Monster Mash

Imagine spark generators crackling, thunder rumbling off the walls and lightning piercing the sky as you toil to create the NBA's perfect being. While you may not start yelling, "It's alive! It's alive!" NBA Ultimate Player ( NBA Entertainment, $22.95), a fun DVD/ROM that goes on sale on Tuesday, will put you in the role of a Dr. Frankenstein creating the �ber Dr. J. You are given eight body parts (head, eyes, mouth and hair, heart, arms, hands, legs and feet) and, for each part, a choice of 10 NBA stars. Choosing one player for each part, you construct your dream player. We combined Bill Russell's head, Magic Johnson's eyes, Julius Erving's hair (we mean the early-career afro), Michael Jordan's heart, Kevin McHale's arms, Larry Bird's hands, Charles Barkley's legs and Allen Iverson's feet. According to the DVD's program, this hybrid's stats line would be a well-rounded 22.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, 5-3 assists and 2.05 steals a game. We chose Russell (left in photo, jousting with longtime rival Wilt Chamberlain), who averaged only 15.1 points in a 13-year Celtics career, instead of a player who's more impressive statistically, such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, because of another Russell stat: 11 titles.

"We've toyed with this around the office for years," says Larry Weitzman, vice president of multimedia production and programming for NBA Entertainment. "The technology finally caught up to the idea." In addition to the Ultimate Player program, the 58-minute video portion of the DVD provides you with highlights footage for each of the eight body parts, from Bob Cousy's no-look passes (eyes section) to Vince Carter's dunks (legs). The ROM portion of the DVD (to operate it, you need a Mac or a PC) offers video animation diagrams for some famous plays, such as the pick-and-roll of the Jazz's John Stockton and Karl Malone, and more than 200 photos.