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| A Midway NBA Jam arcade cabinet pictured |
Few phrases in gaming are as instantly recognizable or joyfully shouted as “Boomshakalaka.” For an entire generation, it’s the sound of a monstrous dunk, a three-pointer at the buzzer, and pure arcade magic. That iconic line, along with countless other quips, came from the vocal cords of Tim Kitzrow, the legendary voice of NBA Jam. But in a recent interview, Kitzrow revealed a startling fact: for helping to create the soul of a game that would generate over $1 billion in revenue, he was paid roughly $800.
Kitzrow, now 64, sat down with The Escapist for a wide-ranging conversation about his career, the creation of gaming’s most famous exclamation, and the stark reality of video game voice work in the early ‘90s.
“When the game came out, and I found out it made a billion dollars, that’s when I realised I’d made like $800 and change maybe something like that,” Kitzrow reflected. “I thought, ‘Well, I’m probably being underpaid. I might want to raise my rate.’”
A Freelancer’s Gig in a Blockbuster World
Before he was heating up the virtual court, Kitzrow was a working voice actor in Chicago, lending his talents to pinball machines and arcade games like The Twilight Zone and Judge Dredd. The pay, as he describes, was modest and transactional.
“You might only do two, three, four hours total on a pinball game. You’re making a few hundred bucks at best. You weren’t going to make a living on that,” he explained.
So, when the opportunity came to be the play-by-play announcer for Midway’s upcoming basketball game, he approached it like any other freelance session. NBA Jam would go on to become a global phenomenon, selling over 20,000 arcade cabinets and earning an estimated $2 billion lifetime across arcades and console ports. For Kitzrow, it was a $50-an-hour job.
“It was $50 an hour. Same as the pinball,” he said. “I’d go in and do a couple of sessions, maybe 15 hours total, and that was it. I wasn’t smart enough, savvy enough to know the business to go, ‘gee, these games make a lot of money, maybe I should make more than $50 an hour.’ I didn’t have an agent at the time.”
With no royalties or backend participation, the massive financial success of the game was a story that unfolded without him. Yet, speaking with The Escapist, Kitzrow displays no bitterness, instead focusing on the incredible legacy of the work.
The Birth of a Nonsense Legend: “Boomshakalaka”
Perhaps the most fascinating part of the interview is the origin story of “Boomshakalaka” itself. It wasn’t a basketball term, and Kitzrow had never heard it used on a broadcast. The credit, he says, goes to a colleague and sound designer, John Carlton.
Carlton was humming the chorus “boomshakalaka” from Sly and the Family Stone’s 1969 funk hit “I Want to Take You Higher” and insisted Kitzrow work it into his commentary.
“Now, me being a basketball guy. I watched every game on TV with Marv Albert. I’d never heard anyone say ‘boomshakalaka,’” Kitzrow recalled with a laugh. “I’m just trying to get the reference like ‘What the hell are you talking about? This is not a basketball term.’ He goes ‘Just say boomshakalaka like that.’ So I go ‘boomshakalaka?’ And that’s kind of it.”
He continued, “We basically turned a nonsense phrase into one of the most memorable lines in games.”
A Lasting Legacy Beyond the Paycheck
While the financial disparity between his contribution and the game’s earnings is a stark reminder of the early days of game development—before robust union protections and royalty deals for performers became more common—Kitzrow’s place in pop culture is secure. His voice defined not just NBA Jam, but also classics like NFL Blitz and MLB Slugfest.
The story is more than a tale of underpayment; it’s a testament to how creative magic often happens in collaborative, low-stakes environments. A freelance session, a borrowed funk lyric, and a voice actor’s perfect delivery combined to create something that transcended the game itself. “Boomshakalaka” is now a universal expression of excitement and triumph, echoing far beyond the arcade. And for that, even without the billion-dollar paycheck, Tim Kitzrow’s voice will forever be part of our collective memory.