Michael Jordan

The Michael Jordan pinball machine, released by Data East Pinball in 1992, is an extremely rare solid-state game designed by Joe Kaminkow and Lonnie D. Ropp, with artwork by Markus Rothkranz and Kurt Andersen. Licensed around the basketball superstar during his prime, the game reuses the playfield design from Data East's own 1992 title Lethal Weapon 3, repackaged with a basketball theme.

Only 7 units of the Michael Jordan machine are confirmed to have been produced, making it one of the rarest licensed pinball machines ever made rather than a widely distributed or well-known title. A small number of variant cabinets are documented, including a blue cabinet version with a different backglass, pictured in The Pinball Compendium 1982 to Present, and a red cabinet version photographed for the 1993 book Rare Air: Michael on Michael.

Because of its scarcity, detailed accounts of its specific shot layout and rule set are hard to verify, and claims about it being an especially innovative or influential design should be treated with caution. Its main historical significance lies in its status as one of the rarest Data East licensed titles, prized by collectors precisely because so few examples exist.