# The Original Pencil Sketch of Bally NBA Fastbreak Pinball

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2022-11-29  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/the-original-pencil-sketch-of-bally-nba-fastbreak-pinball

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## Analysis

George Gomez shared an original pencil sketch from his design of the 1997 Bally NBA Fastbreak pinball machine. The article provides context about the game's creative team (Gomez as designer, Kevin O'Connor on art, Tim Kitzrow on callouts) and its innovative two-machine linked play feature.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] NBA Fastbreak was designed by George Gomez in 1997 — _Direct attribution in article; NBA Fastbreak is a known released game from this period_
- [HIGH] Kevin O'Connor did the art for NBA Fastbreak — _Article states 'famous pinball artist Kevin O'Connor' created art_
- [HIGH] Tim Kitzrow provided callouts for NBA Fastbreak — _Article credits 'Tim Kitzrow, of NBA Jam fame' with callouts_
- [MEDIUM] NBA Fastbreak featured a unique scoring system — _Article states 'The game had a unique scoring system' but provides no specifics_
- [HIGH] Two NBA Fastbreak machines could be linked for simultaneous two-player competition — _Article states design 'enabled two players to play against each other simultaneously' via linked machines_

### Notable Quotes

> "the renowned pinball designer George Gomez recently shared a picture of one of the original pencil sketches that he did while designing the 1997 Bally pinball machine NBA Fastbreak"
> — **Author (Knapp Arcade)**
> _Sets up the article's main subject—discovery of design artifact_

> "I don't know about you, but if I dug through a box of old stuff at my house, I definitely wouldn't find anything this cool lol"
> — **Author (Knapp Arcade)**
> _Casual, relatable commentary on the rarity and value of original design sketches_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| George Gomez | person | Renowned pinball designer who created NBA Fastbreak; recently shared original pencil sketch from design process |
| NBA Fastbreak | game | 1997 Bally pinball machine with unique scoring system and linked two-machine competitive play |
| Bally | company | Historical pinball manufacturer that produced NBA Fastbreak in 1997 |
| Kevin O'Connor | person | Famous pinball artist who created artwork for NBA Fastbreak |
| Tim Kitzrow | person | Voice talent from NBA Jam who provided callouts for NBA Fastbreak |
| Silverball Museum | organization | Museum in Asbury Park, New Jersey housing pinball machines including NBA Fastbreak |
| Knapp Arcade | organization | Source of this article |
| IPDB | organization | Pinball history website cited as source for game flyer |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Pinball design history and artifacts, George Gomez's design portfolio, NBA Fastbreak game mechanics and features
- **Secondary:** Bally pinball machines from 1990s, Pinball artist collaborations

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Enthusiastic, appreciative tone toward the design artifact and creative team behind NBA Fastbreak. Author expresses genuine excitement about discovering original sketches.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** George Gomez actively sharing historical design artifacts with the community, reinforcing his role as accessible industry legend (confidence: high) — Gomez 'recently shared a picture' of original sketch, making it public through media
- **[design_philosophy]** George Gomez's design process included detailed pencil sketches, indicating iterative, thoughtful design methodology typical of legendary pinball designers (confidence: high) — Original pencil sketch preserved and recently discovered, suggesting careful documentation of design process

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## Transcript

Here's something really cool, the renowned pinball designer George Gomez recently shared a picture of one of the original pencil sketches that he did while designing the 1997 Bally pinball machine NBA Fastbreak. He found it while digging through a box of old stuff. I don't know about you, but if I dug through a box of old stuff at my house, I definitely wouldn't find anything this cool lol.

As I mentioned, NBA Fastbreak was designed by George Gomez, it had art done by the famous pinball artist Kevin O'Connor and callouts by Tim Tim Kitzrow, of NBA Jam fame. The game had a unique scoring system and was designed so that two machines could be linked enabling two players to play against each other simultaneously. 

Below are the original pencil sketch of the game, a couple of pictures that I took of one on location at the Silverball Museum in Asbury Park, New Jersey and the game's flyer courtesy of the great pinball history website, IPDB.

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 5c398c2b-77e4-46b8-9e79-89cb5bd9e57a*