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The Sunday Substitute

The Sunday Substitute: The MyPLAYER Transaction Report (Part 5)

'Where intensity happens' advertisement from NBA 2K13.

Welcome to another instalment of The Sunday Substitute! After another lengthy hiatus, I’m coming back and continuing with my series within a series, The MyPLAYER Transaction Report. For anyone new here, it’s a series where I document the teams I’ve played for across the NBA 2K and Live titles.

This edition includes the two latest titles – NBA 2K22 and NBA 2K23 – with a detour in between. Indeed, this is the beginning of me getting a taste for the older titles. I’m noticing many of them are holding up better than I expected, even without their online features.

Perhaps it’s out of me longing for a time when MyCAREER wasn’t a gigantic cutscene with some basketball attached. Or maybe I just like going back and seeing the names that are no longer in the league. Shoutout to Gary Forbes, Toney Douglas, and Justin Harper – they were all my teammates at some stage in NBA 2K13. In any case, expect to see some older titles in future entries of this series.

For now, we start Part 5 with a familiar scenario: an alternate build. This time, I find myself north of the border, backing up a rising star in Pascal Siakam.

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The Sunday Substitute: The MyPLAYER Transaction Report (Part 4)

My player winning the NCAA championship in NBA 2K21.

Welcome to another week of The Sunday Substitute! It’s a collection of articles where I document some of my basketball video game memories. Once again, I’m continuing with my series within a series: The MyPLAYER Transaction Report.

Part 4 of The MyPLAYER Transaction Report is where my interest in career modes starts to wane. I begin to load manage my gaming habits, spending my time more evenly between the modes. Rather than completing seasons, my eyes are more firmly on PSN trophies. As a result, there’s only one completed season here, and it’s spread across two entries.

There are some noteworthy moments here, though. I’m involved in my first-ever trade, and I played for both 2022 NBA Finals teams in the same season, the Warriors and the Celtics. It’s also very Junior-centric, with three different builds across NBA 2K21. Can you believe I had five builds in NBA 2K21 all up?

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The Sunday Substitute: The MyPLAYER Transaction Report (Part 3)

My player on a Gatorade billboard.

Welcome once again to The Sunday Substitute! It’s the series that was gaining splinters on the bench, but after three appearances in a row, could be considered part of The NLSC rotation. In this edition, we’ll continue with Part 3 of The MyPLAYER Transaction Report.

The MyPLAYER Transaction Report is where I detail my single-player career experiences from NBA 2K10 to NBA 2K23, with a few NBA Live games in between. I aim to play at least one game for all 30 NBA teams.

In Part 3, I will mention the remaining three MyCAREER players on my Worst to Best list, plus my campaign in The One from NBA Live 19. At this point, I would like to shout out Chris Smoove. His video helped me piece together the story behind my Lakers stint.

Speaking of the Lakers, the City of Angels is where we begin this transaction report. Yes, even my least favourite teams get my services at some point.

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The Sunday Substitute: The MyPLAYER Transaction Report (Part 2)

MyPLAYER holding up the MVP trophy in NBA 2K17.

Welcome to another edition of The Sunday Substitute! This is an occasional end-of-week feature where I share my experiences in basketball gaming, as well as give my two cents on certain issues within the space. Today I resume with Part 2 of The MyPLAYER Transaction Report.

The MyPLAYER Transaction Report is a series where I chronicle my career campaigns in basketball video games. Whether it’s one game or a thousand games, every stop along the way counts. So far, I’ve played for 28 teams…try and guess the last two I haven’t played for!

This second part is arguably the golden era of this series. It includes some of my greatest moments in career stories and my first foray into an alternate build. NBA Live also debuts in this edition, with NBA Live 16 and 18 providing career modes that could have been a great foundation for the series moving forward.

Let’s start by continuing with a build I mention in Part 1.

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The Sunday Substitute: The MyPLAYER Transaction Report (Part 1)

My player shaking Adam Silver's hand after being drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans.

Welcome to The Sunday Substitute – the feature that barely gets a run in 2022 but still has a presence on The NLSC bench. Today I’m digging through my archives and starting a several-part series called The MyPLAYER Transaction Report. It’s where I chronicle the teams my created ballers have played across the NBA 2K and Live series.

Once I noticed that I was basically playing for a new team in every video game, I set a goal to play for all 30 teams in the NBA. This is an ongoing project, and at the time of writing, I’ve played for 28 out of 30 teams. What are the two franchises I haven’t played for yet? That could be another article in itself!

The parameters are simple: I had to play at least one game with each build. After all, regardless of whether it’s Kareem Abdul Jabbar or JamesOn Curry, an NBA player is an NBA player. This means I’ll also include all the secondary builds I created for achievement hunting. I’ll make sure to distinguish these as I go along.

For now, the best place to start the transaction report is at the very beginning. Let’s go all the way back to NBA 2K10!

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The Sunday Substitute: My Last 5 MyCAREER Campaigns From Worst to Best

My player in NBA 2K16 posing with DeMarcus Cousins.

What’s that? A surprise edition of The Sunday Substitute to start the new year? With the next generation of consoles here, I’ve decided to reflect on my PS4 MyCAREER experiences and rank them from worst to best.

MyCAREER has been a part of my basketball video game experience ever since I first picked up the mode in NBA 2K10, back when it was called My Player. However, it wasn’t until I purchased my PS4 that I played the game annually (except for NBA 2K18). During my run on PS4, I made a conscious decision to make each MyCAREER experience unique. For this reason, I played a different position for each game.

Every situation had its strengths and weaknesses, but some stood out more than others. So, I’m going to rank each of my last five MyCAREER campaigns on PS4 from worst to best. Let’s get this show on the road!

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The Sunday Substitute: WNBA Season Mode in NBA 2K20 PS4 Review

WNBA logo in NBA 2K20

Welcome to The Sunday Substitute! Like Steve Kerr in the 2003 Western Conference Finals, I’m coming back into the game after a lengthy stint sitting on the pine. Today, I’m looking to come back with a bang by reviewing the WNBA Season mode in NBA 2K20. Enjoy!

When 2K announced that they were introducing the WNBA Season mode, it was the feature I was most excited for in NBA 2K20.

WNBA Play Now was my favourite mode in NBA Live 18, and I thought the ball was in EA’s court when it came to developing a highly engaging mode for an otherwise underrepresented – and let’s be real, underappreciated – league in basketball video games. However, I was disappointed when they failed to progress the mode further in NBA Live 19.

In my opinion, 2K jumping on the opportunity to create a full season mode for the WNBA represented another telling blow in the basketball video game rivalry. But the question remains; is the mode any good?

Here are my impressions of the mode after playing an entire season on All-Star difficulty, with default sliders, controlling the Las Vegas Aces.

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The Sunday Substitute: Player Upgrade Features in NBA Live 16

The week is in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter, which means it’s time for the Sunday Substitute! It’s the article where I get some valuable minutes while the star is resting on the bench. I might not have the time to do this every week, but I like to think I’m still making a contribution to the team. Since it looks like NBA Live 18 will be released this year, I figured it would be a fantastic opportunity to look back at NBA Live 16 and determine what features are worth salvaging. For this article, I’m going to focus on the player upgrade system.

I really love the player creation and upgrade system in NBA Live 16. It began for me with the most seamless face scan I have ever done in any video game. I’m not sure how everyone else went with it, but I know that my player in NBA Live 16 looks much more like me than any player I’ve created in the NBA 2K series. But my appreciation for player customisation in NBA Live 16 has gone far beyond that since I bought a full copy of the game.

Not only is the player upgrade system an excellent feature in NBA Live 16, but I believe it is superior to that of NBA 2K16, and even NBA 2K17. I know it’s a big call – since the NBA 2K games have the advantage in most areas – but I think NBA Live 16 had some intuitive features when it comes to upgrading created players. So, here are the player upgrade features that I not only love in NBA Live 16, but I think should be considered for NBA Live 18.

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The Sunday Substitute: First Impressions of NBA Playgrounds

The week is in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter, which means it’s time for the Sunday Substitute! It’s the article where I get some valuable minutes while the star is resting on the bench. I might not have the time to do this every week, but I like to think I’m still making a contribution to the team. It’s been a long time on the pine for me, but today I felt like I had to share my first impressions of NBA Playgrounds.

After mistakenly releasing a beta early, NBA Playgrounds was officially released on the 9th. If you have listened to the last few NLSC Podcasts, you would know that Andrew and I were keeping close tabs on the game, as it was looking to be the spiritual successor of games like NBA Jam and NBA Street. Fast forward to now and I have played the game for several hours. I have completed all circuits, and have leveled up Bill Laimbeer, Luis Scola and Thon Maker to the Gold level. But the question remains: with all this play I have logged, what do I actually think of the game?

I must state now that I haven’t experienced the online mode in NBA Playgrounds, so my impressions are based purely on the offline content. I’m doing this initially since online experiences have tended to skew my perceptions of other video games. I don’t want to potentially give NBA Playgrounds a bad rap because of some cheese a brat online may have exploited constantly. Ultimately, the game itself is the most important thing…at least for my initial impressions. With that out of the way, let me discuss what I have liked and haven’t liked about the game so far.

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The Sunday Substitute: Getting Sucked Into MyTEAM…Again

The week is in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter, which means it’s time for the Sunday Substitute! It’s the article where I get some valuable minutes while the star is resting on the bench. I might not have the time to do this every week, but I like to think I’m still making a contribution to the team. Today’s subject is MyTEAM in NBA 2K17 and why I’ve become addicted to the mode once again.

After my experience with NBA 2K16, I constantly told myself I wouldn’t get sucked into MyTEAM in NBA 2K17. The amount of money I spent buying packs (yes, I spent real money), the lack of value in those packs, and the amount of times I drew Jarnell Stokes deterred me. I was resolute; MyTEAM would not get me in NBA 2K17!

Sure, I played the mode casually here and there, completing Domination and the odd challenge, but I thought I was doing okay. I wasn’t hooked. But in the past week and a half, MyTEAM has consumed my 2K experience once again. I completed every Weekly Challenge and every Moments Challenge I was eligible for, as well finishing Historic Domination.

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The Sunday Substitute: Badges in NBA 2K17

The week is in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter, which means it’s time for the Sunday Substitute! It’s the article where I get some valuable minutes while the star is resting on the bench. I might not have the time to do this every week, but I like to think I’m still contributing to the team effort. I have been gaining a few splinters on the bench for the last few months, but today I’m ready to get back into it and talk about badges in NBA 2K17.

Over the past few 2K PRO-AM sessions I have had with fellow NLSC team members, I have learned that badges are vital in online play. Both mine and Andrew’s numbers have gone up considerably since we’ve unlocked significant badges for our respective archetypes. In some games, my shooting has been off the charts because of my Hall of Fame Corner Specialist and Catch and Shoot Badges, and Andrew’s passes have been more on point with the Gold Dimer badge.

Despite how NLSC THRILLHO have improved after acquiring badges, there are still a number of issues that badges seem to be creating online. It seems like lesser-rated players are becoming more overpowered because of outside shooting badges. People are still zigzagging and hitting those perfect jump shots, and corner threes are almost automatic unless you practically foul the shooter.

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The Sunday Substitute: My NBA 2K16 MyCAREER Evolution

The week is in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter, which means it’s time for The Sunday Substitute! It’s the article where I get some valuable minutes while the star is resting on the bench. I might not have the time to do this every week, but I like to think I’m still making a contribution to the team.

In this edition, I want to talk about MyCAREER and how I have approached it in NBA 2K16. Whether I’m building a team in a franchise mode or creating the next superstar in a player mode, I have generally found the reward to be in the gameplay experience alone. NBA 2K16, on the other hand, has been a different story for me. It’s the first NBA game that I have really delved into the online aspect – with MyPARK, 2K PRO-AM and MyTEAM – and it is also the first game I have really dealt with Virtual Currency (VC). All the sudden, the way I play one game mode affects how I play every game mode.

This article is basically a timeline of my experience in MyCAREER in NBA 2K16 and what kept me motivated to stick with it. My motivations generally changed depending on my needs in NBA 2K16 and whether I completed what previously motivated me. With that said, here’s my evolution through MyCAREER in NBA 2K16.

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The Sunday Substitute: Achieving 99 Overall in NBA 2K

The GOAT, often rated 99 Overall

Welcome to the Sunday Substitute; the article where I get some valuable minutes while the star is resting on the bench. I might not have the time to do this every week, but I like to think I’m still making a contribution to the team.

Today I’m going to talk about 99 overall players. In real life, you may associate one or two players with the number, but it is a completely different story in NBA 2K16. In 2K PRO-AM, you will see at least one on the highly ranked teams, while in MyPARK, there are generally as many 99 players as there are players that are over 7-feet tall. However, even though the rarity of this calibre of player in real life versus online is an issue, I want to first delve into what kind of attributes make a 99 overall player.

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