Comparison

Basketball Showdown vs Ball King

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Basketball Showdown

Compete against friends or players worldwide in head-to-head basketball games. Earn prizes in tournaments, unlock upgrades, and become a basketball celebrity with hyper-realistic graphics and intuitive controls.

Highlights
  • Online multiplayer matchmaking
  • Season, Playoff, and Exhibition modes
  • Unlockable balls and upgrades
  • Achievements and leaderboards
  • Realistic graphics and controls
Features
Read full description

Match up against your friends, your enemies, or anyone worldwide in a head-to-head Basketball Showdown! • COMPETE FOR GLORY • Win prizes in online tournaments or compete in single player seasons as your favorite team. Then put your winnings to use by unlocking unique basketballs and upgrades. • BECOME A BASKETBALL CELEBRITY • Beat down opponents with your skills AND your popularity. Add friends to earn rewards and steal experience points from your opponents! • A SPECTACULAR NEXT-GEN EXPERIENCE • Hyper-realistic graphics and heart pounding multiplayer action turn you into a superstar. • THE BUZZER-BEATER IS GOOD • "Keep your charger handy, 'cause you will NOT be setting this down." - FreeAppsArcade ENOUGH FEATURES TO PACK A STADIUM • Online multiplayer matchmaking • No loading screens • Season, Playoff, and Exhibition game modes • Unlockable balls and upgrades to boost your skillz • Unique trophies and bonuses for completing achievements • The exclusive PhysKick™ engine for unparalleled control • Full set of achievements and leaderboards • JOIN OVER 100 MILLION GAMERS WORLDWIDE • Follow @Naquatic on Facebook and Twitter to find out why our apps like MonsterCrafter and Shooting Showdown have been featured by everyone from Apple to IGN, AppAdvice, and TouchArcade.

About

Ball King

Experience arcade basketball with a twist, throwing quirky objects through the hoop. Compete with friends and millions of players across various game modes and unlockable environments.

Highlights
  • Throw unique objects
  • Compete with friends
  • Two exciting game modes
  • Unlock new environments
  • Unlock new objects to throw
Features
Read full description

Want to feel like King? Throw ducks, frogs or even old radios through the basket and crush your friends score! Join 3 million players and compete in two exciting game modes and unlock new environments to play in and new objects to throw! No pop-up advertisements or timers stopping you from playing, just pure fun! Enjoy the game!

Screenshots

Basketball Showdown3 screens
Ball King4 screens

Verdict

The call

Basketball Showdown and Ball King both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 93% of Ball King's written reviews are positive against 77% of Basketball Showdown's. Basketball Showdown's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Basketball Showdown sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Ball King sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Basketball Showdown against 4.7 for Ball King. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.8K and 2K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of Basketball Showdown's written reviews are positive against 93% of Ball King's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Basketball Showdown ships an update every 3 weeks, Ball King every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Basketball Showdown versus Ball King: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBasketball ShowdownBall King
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (2.8K ratings)4.7 (2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.8% of reviews93.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.8K — better2K
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size145 MB96 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperNaquaticQwiboo Ltd

Customer experience

Basketball Showdown

All ratings2,806 ratings
Positive89.5%
Neutral5.0%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews609 reviews
Positive76.8%
Neutral8.2%
Negative14.9%

Ball King

All ratings1,899 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral3.7%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews985 reviews
Positive93.4%
Neutral3.5%
Negative3.1%

User reviews

Basketball Showdown

From 2.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great game
  • 🎮 Fun and addictive
  • 🏀 Awesome basketball game
  • 🔥 Highly recommended
  • 🕹️ Competitive and engaging

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs
  • 🎯 Inaccurate aiming
  • 💰 Expensive upgrades
  • 🤖 Unfair AI/bots
  • 🔍 Needs better matchmaking

Ball King

From 2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and fun gameplay
  • 🕹️ Addictive and engaging
  • 🎨 Retro pixel art style
  • 💰 Free to play with fair monetization
  • ⏱️ Great time killer for short breaks

Room to improve

  • 🔁 Repetitive unlocks of the same items
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
  • 🌬️ Wind mechanic can be frustrating

Bugs and requests

Basketball Showdown

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Season mode crashes
  • Freezing/force closing issues
  • Inconsistent shot accuracy
  • Progression resets after updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add practice mode
  • Improve season mode stability
  • Implement mute/volume controls
  • Increase win record limit
  • Add friend invite/chat features

Ball King

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Game crashing on launch after updates
  • Disappearing coins/prizes after opening gifts

Requested features

4 requests
  • More game modes and challenges
  • Ability to customize player character
  • Improved progression system for unlocks
  • Multiplayer or leaderboard functionality

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Basketball Showdown

One-time10
  • Satchel of Gold$1.99
  • Wallet of Tickets$1.99
  • Sack of Gold$4.99
Show 7 more
  • Bag of Tickets$4.99
  • Coin Doubler$4.99
  • Chest of Gold$19.99
  • Briefcase of Tickets$19.99
  • Safe of Gold$49.99
  • Barrel of Tickets$49.99
  • Pro Pack$99.99
10 purchases

Ball King

One-time10
  • Bowling Ball$0.99
  • Baseball Ball$0.99
  • Burger$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Zombie Head$0.99
  • Skull$0.99
  • Lucky Shamrock$0.99
  • Old Radio$0.99
  • Money Bag$0.99
  • Lucky Dice$0.99
  • Piggy Bank$2.99

Questions

Is Basketball Showdown free?
Basketball Showdown is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ball King free?
Ball King is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Basketball Showdown or Ball King?
Ball King is rated higher. Basketball Showdown averages 4.6 out of 5 from 2.8K ratings, while Ball King averages 4.7 from 2K ratings.
Do Basketball Showdown or Ball King have ads?
Both Basketball Showdown and Ball King show ads.
Which is updated more often, Basketball Showdown or Ball King?
Basketball Showdown ships an update every 3 weeks, and Ball King every 2 months. Most recently, Basketball Showdown was updated on November 6, 2026 and Ball King on November 1, 2026.

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