Ranking the Top Five Best Basketball Video Games of All-Time

While the basketball video game genre hasn't quite been up to the same standards to football and hockey games among other sports in terms of overall quality, it seems to have finally caught up in recent years.

The top five best basketball video games of all-time aren't as strong in terms of realism and strategy as some of the games in other genres, but they make up for that in terms of pure fun.

Many of the top basketball games have a strong arcade element to them which makes them a great change of pace for the sports gamer opposite a challenging, strategic game of Madden or NCAA Football for example.

And of course, with so many amazing moves to pull off in basketball games, trash talking can often be just as big of a part of playing a video game as it is out on the playground.

Here are the top five best basketball video games of all-time:

5. Double Dribble (NES)-

The 1987 release of Double Dribble finally brought an exciting, fast paced, and clean game of roundball into the homes of gamers everywhere.

While gamers will find a some unintentional humor and bizarre basketball physics in the game should they fire it up today, this game was the most realistic thing going for years and provides a quality simulation experience considering the technical limitations of the day.

The grandiose dunk cinematics were ahead of their time as well.

4. Bulls vs. Blazers (Genesis, SNES)-

Featuring signature moves and a total of 16 teams (not a bad number for those days, actually), Bulls vs. Blazers started gamers down the path to a true simulation on the Genesis and Super Nintendo. This was a pre-cursor to the NBA Live series and one of the more entertaining early games of all-time.

3. NBA Street Volume 2 (Playstation 2)-

The first NBA Street game popularized the arcade style that "took flight" (literally and figureatively) after the release of NBA Jam, and this one built on that formula with an old-school flavor, tons of legendary players, and a style all its own including amazing team dunk super moves, jukes, and create-a-player customization. Of all the hidden gems in the bargain bin for sports gamers, this might be the best cheap find out there considering there are bound to be lots of copies floating around (more sequels came out after this one in the series).

2. NBA 2K11 (Xbox360, PS3)-

Simply put, this may well be the best basketball simulation game of all-time and the success of the game and series have begun to vault it into the same category as the Madden and NHL series' in the hearts of series sports gamers. The gameplay is tight and virtually flawless although some gamers used to playing arcade-style games think it's a bit too sim-based.

Even those nitpickers have no reason to complain, however, because of the variety of gameplay options including deep "My Player" mode for creating a new legend.

Perhaps the biggest selling point for true fans is the inclusion of legend Michael Jordan and a game mode allowing you to play as his Chicago Bulls in some of the team's biggest games during their six-championship run in the 1990's.

1. NBA Jam Tournament Edition (Genesis, SNES)-

While a simulation game checked in at a well-deserved number-two spot, it only seems right that an arcade-style game should take the number one spot on the list.

NBA Jam is a iconic, plain and simple, and the Tournament Edition game quickly expounded on everything that made the original arcade and console-based classic so great, adding more depth with a roster update and the addition of "hot spots" and power-ups.

Throw in an insane amount of crazy dunks and hilarious hidden characters like the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Bill Clinton and you have a pick-up-and-play masterpiece that almost every basketball video game fan can agree on, even many of the purists.

That mass appeal makes NBA Jam Tournament Edition number one on the list of top five basketball video games of all-time.

Source: Gamefaqs.com