NBA Inside Stuff Review - Can the West Finally Reject the East?

The Admiral and the Worm, Instapump technology, and more NBA JAM

Chris Shorts

Dec 14, 2023

News & Notes

With a preview of the 1994 NBA Playoffs, Mark Vancil postulates on the Western Conference powerhouses and bringing the Larry O’Brien trophy to a West team for the first time in five years. Most coaches agreed that a Western Conference team would be the year’s NBA champion.
And they were right! The Houston Rockets got the best of the New York Knicks 4-3 in the Finals! Hakeem won MVP Honors, posting 26.9 / 9.1 / 3.6 while leading both teams in points for all seven games.
One thing I love about reviewing these magazines is reading about things I completely forgot about (in some cases, didn’t even know). Case in point: The David Robinson/Dennis Rodman tandem. Between Rodman’s Pistons and Bulls tenures, he spent two years alongside David Robinson on the San Antonio Spurs.
Rodman took a lot of the rebounding load off of Robinson, giving him the space and ability to score more freely. During Rodman’s first year with the Spurs, Robinson averaged 29.8 points per game, the highest ever for his career. He finished second to Hakeem in that year’s MVP voting then won the following year.

Say whaaaaat?

Did you know that Shawn Bradley was 6’1’’ in sixth grade? He shot up to 7’6’’ by the time he was a senior in high school.
More real names of NBA players I did not know.
A sign of things to come for Shaq and Penny???

Best Card

Three really good contenders in this issue: Scottie Pippen getting the best of Dan Majerle, Dominique Wilkens with a casual dunk with Patrick Ewing looking on, and Reggie Miller driving to the hoop from the corner. And the winner is: Dominique! Which card do you think is the best?

Best Ad

The Shaq Attaq III, now with Instapump. This is an incredible sneaker and an amazing relic of 90s culture. Any shoe that required a pump to inflate said sneaker was a must-have for kids back in the day. I recall a handful of kids that had Reebok Pumps and everyone was envious. Imagine showing up to the schoolyard for some pickup hoops, teams get picked, and everyone is ready to play when you say “Hang on, I need to pump up.” You reach into your bag and pull out your Instapump. You pump your sneakers to an exact fit. The other kids stare in amazement. You put the pump back in your bag and take your position at the top of the key. “Let’s play.”

The evolution of the NBA JAM ads has been a wild ride. This ad, the third in the series, now features screenshots of gameplay complete with catchphrases. BOOMSHAKALAKA!
And not only that, the ad comes with a sweepstakes form! The grand prize was a trip for two to the 1995 NBA Jam Session AND an NBA JAM Arcade. I had dreams of winning one of these and being the envy of every kid on the block.

The FILA JAMBALL! Leather metatarsal lateral support! Weight reduction inlets! Extra padded collar!
ITZ Sandals look like sandals but have the sole of a basketball shoe. Are they sandals, or are they basketball shoes? I absolutely WOULD NOT play basketball in these unless I wanted mangled feet. A quick Google search yielded no help on what these were. If anyone has any info, please send it my way as I am dying to know more.
More Starter Jacket goodness