Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! This is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to basketball video games, the real NBA or another area of interest to our community, either as a list of five items or in the form of a Top 5 countdown.

As you may have seen from my bulletin a couple of days ago, I’ve been without power most of this week, thanks to the storms that recently hit the southeast coast of Australia. Fortunately, I’m a lot better off than some other folks in my area: I finally got power on yesterday, though I’m still waiting for the landline phone and broadband to get reconnected. I can get my PC online by tethering my smartphone however, so I’ve been able to catch up on everything, and bring you a new Friday Five.

So, what have I decided to talk about this week? Well, since I covered my five hopes for NBA Live 16 a couple of weeks ago, why not discuss my five hopes for NBA 2K16? NBA 2K being where it’s at right now, I don’t have too much to say about gameplay, or modes like MyLEAGUE and MyGM. It’s mostly tweaks, adjustments, AI fixes, and minor additions, as I believe the product is already very solid in those areas. Having said that, there’s still a handful of noteworthy changes and additions that I’m hoping to see in this year’s offering from Visual Concepts.

Read More »

A new roster has come through for NBA Live 15, with lineups updated through April 23rd, 2015. The latest roster features more than 3700 ratings changes, and five player movement updates. For a full breakdown of all the changes in the April 23rd roster, check out this spreadsheet.

Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard are the players in the spotlight this week. Both players are looking good early on in the 2015 NBA Playoffs, despite battling injuries this year. Rose’s overall rating has increased one point to 86, while Howard has also received a one point boost to 88 overall.

As always, feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section below, as well as in this thread in our NBA Live 15 Forum.

Polygon is reporting that Spike Lee has had a role in developing NBA 2K16’s MyCAREER mode, as revealed by leaked promotional materials. Lee is mentioned on the game’s cover with the familiar credit “A Spike Lee Joint”, along with the tagline of “Be The Story”.

The leaked images have also given us a glimpse of this year’s cover players. Similar to NBA 2K12, it appears as though NBA 2K16 will be available with three different cover players to choose from: Stephen Curry, James Harden, and Kevin Durant, who also appeared on the cover of NBA 2K15, and alongside Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin on the NBA 2K13 cover.

No official announcement has been made as yet, and while Polygon has been able to confirm the leaked images as authentic, a 2K Sports representative has declined further comment at this time. Nevertheless, it would seem an official announcement will be coming soon, along with details on Spike Lee’s involvement with the game. In the meantime, feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section below, as well as in this thread in the Forum.

I’m still without power, but I have been able to check in and make a note of the latest file additions for NBA 2K14 PC, which include a new roster update, and some courts. Download them at the links below!

2KShiftLeader
2KShiftLeader’s Real 2015 Roster [Playoffs Update] (Updated to v1.6)

dtd
Fictional Boston Celtics Court
Fictional Brooklyn Nets Court

I just wanted to give everyone a quick status update on this week’s episode of the NLSC Podcast, as well as other content and news bulletins. Unfortunately, I’ve been affected by the storm that has left a couple of hundred homes on the southeast coast of Australia without any power, and thus only have my phone for Internet access.

This means I’m not in a position to record a new Podcast with Arcane at this time, nor am I able to keep on top of news, file additions, and other bulletins. I’m also a bit behind on answering emails and messages, so please bear with me; I’ll get back to you when I can. It could be a few days before everything is up and running again, but I’ll try to check in whenever I can. Thanks for your understanding!

Today’s file additions for NBA Live 08 include the latest face packs by S_Brat. Check them all out at the links below!

S_Brat
2014/2015 Portland Trail Blazers Team Update
2014/2015 Orlando Magic Team Update (Updated to v2.0)
2014/2015 Oklahoma City Thunder Team Update (Updated to v2.0)

The latest file additions for NBA 2K14 include updated New York Knicks jerseys, and current rosters. Download them below!

THEUNTAMEDBEAST
Next Gen New York Knicks Jersey

2KShiftLeader
2KShiftLeader’s Real 2015 Roster [Playoffs Update] (Updated to v1.1)

Pick up the latest version of skoadam’s URB Roster in today’s file additions for NBA 2K13 PC. With the help of Slimm44, skoadam has put some excellent work into URB to keep NBA 2K13 up to date, as the mod not only contains a detailed and carefully crafted roster update for the current season, but 31 complete season mods in total. If you’re still playing NBA 2K13 on PC, or feel like dusting it off, be sure to download V31 of the URB Roster at the link below!

skoadam
URB Roster V31 [31 Complete Seasons Mods] WHERE SIM HAPPENS (Updated to v31.0)

In celebration of the 2015 NBA Playoffs, new challenges and content are coming to NBA Live 15 Ultimate Team:

FIRST ROUND CHALLENGES

Each of the 16 playoff teams has a single two-game Challenge, and completing that Challenge awards two Playoff Edition Players from that team.

Those Playoff Edition Players be available for the duration of that series. When that’s done, a Series Winner Challenge will lead into the next round.

HIGH VALUE COIN-UP CHALLENGES

Throughout the postseason, players can compete in high-value Coin Up Challenges. Playoff Edition players are required to enter, and the challenges will focus on key games in a team’s series.

The Challenges provide a higher Coin value reward, up to 15,000 Coins.

PLAYOFF EDITION PLAYERS

New Playoff Edition Items for participating players will be found in Packs, as Bundle Toppers, and as Rewards for Playoff Challenges.

Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section below, as well as join in the discussion here in our NBA Live 15 Forum.

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! This is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to basketball video games, the real NBA or another area of interest to our community, either as a list of five items or in the form of a Top 5 countdown.

It’s that time of the year again! The 2015 regular season is in the books, and the NBA Playoffs are tipping off in just a couple of days. A few of the seeds weren’t decided until the very last day of the season, and with the West in particular being very competitive once again this year, we should be in for an exciting first round. Since I have NBA League Pass Broadband, I’m looking forward to catching as much of the action as I can.

Now, if you’re a regular listener of the NLSC Podcast, you’ll know that my NBA predictions don’t always turn out so well. However, perhaps I’ll have better luck with a few that I put out in written format, as opposed to audio. To avoid going down as the jinx – again – I will refrain from making any specific predictions about the Chicago Bulls, aside from the one I’ve already made in the Forum. However, I do have a few other predictions to throw out there, while we wait for the postseason to tip off.

Read More »

A new roster update has come through for NBA Live 15, accurate as of April 16th, 2015. The latest roster contains over 3000 ratings changes, two player movement updates, and three player accessory changes. For a full list of changes in the roster, be sure to check out this spreadsheet.

EA are spotlighting a couple of rookies in the latest roster: Elfrid Payton of the Orlando Magic, and Langston Galloway of the New York Knicks. Payton’s performance after the All-Star break has earned him an increase to 79 overall, while Galloway’s increased minutes as the season wound down has led to a one point increase to 71 overall.

As always, feel free to add your thoughts on the latest roster below, as well as in this thread in the NBA Live 15 section of the Forum!

Pick up a couple of face updates in today’s file additions for NBA 2K14 PC! Download new faces for reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and the Houston Rockets’ Donatas Motiejūnas at the links below.

big-shot-ROB
Kawhi Leonard Face

PrinceJohn
Donatas Motiejūnas Face [HD]

Episode #114 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! Join Arcane and myself as we discuss the latest NBA Live and NBA 2K news, a Top 10 Basketball Video Games list, the forthcoming 2015 NBA Playoffs, and much more.

• Some vague tidbits about NBA Live 16 were posted in response to a question posed to the official NBA Live Twitter. Not much to go on, but we’re looking forward to more information.
• A new beta version of the Ultimate Jordan Roster for NBA Live 08 PC is available for the community to try out. Help is wanted with some of the art updates, for anyone willing and able.
• gregkwaste has released a new version of the NBA 2K15 Explorer, which is very welcome news for the 2K modding community.
• We reflect on last week’s controversy following the NBA 2K14 server shutdown, and 2K’s subsequent new policy regarding online support.
• Hypun.com posted an article naming the ten best basketball video games of all time. Do we agree with it?
• Moving on to some real NBA discussion…is Stephen Curry the greatest three point shooter of all time?
• Derek Fisher has made a bold prediction about the Knicks’ fortunes next season. We’re not so sure.
• We touch upon the recent incidents involving Chris Copeland, Pero Antic, and Thabo Sefolosha.
• Derrick Rose and Paul George are back in action, and contributing.
• The looming postseason means a couple of Playoff predictions. Which teams are grabbing the eighth seeds in each conference?

Click Play to listen to the show!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:13:55 — 37.1MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Have some thoughts on the latest episode? Sound off in the comments below, or here in the Forum. Mailbag submissions and topic suggestions are also welcome, so feel free to hit us up in this thread.

You may recall that I released a raw demo of an Ultimate Jordan Roster for NBA Live 08 a few weeks back, providing a preview of a project that I’m working on as part of our 20th Anniversary of NBA Live content. Well, I’ve made some progress on the roster, and am pleased to announce that I’ve now released an updated beta version!

The latest release includes at least eight players on all 30 teams, with most teams now using accurate retro art. A few teams are currently using retro art that’s not quite accurate for the time period they represent, but ideally, that will be fixed by the first stable release. A few players are still missing faces and portraits, and a lot of ratings and bio data need to be updated, but that will be done once a few more things are in place. The rosters are also being designed for maximum compatibility with current updates, so you don’t need to worry about things getting overwritten.

Download the beta version of the Ultimate Jordan Roster here! For more information and previews, please see this thread. If anyone is able to lend a hand with any art updates, please let me know. I’ll also be looking to make conversions for NBA Live 2005 to 07 once I reach a stable release, so stay tuned for further updates and preview releases!

We’re starting out a new week with a few file additions for NBA 2K15, as TBM has released two new player faces, while Manni has added a new court update. Download them all at the links below!

TBM
Steph Curry Face
Ricky Rubio Face

Manni
Memphis Grizzlies Court