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 in 2026, offline play still matters in basketball video games.

Look, I don’t want to fall into the same trap that many of my fellow Elder Millennials appear to be; that is to say, focusing too heavily on the “elder” part! With that being said, at this point we’re not in the core demographic for pop culture. I’ll readily admit that some of my hobbies and interests have changed in ways that I don’t like. Once again, I’m reminded of that Grampa Simpson quote that tried to warn me as a kid: “I used to be ‘with it’, but then they changed what ‘it’ was. Now what I’m ‘with’ isn’t ‘it’, and what’s ‘it’ seems weird and scary to me. It’ll happen to you!”

At the same time, other things haven’t changed as much as some people like to claim. When it comes to basketball video games, offline play is a great example. A very loud minority of gamers – and the occasional gaming industry pundit or executive – will try to tell us that single player games and offline play in general are a thing of the past. It’s all about online play, and claiming otherwise is to be behind the times. Except, that clearly isn’t true! There’s plenty of evidence that single player campaigns and local co-op and head-to-head play are still extremely popular. To that end, basketball video games can’t ignore offline play, and they’re destined to be weaker if they do.

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Exciting progress continues to be made with PlayStation 4 emulation. More and more games are becoming playable with updates to the shadPS4 emulator, and that includes NBA 2K14. It does require a compatibility fix to avoid some issues however, and to that end, SexCurryBeats has created a runtime that will get the game working in Quick Game, Practice, and Blacktop.

Please note that in order to play NBA 2K14 on shadPS4, you’ll still need your own backup of the game and dumped libSceNgs2.sprx file. These are not included in this download, and for legal reasons, they won’t be distributed here! This runtime only assists in getting everything working with those resources in place. Please also note that this isn’t an official shadPS4 release, but rather an independently-developed resource.

Download the runtime at the link below! If you need to grab the shadPS4 emulator, you can do so here. It’ll definitely be interesting to see further developments with PS4 emulation, as it could open up modding possibilities for eighth gen NBA Live and NBA 2K titles.

SexCurryBeats
NBA 2K14 PS4 on PC

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.

Once again, this week’s NLSC Top 10 Plays combines past, present, and future to provide an assortment of impressive highlights that include a little bit of everything. There’s LeBron James in his new Philadelphia 76ers jersey, and Vince Carter rising up to throw down a honey dip. Both of those plays demonstrate how modding enhances our virtual hardwood experience. A couple of NBA 2K14 highlights show how it’s fun to revisit classics with their contemporary rosters. The countdown culminates with an impressive re-creation of a clutch moment for Carmelo Anthony. On top of that, seven different games are on display. 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 oddities that you’ll find in the SNES version of NBA Live 95.

In light of this week marking 30 years since I rented NBA Live 95 SNES for the first time, I’m doubling up on my nostalgic reflections by spotlighting some of the oddities you’ll find in that version of the game! I’d earmarked both of these topics as possible ways of celebrating the anniversary of one of my most significant basketball gaming milestones, and with the date looming, I was tossing up which one I wanted to run. I realised that it wasn’t absolutely necessary to choose between the two. To reference a couple of popular reaction GIFs: why not both? Both is good!

As is the often the case when it comes to oddities in video games that we grew up with, we definitely noticed some of them at the time, while others went overlooked for many years until we revisited those games, or someone else pointed them out. Our nostalgia is admittedly quite adept at smoothing over rough edges, and when a game is a blast, we can easily tolerate and outright ignore quirky moments. Obviously, in the early days of basketball gaming, we simply didn’t know any different! As such, glitches and weird moments are often part of our nostalgia, too. For me, these oddities in NBA Live 95 for SNES only add to its charm and the affection that I have for it.

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For those who’d like to try their hand at tinkering with the PC version of NBA Bounce, wiscard_rush has updated his modding tool for the game! The latest version features some bug fixes and new functionality, including the ability to modify save files. Check it out at the link below!

wiscard_rush
NBA BOUNCE Modding Tool (Updated to V2.1.1)

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 reflecting on it being 30 years since I first rented the Super Nintendo version of NBA Live 95, shortly after getting my SNES.

Since 1996 was the year that I really got into basketball and basketball gaming, 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of several firsts in my hoops fandom. As such, I’ve felt inspired to reflect on those memorable milestones in becoming a hardcore fan of both real basketball and the virtual hardwood. Back in January, I reflected on it being 30 years since I bought the PC version of NBA Jam Tournament Edition. Come June, I reminisced about the 1996 Chicago Bulls, and how seeing my favourite team win an NBA Championship solidified my love of them and the sport.

That brings me to the 30th anniversary of a couple of other memorable moments for me back in 1996: my acquisition of a Super Nintendo, and subsequent rental of the SNES version of NBA Live 95 from my local video store. NBA Jam Tournament Edition had been a great introduction to the virtual hardwood with its pick-up-and-play arcade gameplay, but after playing NBA Live 95 SNES, I fell in love with the simulation style as well. Again, hitting the 30th anniversary of all these milestones definitely has me feeling nostalgic, so let’s take a look back…way back…

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #642 of the NLSC Podcast!

The NBA 2K27 Gameplay Trailer dropped last week, giving us our first glimpse of this year’s game in action. Unsurprisingly, that glimpse consisted of carefully curated highlights from cinematic angles! We also received a roadmap for the rest of the preview season – which is set to be rather different from previous years – along with a handful of early details about modes and gameplay. The news that’s caught everyone’s attention is the confirmation of a controversial change to dunking, namely that all dunks will require timing. As such, this week we’re joining the community in reacting to the trailer, the expanded use of a Dunk Meter, and everything else that we know about NBA 2K27 so far.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:02:50 — 43.5MB)

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 how the changes to 2K Pro-Am still sting all these years later.

I had a blast playing 2K Pro-Am with our squad, NLSC THRILLHO, in NBA 2K16 and NBA 2K17. Our Friday evening sessions were always something to look forward to, and indeed with NBA 2K17, we’d sometimes jump on a few times a week. Sadly, NBA 2K18 wasn’t really to our liking, which put an early end to those 2K Pro-Am sessions. However, while NBA 2K19 was an improvement on the sticks, it delivered a much bigger blow with the changes it made to 2K Pro-Am. One change in particular made it far less viable for us to jump into games.

As I’ve said before, I’m really enjoying my basketball gaming these days. Breaking the habit of grinding up a MyPLAYER to play online, repeating the same journey as an NBA rookie along the way, was absolutely for the best. It’s been great to get back to some franchise gaming, dust off old favourites, discover new retro kicks, and play whatever I like since I don’t have to dedicate countless hours to levelling up a brand new avatar every year. With that being said, there are times that I miss those 2K Pro-Am sessions, and what the mode used to be like. Even though I’m happy with what I’m doing on the virtual hardwood nowadays, the changes to 2K Pro-Am still sting.

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I’m a tad late in posting a bulletin about this, but if you’ve been keeping up with the NBA 2K20 Modding section in our Forum, you’ll have seen that Thunder Shaq released a new version of the Ultimate Retro Roster in July. It’s a substantial update that’s exciting whether you want to play with current rosters, or the NBA of yesteryear.

The latest version of the Ultimate Retro Roster for NBA 2K20 features updated end-of-season rosters for 2026, including adjustments to ratings, contracts, faces, and more. There’s also a work-in-progress 2027 season roster, featuring offseason transactions through July 10th 2026. It also includes first round draftees (with more cyberfaces to come), updated contracts, new court, logo, and jerseys for the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Houston Rockets’ new logo.

Updates have also been made to the 2021 and 2022 season rosters. Check out this post for the download links, as well as a complete changelog. Please note that you’ll need to have installed the previous updates for the rosters to work properly. If you’ve already installed Update Pack 4 (March 14h, 2026), you only need to download the latest update. If in doubt, check out this post for the download links for the entire project.

Shout out to Thunder Shaq and all of the contributors to the Ultimate Retro Roster for NBA 2K20! As always, it’s great to see a game that people still enjoy being kept alive through free mods. If you’re still playing NBA 2K20, definitely give it a look!

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.

August is here, and since it’s Saturday, we’re tipping off the month with a new NLSC Top 10 Plays! The countdown features some dazzling alley-oops, including a lob to “Top Floor” Terry Hanson as I’ve dusted off my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER once more. Other players are also rocking the rim in spectacular fashion, though Kobe Bryant opted to finish with more finesse following the spin cycle. Nine different basketball video games are on display this week, from NBA Live 2001 all the way 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 things that NBA Live 10 needed to have.

Although a couple of the eighth generation NBA Live releases garnered a moderately positive reception, or at least inspired a dedicated following, it’s generally agreed that NBA Live 10 was the last very good game in the series. There are several long-time basketball gamers who have gone so far as to deem it to be the best NBA Live. While I’ve developed a much greater appreciation for NBA Live 10 after revisiting it back in 2021, I wouldn’t go that far. It ranks up there for me, but I believe NBA Live 06 PC is better in terms of depth, polish, and overall quality relative to the time it was released.

Nevertheless, NBA Live 10 was a high point during a rough period for NBA Live, and not just because it cleared a low bar. It was outsold by NBA 2K10 and wasn’t as highly-regarded, but it was still well-received and seemingly a sign that the series was on the right track. That momentum regrettably went to waste, but at least we got one undeniably good NBA Live release on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360! Looking back though, it’s clear that NBA Live 10 lacked some things that it absolutely needed to have. Here are five that not only could’ve made it the best NBA Live, but may have also avoided all the disasters that led to the series’ downfall and dormancy as of 2026.

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The NBA 2K27 preview season is officially underway, but gamers are still playing and modding NBA 2K26, as evident from today’s mod releases! SexCurryBeats has released a couple of new basketballs, specifically the Molten BG5000 and Worn Spalding Silver Series, while Chad Curney has updated his WNBA on ESPN logo pack. Download all of the latest NBA 2K26 mod releases at the links below!

SexCurryBeats
Molten BG5000 FIBA Ball
Worn Spalding Silver Series

Chad Curney
WNBA On ESPN Team Logos (Updated to V4.0)

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 taking a look back at the freeze-frame player introductions in seventh gen NBA Live 07 and NBA Live 08.

For all the talk about how as we grow older we also grow more close-minded, I have to say that when it comes to basketball video games, I’ve had the opposite experience. When I was a younger basketball gamer, I was very particular about certain aspects of the virtual hardwood. Not only did I struggle to enjoy sim titles that felt different to NBA Live, but I had some rather strict criteria and a few petty gripes when it came to critiquing my favourite hoops series. That’s not to say that there’s anything wrong with having strong preferences, but I definitely took some things way too seriously!

To that end, while I do stand by some of my criticisms all these years later, I have lightened up about other things that used to bother me. An obvious example is the comedic cutscenes in NBA Live 2003. While I still think they went a little overboard with them and they’re not the tone I’d prefer in a sim game, I can find the humour in them nowadays, and appreciate how they gave the game character. The freeze-frame player introductions in NBA Live 07 and NBA Live 08 are another example of a stylistic choice that I’ve warmed up to. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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In the wake of last week’s cover reveal, the NBA 2K27 gameplay trailer has dropped! As expected, it features this year’s cover players and other prominent names – including LeBron James in his new Philadelphia 76ers jersey – strutting their stuff with a series of cinematic highlights. We’ll likely have to wait a few weeks to see any raw gameplay.

To that point, the roadmap for the NBA 2K27 preview season has also been revealed. Unlike previous years where we had weekly developer insights and other previews, this year there’s going to be one big reveal of all the key information on August 18th. Notably, this reveal will come a day after the pre-order discount and limited-time bonus are no longer available.

However, in addition to the gameplay trailer and preview season roadmap, we do have some early information about NBA 2K27. There have been changes to the contest logic from AI players, and the implementation of the dunk meter. Rucker Park is part of The City, which will use a familiar map with new aesthetics. Cap Breakers return, and there are new Badges for MyPLAYERs. There are also a couple of user-friendly changes to the Auction House.

Check out a summary of those snippets below, along with the NBA 2K27 gameplay trailer and a screenshot of LeBron James! Share your thoughts in the comments, as well as join in the discussion in the NBA 2K27 section of the Forum. Obviously this year’s preview season is going to be a little different, but nevertheless we’ll be covering any news as it comes in, and providing commentary on those details. To that end, be sure to tune into Episode #641 of the NLSC Podcast for our reactions to the cover reveals, pre-order bonuses, and first-look screenshots.

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #641 of the NLSC Podcast!

The NBA 2K27 preview season is now officially underway following the reveal of the cover players for the Standard, Deluxe, and Ultra Editions of the game, as well as their pre-order bonuses and a handful of first-look screenshots. To that end, this week we join the community in reacting to our first glimpse of NBA 2K27, as well as the prices and pre-order bonuses for all three editions. We also draw some comparisons to the pre-order bonuses for NBA 2K17 ten years ago, discuss the drawbacks of digital-only premium editions, and touch on the controversy surrounding the cover art for the Standard Edition of NBA 2K27, which was seemingly taken from a proposed design on social media.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 49:30 — 34.4MB)

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!