Cleveland Cavaliers: Top five NBA Jam teams we want to see

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SACRAMENTO, CA – DECEMBER 27: Kyle Korver #26 and J.R. Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers look on during the game against the Sacramento Kings on December 27, 2017 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /

An NBA Jam remake could be in the works. Here are some of the most entertaining two-man lineups the Cleveland Cavaliers have to offer.

With rumors dropping in January that an NBA Jam remake could be in the works for the game’s 25th anniversary, and with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ roster finally coming together after a busy trade deadline and weeks of injuries, now seemed like the perfect time to contemplate how the team’s key players would fare in an updated version of the arcade classic.

In order to develop a top-five list of the Cavs’ potential two-man tandems, I turned to NBA 2K. I fudged the game sliders to mimic NBA Jam physics as best I could, boosting relevant player attributes—jumping, three-point shooting, dunking, stealing, etc. (basically everything except ball-handling)—and notching the game speed up by 50%.

Then I played two-on-two matchups against classic NBA Jam rosters and tried to see which Cavs could compete.

The gameplay wasn’t perfect, but I don’t know that any other franchise could ever capture Jam’s particular version of adrenaline-ridiculous basketball. However, while I couldn’t give players moon-gravity hops or a pyrotechnic touch, I did try to make the game more amenable to the types of shots that NBA Jam typically encouraged: dunks and three-pointers.

That’s what I was going for here. Which pairs of players could make wild downtown heaves? Who could be trusted to throw down the slam?

Flip through the slides to see my top picks.