NLSC Your source for basketball video games.

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some thoughts on the dichotomy of shooting mechanics in modern basketball video games.

Over the decades, developers of basketball video games have strived to make their controls and gameplay mechanics deeper and more skill-based. This has of course resulted in hits and misses throughout the years, as some ideas have proven to be better – and more fun – than others. The successful ideas have become staples of the genre, persisting even as other elements of the games are revamped. To that end, just as modern basketball games aren’t about to eschew right stick dribbling controls, it’s difficult to see them shying away from shooting mechanics based on Green Releases.

Once again, there’s a reason that both of those concepts have prevailed as staples of NBA 2K, as well as the last two NBA Live games. Modern dribbling controls offer precision that wasn’t possible by simply tapping a crossover or spin move button, while today’s shooting mechanics avoid the somewhat contrived ambiguity of RNG; well, for the most part, anyway. At the same time, this skill-based approach definitely isn’t perfect either. There’s undoubtedly merit in rewarding gamers for precise timing with a 100% chance of success, but it can be punishingly challenging, not to mention unbalanced and unrealistic. And so, there’s a dichotomy to these shooting mechanics.

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Was my last round-up of basketball gaming highlights on the NLSC YouTube channel really back in March? It appears so, which confirms two things. One, 2025 flew by way too fast. Two, my resolution to regularly post bulletins spotlighting our basketball gaming highlights hasn’t been going as well as I intended! With that being said, here’s a post to get you caught up on what’s been going on with the NLSC YouTube channel in recent months.

As you may know, Dee and I are currently playing an Association in NBA 2K9 with the Chicago Bulls. We made this decision after a few sessions with both NBA Live 09 and NBA 2K9, in which we tried out a handful of teams. Dee has shared the best moments from those preliminary games, as well as our Association so far. He’s also uploaded highlights from our other co-op basketball gaming sessions and head-to-head games with community members, including a 1985 showdown in NBA 2K13, a clash of All-Decade teams in NBA Live 2000, and a game between Pitt and Georgetown in NCAA Basketball 10.

Dee has been playing the most recent NBA 2K games more than I have, and he’s shared some fantastic highlights from those sessions. Those reels include Victor Wembanyama scoring 75 points, Paige Bueckers showing off her bag, top moments from the first 10 games of a Legends vs. Current NBA MyNBA, and other NBA 2K25 and NBA 2K26 gameplay videos. You’ll also find some footage of NBA Superstars for the arcade featuring Anthony Edwards, and a reel of the 2010 Suns vs 2004 Timberwolves in NBA 2K14.

Meanwhile, as I wrapped up Year 6 in my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, I posted highlights from each round of the 2019 Playoffs. I’ve also shared highlights of my games of NBA Live 18 and NBA Live 19 with 2025 and 2026 rosters respectively. Speaking of custom rosters, I also posted highlights from a game of NBA 2K6 featuring the 1997 Bulls and Rockets, and Michael Jordan being added to the Wizards in an NBA Live 96 work-in-progress roster. There was a new entry in the NBA 2K14 Retro Series featuring the 1971 Lakers and Hawks, and I also made tributes for Lenny Wilkens and Rodney Rogers in NBA Live 19 Ultimate Team and NBA 2K17 respectively.

Check out all of those basketball gaming highlights below! I know I’ve said it before, but moving forward, I’ll certainly endeavour to spotlight each new video with a bulletin here on the NLSC. In the meantime, make sure you’re following us on social media where we always share our latest uploads, and of course, subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel for more basketball gaming highlights and other content!

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Get ready for more fantastic highlights from the basketball gaming community in the NLSC Top 10 Plays of the Week, curated by Dee! New and old games alike are featured in this celebration of spectacular moments on the virtual hardwood. To submit your clips, post them in this topic, send Dee a message, or hit him up on X.

The virtual counterparts of some of basketball’s biggest names are featured in this week’s NLSC Top 10 Plays! Michael Jordan, who makes multiple appearances. Kobe Bryant. LeBron James. Steven Hunter. Alright, that last one is a little out of place, but as in real life, role players can produce some spectacular moments in video games. Indeed, it’s how they become Virtual Hardwood Legends! In any case, this week’s countdown features another ten plays to get you hyped up for a weekend of basketball gaming, with four different titles on display from NBA Live 2003 through to NBA 2K26. Let’s get to the action!

What was your favourite highlight this week? Sound off in the comments below, and once again, get in on the fun by sending us your best plays! Remember, as long as it’s a basketball game, it’s eligible for the countdown. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to us on YouTube for more basketball gaming videos.

Welcome to another edition of The Friday Five! Every Friday I cover a topic related to basketball gaming, either as a list of five items, or a Top 5 countdown. The topics for these lists and countdowns include everything from fun facts and recollections to commentary and critique. This week’s Five is a list of five ways that we misremember basketball video games.

Just how well do you think you remember all of the basketball video games you’ve ever played? I’d like to think that I have a pretty good memory – especially when it comes to my passions – but I’m hardly infallible in my recollections! Sure, I’ve made a lot of memories with basketball video games, and remember quite a few things off the top of my head. If it’s been a while since I played a game though, chances are some of the specifics will have slipped my mind. There’s a reason I have to do research for my features, because when I don’t, mistakes and omissions are inevitable!

To that point, there have definitely been times when I’ve trusted my memory when I shouldn’t have. I’d suggest that we’re all guilty of that from time to time. Indeed, based on comments about basketball video games that I’ve seen in various online spaces, it’s safe to say that a lot of people misremember them in some way. It’s usually an honest and understandable mistake, and it may only be a minor detail. Nevertheless, we’re all bound to misremember a thing or two about a game when it’s been a long time since we last played it. With that in mind – no pun intended – here are five ways that we commonly misremember basketball video games whenever we’re discussing them.

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A new version of the Olympic Basketball Legacy mod for NBA 2K20 by RayRay_953 and company is now available! As the name would imply, the project celebrates the basketball tournament at the Olympic Games, as well as other international clashes on the hardwood.

V8 of the Olympic Basketball Legacy mod includes some exciting additions. Every single team that competed in the McDonald’s Open/McDonald’s Championship has been added, representing a number of league champions from around the world. Teams that took part in the NBA Europe Live Tour are also featured in the new release, complete with some jerseys that were originally only seen in NBA Live 07. Other international exhibitions are also accounted for, including NCAA squads taking on national teams, and the NBL’s Adelaide 36ers squaring off against the Phoenix Suns in 2022.

Pick up Olympic Basketball Legacy V8 here in the Forum! The mod is now an all-in-one download, and the necessary sync.bin file is also available if you’re having trouble getting it to work with your game. For more information on installing the mod, check out this video tutorial. Shout out to RayRay_953 and company once again for another fantastic release, and for making it freely available to one and all! If you’re still playing NBA 2K20, you may also want to check out Thunder Shaq’s Ultimate Retro Roster, which now includes a 2026 season update.

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at attending a midnight launch for the PlayStation 4 here in Australia, and my first impressions of the console.

My Facebook Memories reminded me that in the early hours of November 29th 2013, I returned from a midnight launch of the PlayStation 4 at a retailer here in Australia. The console had launched in North America a couple of weeks earlier, so I’d already heard others share their initial impressions of NBA Live 14 and NBA 2K14. Needless to say, I had some concerns – especially about the former – but I tried to keep an open mind. After all, I wanted to be excited about the new generation of basketball gaming that I’d be experiencing from Day One; or near enough, anyway.

That first experience with the PlayStation 4 and two new next generation basketball video games – as well as a third title that I picked up – is certainly interesting for me to reflect upon. Suffice it to say, my feelings towards the console and at least one of those releases have changed over the years. I still have some mixed thoughts about the eighth generation, though to date I like it a lot more than the ninth! With PlayStation celebrating its 30th Anniversary, and November 29th marking 12 years since the Australian launch of the PlayStation 4, it’s a good time to look back…way back…

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #608 of the NLSC Podcast!

With the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S very likely to be superseded by new consoles within the next few years, what are our thoughts on the most recent generation of NBA 2K games? This week, we’re ranking NBA 2K21 through NBA 2K26 from best to worst, with a few members of the community also weighing in with their rankings and opinions. We also discuss our overall view of Ninth Gen NBA 2K, noting some of the key mistakes the series has made, as well as some of the things that it has done right. Additionally, we touch on our level of optimism for future releases, the issue of games feeling disposable nowadays, and the desperate need for competition in the basketball gaming space.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:03:11 — 43.7MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

To get involved with the mailbag or to provide any feedback on the show, hit us up in the comments, reach out on social media, or post here in the NLSC Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. You can also find the show on our YouTube channel, along with the rest of our video content. As always, thanks for tuning in, and go get buckets!

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some reflections on the challenges we face while trying to capture historical screenshots.

Between the topics I cover in various articles and my retro gaming habits involving classic teams and matchups, I’m often capturing screenshots of historical scenarios. Needless to say, there are some challenges when it comes to trying to snap the ideal shot. Obviously, many of them apply to virtual hardwood photography in general. From technical limitations to the available content to difficulty in staging everything the way you see it in your mind, the final result may not be exactly what you want. Of course, other times the results can be extremely satisfying.

To that end, I really enjoy firing up a game, tinkering with the rosters as necessary, and finding ways to stage historical scenarios for some great screenshots! Indeed, on top of using historical screenshots to illustrate the facts and trivia that I’m writing about, the theme of a number of my features in recent years has basically revolved around virtual pictures speaking their proverbial thousand words. Not only has this allowed me to indulge my nostalgia and love of NBA history, but it’s been fun trying my hand at some more visually creative content. Once again though, these historical screenshots come with several challenges, though tackling them has been rewarding.

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We’re still seeing some mod releases for NBA 2K16, hinting at its potential to be kept alive with new work. Obviously it helps to have the right tools for the job, and to that end, Nba2kfadeaway has uploaded a utility that aids in converting WAV files to OGG files, facilitating audio mods. Check it out at the link below!

Nba2kfadeaway
NBA 2K16 WAV to OGG Converter

Thanks to everyone who continues to contribute to our Downloads database! If you need help uploading files, be sure to check out this video tutorial. For more information about downloads, the modding community, and Mod Releases bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.

Get ready for more fantastic highlights from the basketball gaming community in the NLSC Top 10 Plays of the Week, curated by Dee! New and old games alike are featured in this celebration of spectacular moments on the virtual hardwood. To submit your clips, post them in this topic, send Dee a message, or hit him up on X.

Earlier this week in Episode #607 of the NLSC Podcast, Michael Jordan and Victor Wembanyama were named as players to show a budding basketball fan to get them hooked on hoops. Very appropriately, the virtual counterparts of both players are featured in this week’s NLSC Top 10 Plays, alongside other stars past and present. Whether you enjoy alley-oops, poster dunks, ankle-breakers, big blocks, trick shots, or gamewinners, our latest countdown is sure to delight you…and as always, fire you up for a weekend on the virtual hardwood. Let’s get to the action!

What was your favourite highlight this week? Sound off in the comments below, and once again, get in on the fun by sending us your best plays! Remember, as long as it’s a basketball game, it’s eligible for the countdown. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to us on YouTube for more basketball gaming videos.

Welcome to another edition of The Friday Five! Every Friday I cover a topic related to basketball gaming, either as a list of five items, or a Top 5 countdown. The topics for these lists and countdowns include everything from fun facts and recollections to commentary and critique. This week’s Five is a list of five coincidences with squads in the series of Legends Challenges in NBA Live 19 Ultimate Team.

As was the case with NBA Live 18, Ultimate Team has been one of my main modes of choice during my NBA Live 19 kick. It’s the only way to play with all the Legends, which appeals to my nostalgic approach to basketball gaming these days. Because I’m getting into NBA Live 19 Ultimate Team so late in the game, I’ll still have plenty of unfinished Challenges when the servers are shut down. With that in mind, I’m picking and choosing the ones that appeal to me the most. Needless to say, that includes the 31-game series of Legends Challenges!

Each game in the series of Legends Challenges places a former great back in uniform, albeit the jersey that their respective teams are sporting during the 2019 season. While they may be playing alongside one or two of their former teammates – or at least other greats who played for that team at some point – the squads are generally comprised of whichever Legends would make for a challenging lineup. For the most part, it doesn’t seem that those out-of-place Legends have been selected for any specific reason. To that end, I noted what I believe are some fun coincidences with the (mis)placement of certain players in the Legends Challenges, from actual history to infamous What Ifs.

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We have a couple of new mod releases for NBA 2K14 today; well, a new mod, and an updated modding tool! Pep has released a 2026 season court update for the Orlando Magic, while Nba2kfadeaway has uploaded a translated version of 3dmgame’s IFF Export & Import utility. Pick up both of today’s NBA 2K14 mod releases at the links below!

Pep
2025 KIA Center (Orlando Magic Court)

3dmgame (Translated by Nba2kfadeaway)
NBA 2K14 IFF Export & Import English Version

Thanks to everyone who continues to contribute to our Downloads database! If you need help uploading files, be sure to check out this video tutorial. For more information about downloads, the modding community, and Mod Releases bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m once again revisiting NBA Live 95 for the Super Nintendo, in order to demonstrate how Dominique Wilkins can break the game.

There are several reasons why I enjoy revisiting classic basketball video games. So many titles remain a blast to this day, so I love hitting the virtual hardwood in them. Also, there’s always the possibility of discovering something new, whether it’s a cool feature or mechanic that I overlooked, an explanation for a design choice or technical issue, or a fun bit of roster trivia. And of course, if you mess around with a game, you might stumble across something truly weird! That’s what happened when I reversed the Dominique Wilkins for Danny Manning trade in the Super Nintendo version of NBA Live 95. Here’s a video breaking down a rather unexpected sim engine outcome!

I hope you enjoyed this exploration of a weird phenomenon that we can create in NBA Live 95’s Season mode! I’ll have to mess around a little more and see if I can find any other players that are capable of having the same impact as Dominique Wilkins when traded. In the meantime, let me know if you’ve encountered any sim engine oddities like this one, and also be sure to subscribe to the NLSC’s YouTube channel! In addition to in-depth game retrospectives, essays, and features like this, you’ll also find plenty of gameplay highlight reels, the weekly NLSC Top 10 Plays curated by Dee, episodes of the NLSC Podcast, and more basketball gaming videos.

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #607 of the NLSC Podcast!

If you wanted to introduce someone to basketball, which players do you think stand the best chance of making them fall in love with the sport? This week, we’re joining the community in naming our picks for both past and present players that we believe would get a new fan completely hooked on hoops. Some of the choices probably won’t be a huge shock, but there are some interesting and unexpected ones as well! We also reflect on how the players of yesteryear solidified our love of basketball and the NBA as young fans, and the importance of appreciating all of the stars of the sport, whether it’s the all-time legends of the game or the top players in the league today.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 44:52 — 31.2MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

To get involved with the mailbag or to provide any feedback on the show, hit us up in the comments, reach out on social media, or post here in the NLSC Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. You can also find the show on our YouTube channel, along with the rest of our video content. As always, thanks for tuning in, and go get buckets!

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some thoughts on how tasks in basketball video games are often fun when they’re optional, but a chore when they’re mandatory.

I’ve made my thoughts on grinding in basketball video games very clear. In short, I’m not a fan of forcing gamers to turn play into work in order to make a game enjoyable. I couldn’t disagree more when people defend grinding by suggesting that their fellow gamers are lazy and don’t want to put in the effort. Contrary to the apologist rhetoric, not everyone desires to be 99 Overall in MyCAREER, or have a stacked MyTEAM squad, within a week of a new game coming out. They just want to progress at a fair rate, and not be forced to choose between mindless grinding and paying for shortcuts.

Moreover, while there have been a number of methods to assist with the grind and avoid spending money, they’re not necessarily fun, or as effective as we’d like. Even if they’re useful in speeding up progress, they can still become tiresome to repeat over and over again. Beyond that, there have been other concepts in basketball games – in particular MyCAREER in NBA 2K – that can be fun if they’re optional, but quickly become a chore if they’re mandatory. In my view, the fastest way to ruin a basketball game is to force us into extracurricular tasks and activities that have nothing to do with playing virtual hoops. It won’t be long before they become dreary busywork.

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