From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #507 of the NLSC Podcast!

With the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament wrapping up, we have some thoughts to share, from how well we think it’s worked and how it could improve to the eyesore that is the court designs! Speaking of the real NBA, Austin Rivers’ comments on LeBron James having no successor as the face of the league prompts us to discuss the accuracy of that claim. We also reflect on a spectacular Top 10 Plays, compare NCAA Basketball 09 and 10, and advocate for exhibition play on the virtual hardwood. NOTE: Due to technical difficulties resulting in the loss of part of the recording, this week’s show is much shorter than usual. We’ll be circling back to the community’s thoughts on the NBA In-Season Tournament on next week’s episode.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 38:13 — 26.6MB)

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 joys of co-op play, which demonstrate that two hoop heads (or even more) can indeed be better than one.

So, I’ve previously spoken out in defense of single player experiences, and I do stand by that. As someone who essentially grew up as an only child – my half-brother is sixteen years older than me – I’ve often treated video games as a solo activity. Many of my all-time favourite games are single player, or can be enjoyed just as much alone as when playing with other people. Thanks to season, franchise, and career modes, to say nothing of fun ideas for exhibition games, I’ve made many fond memories balling out alone against the CPU, rather than with or against anyone else.

My immediate circle of friends not being passionate hoop heads like me was also a factor here. Of course, basketball became very popular back in the 90s, so there were times that I hit the virtual hardwood with friends growing up, particularly in arcade titles. As such, I wasn’t always playing NBA Live or NBA Jam solo. On top of that, my cousin Clinton and I were (and still are) very close and share a love of basketball, and would play a variety of hoops games religiously when he came to visit every school holidays. We always played co-op, and so when Dee and I started teaming up in our Parsec sessions, it was a familiar experience that I’m glad to partake in again.

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We’ve got some new NBA 2K24 mod releases today, as bratnajbolji has released a fix for the sleeved jerseys, and a handful of court updates, including the In-Season Tournament floor and arena. Download them all at the links below!

bratnajbolji
Sleeved Jerseys Fix
In-Season Tournament Championship Court & Arena
San Antonio Spurs Updated City Court 2024
30 Team National Broadcast Arena Presentation
Los Angeles Lakers Preseason Court and Arena

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 Dee4Three! 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, or hit up Dee on Twitter.

On Twitter…uh, I mean, X…Dee teased that this week’s NLSC Top 10 Plays would be one of the best countdowns we’ve seen to date. I’m positive that you’ll agree that it lives up to the hype! After all, we’ve got a player throwing the ball off an opponent’s face a la And 1 STREETBALL, 360 alley-oop finishes, another ridiculous putback by the king of such things, and posters all around. NBA 2K24 has clearly been in many gamers’ rotations as of late, but three other titles are also featured in the countdown, with an arcade classic taking the #1 spot. 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 recalls five times that my franchise games and the real NBA imitated each other.

Last week, I recalled five times when real moves made their way into my games, thanks to trades and signings that were initiated by CPU-controlled teams. They were special because obviously, I had nothing to do with them. The AI just happened to make moves that placed players on teams that they’ve played for since those games were released. Conversely, when I don my virtual GM suit in a franchise mode and mimic trades and signings that occurred in real life, it isn’t nearly as remarkable. It’s a situation where we gamers have greater control and influence, after all.

However, it’s still fun to inject some realism into your franchise gaming by taking cues from real life transactions. Indeed, before I made a blockbuster deal to acquire Kevin Garnett in my memorable NBA Live 2004 Dynasty, I considered making the trade that brought Jalen Rose and Antonio Davis to the Chicago Bulls, even testing it out to see if the CPU would accept (as it happens, it did). There have also been times where real life has imitated what was once a fictional move in one of my franchise games, which has been entertaining to see. These five examples of times where my franchise games and real life imitated each other comprise both of those scenarios.

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As we’ve been doing all year – and will continue to do in 2024! – Dee and I have recently uploaded highlight reels from various basketball games that we’ve been playing. The latest batch of highlights come courtesy of the classic teams in NCAA Basketball 09, Ultimate Team in NBA Live 18, all-time fantasy rosters in NBA 2K19, and a co-op session of NBA Live 10.

I’ve been casually working on a custom roster for NCAA Basketball 09, adding real names to all of the players on the classic teams. I’ve played a couple of games with that work-in-progress roster in the past week or so, beginning with a showdown between Shaquille O’Neal’s 1990 LSU Tigers and Larry Johnson’s 1991 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels. I also re-played the 1979 National Championship game between Magic Johnson’s Michigan State Spartans and Larry Bird’s Indiana State Sycamores, which went live today in honour of Bird’s birthday. Happy Birthday Larry Legend!

I also dusted off NBA Live 18 Ultimate Team once again, in order to play with my 90s All-Stars squad. This resulted in a very fun game against the Brooklyn Nets, packed with highlights that I just had to share. Meanwhile, Dee always brings a plethora of spectacular moments with his highlight reels, as you can see in the NBA 2K19 video in which he and his brother are using a squad of 2000s Legends against a Los Angeles Clippers team built using an all-time fantasy draft. In their hands, the new stars of a new millennium really put on a show!

Finally, Dee also connected with NBA Live Dude to play a co-op game of NBA Live 10 over Parsec. As you may know, Dee has been instrumental in getting the community into Parsec, and he and I often use it to connect for co-op action on the virtual hardwood. He and NBA Live Dude showcased why NBA Live 10 is still worth playing in 2023 and beyond, and why it will continue to be in our rotations as well. Don’t forget to check out his guide on how to set up Parsec, and be sure to join us in the NLSC Discord! As always, feel free to hit us up with any suggestions of games that you’d like to see us play, and be sure to subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel for more basketball gaming content.

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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 my Sacramento Kings Franchise in NBA Live 2002 for the PlayStation 2.

It recently occurred to me that while I have mentioned my NBA Live 2002 Franchise with the Sacramento Kings in previous articles – including a re-creation of it for our 20th Anniversary of NBA Live content – I’ve never actually profiled it for Wayback Wednesday. Writing about it as an example of a failed basketball gaming idea, and in a handful of other features, had me thinking that I’d already covered it in detail. That really isn’t the case though, and since I’ve reflected on my other memorable season, franchise, and career mode games, it’s only fair that it gets a proper retrospective, too!

On top of that, on a recent dig through my archives, I unearthed some screenshots and an article from my “coverage” of that NBA Live 2002 Kings Franchise, similar to the story topics in our Forum. Not only is it a blast from the past to see those again after all this time, but for the purposes of a retrospective like this, they also allow me to recall some details that have slipped my mind over the years. What I haven’t forgotten though is how much fun that NBA Live 2002 Kings Franchise was, at a time when I definitely sought distractions…even when I probably shouldn’t have been! Let’s take a look back…way back…

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #506 of the NLSC Podcast!

A class action lawsuit is accusing Take-Two of theft, specifically in regards to NBA 2K’s predatory practices. In particular, it notes the loss of VC balance when the servers are shut down after 27 months. While we aren’t lawyers, we certainly do have some thoughts on the situation, as does the community! We also discuss the use of Cronus Zen controllers, and other methods of cheating in NBA 2K online. After all, as much as a technical fix is in order, there are other contributing factors that must be addressed. Meanwhile, comments on our YouTube channel have proven that people have some interesting interpretations of EA Sports’ famous slogan.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:19:15 — 54.8MB)

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 a defense of single player experiences.

There are many different ways of playing basketball video games. There’s exhibition play, which I believe has become underappreciated. You can play a single season in the NBA, or guide a team through multiple seasons in a franchise mode. The card collecting/team building modes are great for gamers who like to build fantasy squads. The career modes allow us to step into the shoes of an NBA player, or take an avatar online for competitive team play. Single player, local and online multiplayer…the best games facilitate all ways to play, and make them a lot of fun.

To that point, there’s no wrong way, or for that matter right way, to play basketball video games. You are no less of a basketball gamer for preferring one mode or style of play over another. I realise that tribalistic factions exist within almost all fanbases, and hey, if people are going to judge each other over their choice in preferred camera setting, there’ll be gatekeeping over modes as well! Over the years however, I’ve noticed more and more disdain for offline and single player experiences. I don’t expect to put an end to that chatter or change everyone’s mind, but I’m compelled to advocate for single player experiences, and explain why many enjoy and prefer them.

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In addition to updating the Hook and releasing a Player Editor plugin for NBA 2K24, Looyh has also updated his tools for NBA 2K23. Check them out at the links below!

Looyh
NBA2K_Hook For 2K23 (Updated to v0.0.24)
[Hook_Plugin] PlayerEditor+ (Updated to v1.7)

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 Dee4Three! 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, or hit up Dee on Twitter.

When it comes to spectacular basketball plays, the crazy and the lucky are just as fun to watch as the skilful! This week’s NLSC Top 10 Plays includes an entertaining reminder of that, as a well-known animation glitch in NBA 2K16 leads to a wild finish at the rim. And, as always, the countdown includes an assortment of poster dunks, ankle breaking moves, crafty passes, and clutch shots. Eight different games are featured this week, from Konami’s Run and Gun 2 all the way up to NBA 2K24. 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.

It’s always exciting to see new mod releases for NBA Live 2005 all these years later, and we have a great one today! mrjea99 (aka Ice) has released a comprehensive 2024 season roster update, which you can download at the link below.

(Ice) mrjea99
NBA LIVE 2024 Full Update

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.

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 recalls five times that I encountered real life moves being made by CPU-controlled teams in my games.

One of the oldest Wishlist requests when it comes to franchise modes is that they feature realistic player movement. This is actually an interesting concept, because many of the moves that we see in real life would probably be considered unrealistic if they occurred in a franchise or career mode game! Teams frequently don’t get equal value when they trade big name players, as the circumstances that result in superstar for superstar swaps are generally rare. Familiar faces end up in strange places, there are unexpected reunions, and loyalty between teams and players is often eroded.

With that in mind, with so many deals that once seemed so unlikely, who’s to say what constitutes realistic player movement in a video game? In fact, I’ve encountered moves made by CPU-controlled teams that, if they hadn’t happened in real life, would probably strike me as unrealistic. Indeed, playing through five seasons and counting in NBA 2K14 PS4’s MyCAREER has resulted in a number of such moves! They may differ in terms of the exact players involved and when they occurred, but the game’s trade and free agency logic still made moves that it couldn’t have known were coming when it was released. Here are five examples of my games imitating real life moves.

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With Season 3 tipping off this Friday, Patch 3.0 has come through for NBA 2K24! As of writing, the patch is available on all consoles, with the PC update likely dropping in time for the new Season. As always, it should come through automatically, as long as your PC or console is online. If it doesn’t, try restarting your console or Steam client, or checking for updates manually.

In addition to preparing NBA 2K24 for Season 3 in MyCAREER and MyTEAM, Patch 3.0 includes new player likenesses, bug and stability fixes, and jersey sponsor updates. It also brings back the traditional East-West All-Star Game format to reflect the change to this year’s event, and improves the representation of the NBA In-Season Tournament. Season 3 celebrates OG NBA 2K cover player Allen Iverson and 25 Years of NBA 2K; more information on the rewards and events can be found here.

You can find the full release notes for Patch 3.0 below, as well as in the NBA 2K24 Current Gen and Next Gen update histories in our Wiki. I’ve also updated those resources to reflect the proper version numbers for the Season 2 patches, and added missing information for the 2.1 hotfix on Next Gen. As always, feel free to share your impressions of and experiences with the latest update in the comments below, as well as join in the discussion in our NBA 2K24 Forum!

UPDATE: The PC patch is now available.

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Today’s NBA 2K17 mod releases feature a new tool to aid in roster modding, as sticky-fingers has updated veriyan’s Cheat Engine table for player editing. Pick it up at the link below!

veriyan & sticky-fingers
NBA 2K17 Cheat Table – Edit Players 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.