What platforms is Basketball on?

Basketball was released on Intellivision.

When did Basketball release?

Basketball was first released on August 25, 1980.

Basketball

Aug 25, 1980SportIntellivision

Basketball — frequently asked questions

What platforms is Basketball on?: Basketball was released on Intellivision.
When did Basketball release?: Basketball was first released on August 25, 1980.

About Basketball

Early basketball game.

Summary via IGDB.

Game details

Platforms: Intellivision
Developer: Mattel Electronics
Publisher: Mattel Electronics
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer
Themes: Action
Series: NBA

Details via IGDB.

Collector value & authenticity

Intellivision · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-20

Loose

Complete

$14

Sealed

$40

Other releases and variants

Release	Loose	Complete	Sealed
Sold as "Basketball"	$6	$14	—

How often it sells

Loose: about 5 times a year
Complete: about once a month
Sealed: about 5 times a year

Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-20.

Price over time

Loose
Complete

A loose copy sold for about $1.69 in Apr 2009, $5.25 five years ago, and $4.56 as of Oct 2026.

Show as table

Month	Loose	Complete
Jan 2010	$1.69	—
Jan 2011	$0.87	—
Jan 2012	$1.50	—
Jan 2013	$0.99	—
Jan 2014	$3.00	$6.49
Jan 2015	$1.04	$6.99
Jan 2016	$3.89	$3.99
Jan 2017	$30	$9.95
Jan 2018	$4.95	$8.00
Jan 2019	$5.06	$7.80
Jan 2020	$5.50	$6.14
Jan 2021	$3.37	$6.00
Jan 2022	$4.62	$9.99
Jan 2023	$5.97	$10.54
Jan 2024	$3.99	$9.95
Jan 2025	$3.47	$9.86
Jan 2026	$3.15	$6.99
Oct 2026	$4.56	$14.49

Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.

Release record

Territory	Product #
North America Mattel Electronics	2615
North America Sears (Tele-Games)	49 75203

North America: Product number confirmed by a scan of the box and the game's own manual.
North America: Sears catalogue number, printed on the Sears Tele-Games box.

Source: Product numbers: each confirmed by the game's own manual, a publisher-prefix UPC that encodes it, a box scan, or INTV Funhouse's collector list where Mattel's own 1979–83 catalogues or manual order forms print the same number; barcodes from PriceCharting, check digits verified

Region: NA
Released: 1979
Controller: Both hand controllers
Players: 2
Authenticity: Low

Modern re-releases are not tracked for the IntellivisionLow look-alike risk

Intellivision prices, all games & how to spot a fake

A blocky but smart three-on-three basketball cart that reviewers called the best hoop game of its day, and it needs two people.

Mattel's NBA Basketball was built by APh Technological Consulting and is a head-to-head game: the library lists it as requiring two players, so there is no computer opponent on this cartridge. Each side fields three men, and the keypad overlay shows the front court split into zones, so you pass by pressing the zone where you want the ball to go. Video magazine explained that scheme to readers in mid-1980.

Electronic Games gave it its basketball crown twice in 1982. In May it called the cartridge the most true-to-life hoop game, while admitting the teams were blocky and graphics took a back seat to play. By December it was calling it easily the best basketball cartridge then available, praising how the overlays made working the ball around the court simple. INTV Corporation later remade the sport with a computer opponent as Slam Dunk, which is the one to look for if you play alone.

How it was made

APh Technological Consulting is credited as developer and Mattel Electronics as publisher. The Sears private-label console version of the game dropped the NBA name and logo.

What the press said at the time

“This wonderfully authentic recreation of the hoop sport has everything from cheering crowds on the sideline to passing and shot-blocking.”
— Electronic Games, December 1981

“Mattel's NBA Basketball cartridge for the Intellivision cops the prize as the most true-to-life videogame hoop title. Someone did a lot of court-side studying before programming this one.”
— Electronic Games, May 1982

How the Intellivision version differs

Video Games & Computer Entertainment later credited Mattel's NBA Basketball with introducing team basketball to home video. The earliest hoops games on the Atari 2600 and Odyssey2 were one-on-one contests, while the Intellivision let you control one player at a time and left the rest of the team to the computer.

Worth knowing

From the Intellivision manual. Four speeds are chosen at the title screen: College, High School and Playground on the top-row keys, or Pro (fastest) by pressing the disc.
From the Intellivision manual. Each player has a three-man team, with two computer-directed players and one you control; the game has no foul shots and uses overtime to break ties.

Before you buy

Needs a second player, so confirm you have one before buying. Mattel packed two keypad overlays with its cartridges, and the basketball overlay is central to how you pass, so a complete copy should include both. Sears sold the same game as plain Basketball without the NBA name, and that version is listed separately; the box and manual account for most of a complete copy's value.