head to head
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is reads, and it is a single point.

Execution · Competitive PvP
Arcade basketball testing twitch timing and head-to-head prediction over deliberate chaos.

Execution · Competitive PvP
Frantic small-arena duels testing reflexes and prediction of human opponents.
NBA Jam Tournament Edition leans Execution (Competitive PvP); Superfighters Deluxe leans Execution (Competitive PvP).
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
NBA Jam Tournament Edition
Turbo timing, steals and shot releases reward fast hands
Superfighters Deluxe
Aim, blocks, throws and movement decide frantic small-arena fights
Superfighters Deluxe leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
NBA Jam Tournament Edition
Head-to-head play is constant guessing of the other player
Superfighters Deluxe
Human opponents constantly adapt positioning and weapon timing
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
NBA Jam Tournament Edition
On-fire mechanics and rubber-banding inject chaos
Superfighters Deluxe
Random weapon spawns and destructible chaos shuffle fights
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
NBA Jam Tournament Edition
Roster picks and hot-spot knowledge add a thin layer
Superfighters Deluxe
Map knowledge and weapon priorities are a thin layer
A matching score does not mean a matching test. Two games can both sit at 10 on execution and demand completely different things of you - which is why the reasoning above matters more than the number beside it.