Basketball Stars — Play Free Online

What is Basketball Stars?

Basketball Stars is an arcade basketball game by MadPuffers, and you can play it free here in your browser. It is fast street-style hoops on one half of a court: every match lasts 60 seconds, you play 1 vs 1 or 2 vs 2, and you control every move yourself, from crossovers and pump fakes to blocks, steals and dunks. Want Basketball Stars unblocked on a school Chromebook? The game opens right on this page with no download.

The game has 19 teams and 38 players, a 16-team tournament with bronze, silver and gold cups, a Normal and a Hard difficulty, a two-player mode for sharing one keyboard, and a charged "supershot" that changes depending on which player you pick.

Key features

• 60-second matches: Each game is one minute long. If the score is tied at the buzzer, you play a 15-second overtime.
• 1 vs 1 or 2 vs 2: Play alone against one opponent, or team up with a partner for two-on-two.
• Tournament with cups: Win through the Round of 16, Quarterfinal, Semifinal and Final to take a cup. A 3rd place match decides bronze.
• Four supershots: Mega Dunk, Defence, Alley-Oop and Fast Break. Your meter refills on a timer, so you get several in a match.
• 2 Players mode: Two people on one keyboard can play head to head or on the same team against the computer.
• 20 achievements: Goals like Sniper (20 three-pointers), Dunker (50 dunks) and Buzzer Beater.
• Built-in tutorial and training: A step-by-step tutorial teaches shots and dunks, and Training gives you an empty court with no clock.

How to play Basketball Stars

1. From the main menu pick QUICK MATCH for a fast game, 2 PLAYERS to play with a friend, or open the single-player menu for TOURNAMENT, RANDOM MATCH and TRAINING. The first time you start, the game offers the TUTORIAL. You can skip it and come back to it later.
2. Choose your mode (1 vs 1 or 2 vs 2) and your team and player. In a tournament you also choose NORMAL or HARD.
3. Check the MATCH PREVIEW, then wait for the countdown and the "GO!!!" call.
4. On offense, move with the arrows and press and hold jump to shoot. Let go at the top of your jump for the best shot. Get close to the rim and hold jump to dunk.
5. On defense, press block when the shooter jumps, or press steal when you are close to the ball handler.
6. When the ball icon next to your player is full, press the supershot key.
7. Score more than your opponent before the 60 seconds run out. In a tournament, keep winning to move up the bracket.

Basketball Stars controls

Action	Keyboard	Mouse or Touch
Move left / right	Left and Right arrows (or A and D)	Left and right buttons
Dash	Double-tap a direction	Double-tap a direction button
Jump, shoot (hold and release), dunk	Up arrow (or W)	Jump button
Pump fake / block	Down arrow (or S)	Action button
Steal	X (or L)	Action button
Supershot	Z (or K)	Supershot button (shows your meter)
Pause	P	Pause button

In 2 PLAYERS mode the keys split up. One player uses the arrows, Down for pump fake and block, L to steal and K for the supershot. The other uses A and D to move, W to jump, S for pump fake and block, B to steal and V for the supershot.

Scoring, overtime and supershots

A basket from behind the three-point line is worth 3 points, and every other basket is worth 2. There is one strange extra: if you block a shot and the ball drops into your own target hoop, your team gets 2 points. The Block Scorer achievement asks you to do that 5 times. A shot that is already in the air when the buzzer sounds still counts. That is how you earn the Buzzer Beater achievement.

Rule	Value
Match length	60 seconds
Overtime if tied	15 seconds (repeats until someone leads)
Shot from behind the three-point line	3 points
Inside shot or dunk	2 points
Your supershot recharge	18 seconds
Computer opponents' supershot recharge	28 to 48 seconds, depending on their skill

Every team has two players, and the player you pick decides your supershot. On most teams one player has Mega Dunk, a special dunk, and the other has Defence, a shield. Two special teams use Alley-Oop and Fast Break instead. Fast Break is a long super dash down the court. Mega Dunk and Alley-Oop only work while you hold the ball, but Defence and Fast Break can be used at any time.

Tournament bracket and achievements

A tournament puts 16 teams in a bracket, and your team is always one of them. You play the Round of 16, the Quarterfinal and the Semifinal. Win the Semifinal to play the Final, or lose it and play the 3rd place match. Finish in the top three to win a gold, silver or bronze cup. The game saves an unfinished tournament, so you can pick CONTINUE TOURNAMENT later. Starting a NEW TOURNAMENT wipes that progress.

Your tournament score adds up match by match. You get 1,000 points for each round you reach, 1,000 for a win (500 for a loss), 100 for each point you score (counted up to 50), and 30 for each point of winning margin. On Hard, the total is multiplied by 1.5.

Achievement	Goal
Sniper	Make 20 three-pointers
Dunker	Make 50 dunks
Defender	Make 50 steals
Blocker	Make 20 blocks
Block Scorer	Score 5 times using block
Buzzer Beater	Score 5 times after the final buzzer
Match Leader	Score 25 points in one match (also a Hard version)
Points Leader	Score 500 points in total
Tournament Leader	Score 150 points in one tournament (also a Hard version)
Bronze, Silver and Gold Cup	Win each cup in 1 vs 1, and again in 2 vs 2 for the "2" versions
Hard Gold Cup / Hard Gold Cup 2	Win gold in 1 vs 1 and 2 vs 2 on Hard

Tips and strategy

• Fake before you shoot: Tap Down with the ball to pump fake. When the computer jumps to block, walk past it or go up for the shot while it is still in the air.
• Release at the top: The tutorial tells you to hold jump and release at the right moment. Letting go early or late makes it easy for a defender to block.
• Use the full 18 seconds: Your meter refills much faster than the computer's, so don't save a supershot for too long. Fire it, then it starts charging again.
• Pick your super on purpose: Pick the Mega Dunk player if you like to attack. Pick the Defence player if you keep losing leads late.
• Shoot before the buzzer: A shot in the air at zero still counts, so in a close game, get a shot up in the last second.
• Look for threes in a tie: Overtime is only 15 seconds, so one three-pointer can be enough to win.
• Steal from close up: A steal only reaches a short distance. Stay right next to the dribbler and press X.

Basketball Stars game modes

Quick Match

A fast 1 vs 1 game against the computer with two random teams. It is the quickest way to get on the court.

Tournament

The 16-team bracket with cups and achievements, played in 1 vs 1 or 2 vs 2 on Normal or Hard.

Random Match

A single game against the computer in 1 vs 1 or 2 vs 2. In 2 vs 2 the computer plays your teammate.

2 Players

Two people on one keyboard. You can play 1 vs 1 against each other, play 2 vs 2 against each other with a computer teammate each, or both join one team against two computer players.

Training and Tutorial

Training is an empty court with no opponent and no timer, good for practicing shots. The tutorial walks you through moving, jump shots, dunks and the supershot.

Versions and similar games

MadPuffers followed this game with Basketball Legends, which keeps the same style of quick arcade hoops. The studio also made the soccer game Football Legends. For other two-player basketball, try Basket Bros or the floppy one-button Basket Random. If you would rather run a football team, try Retro Bowl.

Developer and history

Basketball Stars was made by MadPuffers, a studio that signs the game's loading screen and asks studios to contact it to license the game. The credits list Kostiantyn Matrunchyk as CEO, Yuriy Borozenets and Dmytro Borozenets on coding, Andriy Zdyshchuk and Roman Padaliuk on art, and Vasyl Kachor on game design. The version here was published on Poki, and it includes a link to MadPuffers' mobile soccer game, Euro Football Legends.