Play NBA Jam 99 Online

Summary

When I dug into NBA Jam 99 for the Game Boy Color, a few quirks jumped out at me. The cover sports former Nets forward Keith Van Horn, but the roster is a snapshot frozen on July 1, 1998 – a neat time capsule of late‑90s NBA line‑ups. Because Acclaim couldn’t lock down Michael Jordan’s likeness, the Bulls are represented by a generic "Roster Guard," a reminder of the licensing hurdles of the era. The commentary team is surprisingly robust for a handheld: Kevin Harlan calls the play‑by‑play while Bill Walton adds color, and even the Utah Jazz’s Dan Roberts pops in for arena announcements. Unlike the console versions that experimented with 3‑on‑3, the GBC sticks to the classic 2‑on‑2 format, keeping the arcade feel tight and fast. It was first shown at E3 1998, and while the N64 version earned favorable reviews, the portable port landed in the mixed‑reception zone on GameRankings, reflecting the challenges of squeezing arcade basketball onto a tiny screen.