NBA Ballers

Stephon Marbury is on the cover. A version for GameCube was also planned but was never released. The game has been considered similar to AND 1 Streetball and the NBA Jam series, of which it is a spiritual successor. The game was followed by a version for the PlayStation Portable, NBA Ballers: Rebound and two sequels, NBA Ballers: Phenom and NBA Ballers: Chosen One.

• Title — NBA Ballers • Developer — Midway • Publisher — Midway Sports • Engine — RenderWare • Series — NBA Ballers • Platforms — PlayStation 2, Xbox • Released — PlayStation 2 XboxApril 5, 2004 • Genre — Sports (basketball) • Modes — Single-player, Multiplayer

The game also maintains the "player on fire" feature that is in many sports games published by Midway. While most matches are one-on-one, it is also possible to have an extra player, where three players in total play individually against each other. The matches are two minutes long, and the winner is the best of three rounds. A round is won when a player scores 11 points, and the winner must win by at least two points. If time runs out, the player with the most points will be declared the winner of that round. As the player pulls off style moves, they earn points that fill the jackpot bar at the top left of the screen. When a player scores, they earn the accumulated jackpot.

The meter fills up like a fuel gauge, and it is used at the turbo boost meter. It is the player's energy.

The meter fills up by pulling off style moves and scoring points. The meter is filled until the word "HOUSE" is spelled. When fully charged, the player can "Bring Down the House" by holding all shoulder buttons and throwing an alley-oop to themselves, which tears down the rim and ends the match.

Rags to Riches is the main story mode in which the player portrays a relatively unknown rookie with certain abilities who must take on the best players in the NBA to become arguably the greatest player in the association. Each match is done in tournament style, and the player must defeat every opponent to advance to a new tournament to move the story along, and various Attributes rise during progression. This game mode featured a full story told over 21 different cut scenes as the player progressed throughout the game. With the inclusion of this game mode, NBA Ballers became the first video game officially licensed by a league to contain a story mode.