NBA Jam Tournament Edition is a fast-paced, action-packed basketball game that lets you play two-on-two arcade basketball with players from all the NBA teams. The gameplay is straightforward, with few rules and no fouls, making it easy to pick up and play. The game supports up to four human players, each controlling a single player for their team and an AI-controlled missing player. This allows for various match-ups, such as two players teaming up against a third player with a CPU teammate, or four players facing off in teams of two.
The Tournament Edition ups each team's roster to three players, and introduces new features like substitutions between quarters, where injuries can lower a player's stats if they get shoved. The game also includes secret characters, cheat modes, and special options that enable "Hot Spots" – randomized zones on the court that reward extra points for making a basket within them.
Other special features include powerup icons that convey temporary arcade-like benefits when picked up, such as instant "on-fire" or enhanced 3-point accuracy. The game also has a "Juice Mode" that increases the speed of the game, and a "Tournament Mode" that challenges you to defeat all the NBA teams to unlock extra players.