Nothing but net — Stern’s 2009 NBA puts pro basketball on the playfield and crowns it with a glowing hemispherical basketball that dominates the upper field, fed by a trajectory up-kicker and a ramp-on-a-ramp that launch the ball airborne toward the hoop for the kind of physical-shot thrill few machines attempt. Designed by Gary Stern, Ray Tanzer, and John Borg with Kevin O’Connor art, it’s a sports machine that leans into spectacle, asking you to literally sink baskets to score.
The rule structure is clean and arcade-friendly. Spell ALL STAR to light a mode at the ALL STAR scoop, where the modes pay decent points, and shoot the right ramp to spell FIRE for FIRE scoring while feeding the inlane to build your bonus multiplier. The skill shot carries a useful bit of self-preservation: a short plunge avoids the spinning disc that loves to send the ball careening out of control, so the disciplined player keeps things calm right from the launch. It’s a straightforward, high-energy layout — two flippers, three pops, a captive ball, a spinning disc — built to deliver the rush of a buzzer-beater rather than to bury you in deep rulesets.
NBA never pretended to be the deepest game on the floor, and that’s fine; it’s a loud, glowing celebration of the hardwood, the kind of machine that draws a crowd when the basketball lights up and the up-kicker fires a shot at the rim. For a sports fan or a casual player looking for instant gratification, it’s a slam dunk. Spell ALL STAR, light the FIRE, mind that spinning disc, and put up points like a fourth-quarter scoring run. Game on.