There isn't anything new to the gameplay in NBA Showtime. It's 2-on-2 basketball with the crazy dunks and impossible shots that became synonymous with NBA Jam. The button configuration is the same, with a turbo, shoot/block, and pass/steal. Running to the basket with turbo lets you do a high-flying flashy dunk, and you can give your opponent a good shove to the ground with the steal button. Alley oops can be done simply by passing the ball to your partner when he happens to be jumping by the net. Does this all sound familiar?

The polygon players in the game make the dunks seem pretty nice, but not the players themselves. Player models are blurry and severely pixilated. It's a little hard to believe that the NBA Jam sprites on the SNES looked better than this, but they do. However the dunks are very smooth and it's sweet to seem them glide in when your opponent is helpless from stopping it.

There is a create a player mode, but it seems to have been thrown in for novelty and humor. Players can distribute or take away points that go to player heads and bodies, thereby creating players with large heads and small bodies. You can also name your player, give him a specific jersey number, and choose a hot spot on the court where your player will almost certainly make a shot.