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Each team’s best NBA Jam duo of all time

By Josh Cornelissen

Vince Carter, Toronto Raptors. (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
Vince Carter, Toronto Raptors. (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls
Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Best NBA Jam duo for Chicago Bulls: Michael Jordan + Scottie Pippen

The most potent pairing in NBA history is that of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, who together won six titles. The Chicago Bulls were one of the league’s most popular teams when the original NBA Jam came out, yet Jordan was nowhere to be found.

Here in the land of make-believe, we make our own rules and Jordan’s marketing concerns are swept out the door. Jordan and Pippen belong together in NBA Jam and so here they shall be.

Jordan, of course, is one of the greatest dunk masters in NBA history, throwing down from impossibly far away. Pippen was never as flashy as his teammate but still could get up for a dunk with the best of them.

Where these two will be truly special is on defense, where their combination of speed and defense (that’s “SPD” and “DEF” to those staring at your NBA Jam screen) would be deadly. On the NBA court, they would harry opposing ball-handlers to create turnovers that quickly became fast-break points and the NBA Jam court would be no different.

This pairing throughout the 1990s was like a cheat code for the league and in NBA Jam it would be similar to a cheat code as well. Scoring on these two would be difficult on its own, but knowing that the score is spinning as it ratchets up for them on the other end? Why even try to beat these two?