23. NBA All Star Challenge -SNES/Genesis
The first and last games on this list were the easiest to pick. NBA All Star Challenge is easily the worst basketball game I've ever played. It's a one on one game where making jumpers is harder than Battletoads. The only mode that is even remotely fun is the 3 point contest.
22. Team USA Basketball - Genesis
This game isn't bad, it's basically Bulls v Blazers featuring the teams of the 92 Olympics. That said if you're playing a friend then deciding who's gonna be the US could be a problem unless your friend happens to be from Croatia or Spain.
21. Space Jam - PS1/Saturn
This a fun little game for kids. Nothing more, nothing less. It's like a dumbed down version of NBA Jam
20. Michael Jordan: Chaos in Windy City
This is a good under rated game but obviously a non basketball Michael Jordan game isn't gonna be ranked too high.
19. Michael Jordan In Flight - DOS
Graphic wise this was the best representation of Michael Jordan in a game up until that point. The game however leaves a lot to be desired. Don't get me wrong it has some good things going for it but it has no NBA teams, no NBA Players (other than Jordan) and it's a half court 3 on 3 game.
18. Jordan vs Bird 1 on1 - NES/Genesis/PC
I might anger some by ranking this absolute classic so low but honestly I was never a big fan. The Dunk and 3 point contests are fun but the they get pretty old pretty fast. 1 on1 is OK but I prefer playing team basketball games whether it's 2 on 2 or 5 on 5.
17. Bulls vs Blazers - Genesis/SNES
This game is pretty much a roster update of Bulls vs Lakers, The only difference I've noticed is Michael Jordan's signature move is the 'Kiss the Rim' dunk on the Genesis version. Wheras on the SNES version he has the same reverse layup he uses in Bulls Vs Lakers.
16. Bulls vs Lakers - Genesis
This is the first basketball game I actually bought and though I'm quite fond of it. The problem is making jump shots is far too difficult so you just go for dunks and layups which are very easy to do. That was a big problem with the versus series, Dunks and Layups were unblockable and virtually unstoppable.
15. NBA Live 2001 PS2/PS1/PC
This was the first PS2 Live game and while it was very good it was pretty much a souped up version of Live 2000. That's definitely not a bad thing but I expected more from the new console at the time.
14. NBA Live 2002 PS2/PS1/xbox/PC
EA really got their feet underneath them with Live 2002. This is the game that bridged the gap between the PS1 versions of live and the PS2 versions.
13. Tecmo Super/NBA Basketball SNES/NES
This game was better in many people's minds than the EA 'versus games'. It was certainly faster and more fluid. It had all the teams and almost all the players, unlike Bulls vs Blazers which featured only playoff teams. The only things I didn't like about the tecmo game was that all the players looked exactly alike which would occasionally result in you shooting a three with Bill Cartwright. Also it was too easy to score in transition. There was a Genesis version as well but it was probably one of the first games I can remember that replaced the great number 23 with the infamous number 99.
12. NBA Live 2003 PS2/PS1/xbox/PC/gamecube
Very fun game but it is very arcade-y, you'll see more vicious blocks in one game than you'll see in a whole season of NBA basketball. Also Michael Jordan looks nothing like Michael Jordan, he has HAIR! I have no clue what they were thinking, of all the faces to not get right they chose the most recognizable person in the NBA.
11. In the Zone 2* PS1
This is one of two 'asterisk' games on this list. While Jordan is not officially in this game he is poorly hidden as a player called M.Guard #83. From what I've heard Konami got in hot water over using Jordan's likeness.If you like the old Run N Gun arcade style then this game is lots of fun.
10. NBA Showdown SNES
This was the last game to use the 'versus engine' and it was probably the crown jewel of the series. It featured all the NBA teams, a season mode and the ability to trade players. Add to that the fact that it was faster than it's predecessors and you have a winner.
9. NBA Street PS2/xbox/PC
A really fun game which was basically a super charged version of NBA Jam Ala Maximum Hangtime.
8. Lakers vs Celtics Genesis/PC
The original versus game was probably the best, Showdown was a better game but by the time it came out we'd already seen a ton of games with the same engine. Lakers vs Celtics was the one that started it all. It had plenty of flaws that were corrected in Bulls vs Laker but to me Lakers vs Celtics is still a more enjoyable game than any of the sequels.
7. NBA Live 96* Genesis/SNES
This is the other asterisk* game. Jordan was not officially in this game but as everyone knows, on the 16 bit versions all you had to do was enter Jordan's name and he would pop up, as would any other legend. The live series was revolutionary at the time and although Live 96 was not as good as Live 95, it was still a great game for its time.
6. NBA Street Vol. 2
Many people prefer the original NBA Street, not me. This game had stylized graphics and three different versions of Jordan.
5. NBA Live 2000 PS1/N64/PC
Jordan made his long awaited return to the gaming world when EA signed him up for NBA live 2000. This is one of those games that you really remember and love. The ps1 version was much better than the N64 mainly because the graphics were better and on the PS version you had to beat Jordan on very hard to unlock him while on N64 you could beat him on any difficulty.
4. NBA 2k3
The 2k series was real good from the beginning and while 2k3 wasn't as good as 2k2 IMO,
it was still a real solid game.
3. NBA Live 2004
I really wanted to put this game at number 2 because it was the last game to feature Jordan and it was the first year that Lebron and Wade were playable. I was playing this game for years until I discovered the world of PC gaming and mods. It's a great game, a little too arcade-y but still the last great console Live game IMO.
2. NBA 2k2
An unbelievably Great game for its time. It was the best basketball simulation up until that point. The only flaw that this game had was the same flaw that alot of the early 2k games had which was the ridiculous free throw shooting where you had to line up two green arcs.
1.NBA 2k11
Like I said, the first and last on this list were the easiest to pick. NBA 2k11 is not only the best game to feature Jordan, it is the best basketball game ever.(For Now)
