.  The gears started cranking and I started thinking about today’s NBA players and how they would fare in the new version of the game.  Before we get started, let’s set some ground rules: A) Without knowing who will allow their image to be used for the game (remember Jordan and Shaq were not in the originals because it would have cost too much money to license their images), let’s assume all current NBA players are available.  B) This is based off of today’s roster – I am well aware that there are a couple free agents who could be changing teams before the 2010 season.  C) The original teams I used came from the Sega Genesis version of the game – there were games made for a couple systems and an arcade version and teams varied from system to system.  With that being said, here’s the top 10 NBA duos for the new NBA Jam.



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10.    Chris Paul and David West

Original NBA Jam Team Most Resembles:  Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer

CP3 and DWest would be a very solid team in the new NBA Jam.  Paul is obviously the star here and West is an ok sidekick.  Both DWest and Laimbeer were average players who got the chance to play with half of fame caliber point guards.   

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9.   Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire

Original NBA Jam Team Most Resembles:  John Stockton and Karl Malone

Nash and Amare have been one of the best twosomes in the NBA the last couple years, and their run and gun style would translate perfectly to the new video game.  The Nash/Amare two man game is the Stockton to Malone pick and roll offense on crack.

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8.       Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer

Original NBA Jam Team Most Resembles:  David Robinson and Sean Elliott

Really good and really boring.  That’s the only way I can describe this duo.  The Admiral and Elliott were good in the original game, but probably not as good as they should’ve been because they were so freaking boring.  The same goes for Williams and Boozer. 

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7.       Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley

Original NBA Jam Team Most Resembles:  Reggie Miller and Derrick McKey

Dwyane Wade is the only reason this team made the top ten.  The Heat’s surrounding cast stinks and they may be better off surrounding Wade with their original NBA Jam duo of Harold Minor and Rony Seikaly. 

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6.       Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce

Original NBA Jam Team Most Resembles:  Stacey Augmon and Dominique Williams

Rondo is not a Thunder Treats favorite by any means, but he is very good and the future of the Celtics.  Paul Pierce can still get it done, but his best days are behind him – similar to ‘Nique when the original NBA Jam was released.

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5.       Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook

Original NBA Jam Team Most Resembles:  Wayman Tisdale and Mitch Richmond

Durant is the best scorer in the NBA and Westbrook compliments Durant’s game perfectly.  If the new NBA Jam came out in 2012, this duo could be in the top 3. 

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4.        Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson

Original NBA Jam Team Most Resembles:  Patrick Ewing and John Starks

If it were up to me, I would put Rashard Lewis with Howard, but the old NBA Jam had a tendency to not put forwards on the same team as elite Centers.  Howard’s game is very similar to Ewings (lots of dunks and put backs) and Nelson can be a pesky shooter and hard-nosed penetrator just like Starks was. 

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3.       Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol

Original NBA Jam Team Most Resembles:  Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning

The most dominant team in NBA Jam history had to be Grandmama and ‘Zo and the Lakers have been very dominant in real life as of late.  Kobe is Kobe, but Gasol plays like a butterfly wearing a tutu.  The Over/Under for number of shots taken by Gasol when you are playing with this team is 4.  Go ahead and take the over, I dare you.

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2.       LeBron James and Antawn Jamison

Original NBA Jam Team Most Resembles:  Shawn Kemp and Detlef Schrempf

LeBron is the best player on the planet and for that reason alone his NBA Jam team couldn’t be ranked lower than 2nd.  The addition of Jamison to the Cavs makes LeBron’s NBA Jam team even deadlier – otherwise he would be stuck with Mo Williams.  Can’t you just see ‘Bron taking off from the 3-point line and shattering backboards in the new game.  Shawn Kemp in the original NBA Jam was before he weighed 350 lbs. and had 25 kids – remember how sick the Rain Man was with the Sonics?

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1.        Chauncey Billups and Carmello Anthony

Original NBA Jam Team Most Resembles:  Kevin Johnson and Charles Barkley

Carmello is a dominant scorer and as much as I hate to admit it, a seriously underrated player.  Chauncey can stroke it from anywhere and is the heart of a Nuggets team challenging the Lakers for Western Conference dominance.  KJ and Sir Charles were a very underrated team in NBA Jam and Melo and Chauncey are used to being overlooked.  I don’t think there is a better twosome for the new age NBA Jam than Carmello and Chauncey. 

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