The NBA landscape has shifted quite a bit this offseason and the balance of power is a bit more even across the league. "Super teams" and "big threes" have suddenly become a bit of an endangered species, and now it's all about the power duos.
As such, what better time to boot up a new version of NBA Jam -- the beloved arcade basketball game that specializes in two-on-two action -- and examine which present day duos would deliver the best NBA Jam experience.
Ready? Press start.
Remember when you were a kid and you snooped around the house for your hidden Christmas presents, found them and got excited, then had to wait until Christmas morning to actually play with them? Well, Kyrie Irving is the snooping child, and Kevin Durant is the toy he has to wait to play with. And the Knicks are the kid down the street who parents got him socks for Christmas.
Don't worry... if you commit to the Celtics and don't like it, you can always just quit and pick Brooklyn instead.
The Mavericks took Dirk Nowitzki and split him into two different players so they could play NBA Jam. Also, never forget that the Knicks sold their kid's best toy so they could buy him new socks.
No Durant, no Klay Thompson (for a large part of next season) ... and yet the Warriors still look pretty damn solid in the duos department. You could also run Steph and D'Angelo Russell out there and see how that goes, but it seems like a waste not to use Draymond in a game where it's legal to physically body slam other players.
At first glance it seems like a good idea to play with these guys... until your controller stops working and they just keep fighting with one another over who gets to take the next shot and then your console explodes.
Finally, a way for LeBron to play with both of these guys in Los Angeles.
Anthony Davis takes over for Bugs Bunny as LeBron's best teammate in LA, and it's a pretty exciting roster update. Although it's quite distracting to play with these guys when they change their jersey numbers every possession.
It's always fun to play with an MVP, but not so fun when the Rockets keep pushing a game prompt that says "Are you sure you don't want to choose James Harden?"
Maybe the game is broken, but it seems as though there's no real noticeable difference between Zion's regular dunks and his "on fire" dunks.
Picking this team automatically triggers a 911 wellness check.
The best thing about NBA Jam is the unrealistic arcade style of play: Jumping 40 feet in the air; shoving opponents into another zip code; literally catching on fire; and, of course, Ben Simmons taking a three pointer.
*Please select a team*
"I'm trying, Jennifer."
