Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! The Friday Five is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games, as well as the real NBA, and other areas of interest to our community. The feature is presented as either a list of five items, or in the form of a Top 5 countdown. This week’s Five is a list of five seasons that I’m oddly nostalgic for.

Way back in 2013, the first year of The Friday Five, I listed my top five favourite NBA seasons. That list is still accurate, putting aside the fact that I tried to restrict the number of Chicago Bulls championship years that I included. If I were to remove that restriction, my top five would be 1996, 1997, 1998, 1993, and 1992, with 1991 being an honourable mention. Back in 2017, I discussed five basketball video games that I’m oddly nostalgic for, given that they’re widely considered to be problematic, and don’t necessarily rank among my all-time favourites, either.

I mention those previous articles in part to promote the archives of my content, but also because this week, I’m combining the two concepts. Just as there are NBA video games that I’m nostalgic for despite their issues, there are NBA seasons that I feel nostalgic for even though by all accounts, they should be among my least favourite. Video games do play a part in that of course, and since I am mashing together the ideas of two previous articles, I will touch on them in this piece as well. It’s not just my experiences on the virtual hardwood that make me nostalgic for these seasons though, as the action in the real NBA was interesting in its own right.

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A new patch (1.05) has come through for NBA 2K Playgrounds 2. Billed as the All-Star Update, the patch adds a playground based on the 2019 All-Star court in Charlotte, as well as this year’s All-Star jerseys. The playground is readily available to select, while the jerseys are custom gear that must be unlocked via the Swag Packs.

Patch 1.05 also adds a Valentine’s Day playground, Daily Challenges, an unranked Championship mode, and 70 new players. It also addresses some technical issues and adds a listing of the current players’ challenges to the pause screen.

Please see below for the full patch notes. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section below, as well as join in the discussion about NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 here in the Other Basketball Games section of the NLSC Forum.

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It’s tougher to create comprehensive roster mods for the current generation of NBA 2K games, but with the help of several contributors, Stildo33 has released a 1992 Season Mod for NBA 2K19 PC! The mod, currently in V1.1, is extremely detailed with complete rosters and accurate retro artwork, from player faces to stadium branding.

There are two versions of the mod available: one intended for use in Play Now, and one that is MyLEAGUE compatible. To download the mod through the Roster Creator, search for 1992 SEASON for the Play Now roster, and 1992 SEASON MYLEAGUE for the MyLEAGUE compatible version.

You’ll also need to download the art pack, which you can find in the mod’s release topic. Be sure to check out the release topic for more information and previews! Stildo33 also has a 1993 Season Mod in the works for NBA 2K19; more information on that project can be found here.

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m taking a look back at one of the best modes in NBA 2K11 (and indeed basketball games in general), the Jordan Challenge.

It recently occurred to me that while I’ve discussed Michael Jordan’s presence in NBA 2K11 and ran a series of articles in which I went back and finished all the games in the Jordan Challenge, I’ve yet to post a retrospective dedicated solely to the mode. I’ve obviously discussed it in those previous features, but given how special the Jordan Challenge was, it’s about time I rectify that. Besides, if responses to recent posts on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are any indication, a lot of people are still quite interested in talking about NBA 2K11!

They have a good reason to. NBA 2K11 was a milestone release, and while the failure of NBA Elite 11 was a factor, the quality of 2K’s game combined with the addition of MJ and the Jordan Challenge led to it not only being very warmly received, but also becoming the first game in the series to top five million units sold. As much as any other mode or feature, the Jordan Challenge represents the way 2K has focused on the finer details, and been willing to innovate over the years. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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It’s been a while, but we have some new file additions for NBA Live 08 PC! S_Brat is back again with more of his outstanding face updates, which you can download at the links below. Hopefully, we’ll have some more new mods for NBA Live 08 very soon.

S_Brat
2015-2016 Dallas Mavericks Face Pack
Luka Doncic Face
DeAndre Ayton Face
Trae Young Face
Mo Bamba Face
Brandon Ingram Face
Kyle Kuzma Face
Lonzo Ball Face
2015-2016 Philadelphia 76ers Face Pack
2015-2016 Sacramento Kings Face Pack

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 File Additions bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Start your week here at the NLSC with a feature that’s dedicated to opinions, commentary, and other fun stuff related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games. This week, I’m tipping things off with a few thoughts on the divide between online and offline enthusiasts within the basketball gaming community, and how it’s affecting the development of hoops titles.

By definition, fanatics are not always logical, with measured, reasonable opinions. It’s a rare fanbase that doesn’t have some sort of schism, if not a multitude of factions that hold differing opinions. I touched on one such example in last week’s feature, noting that there’s often dissonance when it comes to younger gamers, and those who have been playing basketball games for a long time (in some cases, more than a couple of decades). There are a lot of things that most basketball gamers want and can agree on, but also some very different ideas about features, identity, and overall direction.

The most noticeable schism within the basketball gaming community would have to be between online and offline gamers. The rise of online gaming in general, and the expansion of multiplayer modes in basketball games specifically, has led to a faction of hoops gamers who play exclusively online, with little interest in the offline modes. At the same time, there are a lot of gamers who prefer the single player experience. In the middle of the Venn diagram are gamers who play both online and offline to some extent, sitting in the crossfire of two passionate factions who are not only taking shots at developers, but also each other. Unfortunately, it makes us a hard group to please.

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With RED MC and REDitor II now both completely free, we should continue to see some excellent mod releases for old favourites. DaCrispy has just released such a mod for NBA 2K11 PC, namely College Hoops 2K. The mod adds over 40 college teams to NBA 2K11, with rosters comprised of fictional players so that they are never outdated. Key features of the initial release of College Hoops 2K are as follows:

• Fully Working NCAA MyCAREER
• Customised Menus and Presentation
• Association Mode
• Generic Roster that won’t become outdated
• Enhanced Generics Global
• 30 HD Courts and Arenas
• Junior Colleges in place of the D-League
• (More Will Be Added as Work Progresses)

Download the roster here, and the artwork here. Please note that you must download both parts and place all of the files correctly in order for the mod to work. For more information, previews, or just to say thanks, you can check out the release topic here in the NLSC Forum.

Episode #273 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! Arcane returns to the booth this week as we catch up on the latest title updates for NBA Live 19 and NBA 2K19, spotlight some recent mod releases, discuss the 2019 NBA All-Star selections, and react to the Kristaps Porzingas trade.

On this week’s show…

• The latest patch for NBA Live 19 has added several new courts to 3v3 LIVE Run. While we’re still hoping to see more attention paid to other modes in the future, they’re definitely worthwhile additions. On top of that, a very worthy member of the community has been featured in a LIVE Event.
• NBA 2K19 also received a new patch this week. It contains some promising gameplay tweaks, and some welcome bug fixes. We’ll have further impressions in the near future.
• We provide a quick round-up of some recent mod releases, including a 1992 Season Mod for NBA 2K19 PC, a College Hoops 2K mod for NBA 2K11, and the latest versions of U R Basketball for NBA 2K13 and NBA 2K14.
• Moving on to some NBA discussion, the 2019 All-Stars have been revealed. We give our thoughts on this year’s selections, as well as the special additions of Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki.
• We wrap up Episode #273 of the NLSC Podcast with our thoughts on Kristaps Porzingas being traded to the Mavericks, which certainly caught a lot of fans off-guard (ourselves included). We also speculate on the likelihood that Anthony Davis will be moved by the deadline.

Click Play to listen to the show!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:11:14 — 49.0MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Have some thoughts on the latest episode? Got a mailbag question or topic suggestion for the next show? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.

The latest file additions for NBA 2K14 PC include faces, rosters, a custom Draft Class, logos, and more. Check out all of the new and updated mod releases for NBA 2K14 at the links below!

Blang
Zion Williamson Face V2
KZ Okpala Face

Mackubex
Mackubex Ultimate 2020 NBA Draft Class [80 Real Draft Prospects]
2018-19 Mackubex x 2KGod Auto-Changing Scoreboard Logos
2018-19 Mackubex NBA 2K14 Roster V15

BBTxJoKer
LeBron James Face
Kemba Walker Face

IceCr
New York Knicks 2006-2007 Season Face Pack
Elton Brand Face (Updated to v3.0)

Sastre Matulin
2018-2019 NBA Logos (Updated to v5.0)

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 File Additions bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.

We’ve got another big batch of file additions for NBA 2K19 PC to catch up on today. The newest mods and resources for NBA 2K19 include player faces, fictional All-Star jerseys, custom wipes, scoreboards, and presentation, court updates for the Orlando Magic and Sacramento Kings, an add-on for Blender, new rosters, and a shoe pack. You can find all of the links below.

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 File Additions bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.

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Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! The Friday Five is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games, as well as the real NBA, and other areas of interest to our community. The feature is presented as either a list of five items, or in the form of a Top 5 countdown. This week’s Five is a list of five cool details that you may or may not have noticed in The Neighborhood.

Since its introduction in NBA 2K18’s MyCAREER, The Neighborhood has proven to be a divisive concept. Some basketball gamers love having a game world to explore, while others find it tedious and a waste of time. Whether or not you like the approach, it appears to be here to stay. As such, if you have any interest in playing MyCAREER or any of its connected experiences, you will be spending time in The Neighborhood. With all the running between shops, the practice facility, Pro-Am arenas, and courts in The Playground, the Marathon Man trophy/achievement can be gained quite easily.

Of course, if you are just running between Point A and Point B all the time, you may end up missing some of the cool details that have been put into The Neighborhood. Even if you’re not a huge fan of having a game world as the hub for MyCAREER and its connected modes, it’s possible to appreciate the amount of work that has gone into making it visually appealing and interesting. The Neighborhood certainly doesn’t offer as many secrets or places to explore compared to open world games such as Grand Theft Auto or Fallout, but there are some details that make it worth looking around. Here are five that have stood out to me in NBA 2K18 and NBA 2K19.

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On the heels of the Patch 1.18 title update, a new content update has come through for NBA Live 19. As always, it will be downloaded automatically upon advancing past the title screen, assuming of course that your console has an active Internet connection.

The content update features new rosters including lineup updates, the latest transactions, and updated ratings and gear. Playstyles have been updated for a few of the 1980s Legends in their LIVE Event, and a couple of bugs have been fixed, including portraits, positions, and gear, in both Court Battles and The Streets World Tour.

You can find a full breakdown of the update here. As always, feel free to share any thoughts in the comments below, as well as take the discussion to our NBA Live 19 Forum. While you’re there, don’t forget to contribute to our NBA Live 20 Wishlist! We’re extending the cut-off until next week, so there’s still time to get your feedback in.

Patch 1.08 (also known as Patch #8) for NBA 2K19 has been released. It’s currently available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with the PC and Nintendo Switch updates coming soon. The patch will come through automatically as long as you have an active Internet connection; if it doesn’t, try checking for it manually, or restarting your console.

Several fixes have been implemented in Patch 1.08. These include court updates now appearing in existing MyCAREER/MyLEAGUE/MyGM save files, the ability to properly edit lineups on the loading screen, incorrect animations being triggered in certain situations, and a hang that resulted from a custom rule in MyLEAGUE/MyGM. Gameplay has also been tweaked with fewer ball collisions with legs and feet (the infamous body steals), improved logic and passes out of drives by CPU players, and more variety in CPU playcalling. A few player likenesses have also been updated.

Please see below for the full patch notes. You can also find them here in the NBA 2K19 update history in our Wiki. Feel free to share your impressions in the comments below, as well as in this topic in the NBA 2K19 section of the NLSC Forum. I’ll update this bulletin when the PC patch comes through.

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A few days ago, NBA 2K14 gamers received a new version of U R Basketball, and now NBA 2K13 gamers have a new update to enjoy as well! skoadam and slimm44 have released V63 of URB 2K13, featuring updated 2019 season rosters and other enhancements. Key features of the new release are as follows:

• Trades updated through 27th January
• Updated ratings by slimm
• Updated tendencies by slimm
• Updated rotations/minutes
• Updated team roles
• Added a few missing players
• Updated portraits
• Updated new contracts
• Updated cfs ( Maravich, Chasedown, EC2K)
• Added 2019 All Star court
• Updated Wolves coach
• Removed generic 2K shoes

You can find U R Basketball V63 here in our Downloads section. For more previews, support, and information on future updates, be sure to check out the release topic here.

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m taking a look back at some of the cheat codes that were featured in older basketball games.

When it comes to video game nostalgia, a feature that many of us old school gamers remember fondly is the cheat code. These days, accelerating progress in most games comes down to pay-to-win mechanics, but once upon a time, we used cheat codes in the form of passwords and button combinations. While cheat codes aren’t completely outmoded, they seem to be far less common than they once were. In basketball games, they’ve generally been phased out over the past generation or so.

It’s kind of a shame. While they aren’t necessary – especially in sim games – they were often fun ways of altering the gameplay experience, and hid some cool secrets. Some games used them to unlock new content with the codes being revealed at some point post-launch; something of a precursor to the content updates we now see. There have been quite a few memorable cheat codes in basketball video games over the years, so let’s take a look back…way back…

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