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 few thoughts on what it would take to get me to play online again.

From NBA 2K16 through to NBA 2K20, I was invested in playing the connected experiences in MyCAREER. I wasn’t exclusively an online gamer of course, as I got great enjoyment out of playing the NBA side of MyCAREER too, including making it to the Hall of Fame in NBA 2K19. However, one of the reasons that I kept returning to the mode every year was to level up a MyPLAYER so that I could join the rest of NLSC THRILLHO for some online games. As the grind became more of a chore and the rest of the crew’s enthusiasm waned, I too lost interest in MyCAREER.

Long gone are the days when I’d consider jumping into The Rec every night of the week, just to see what it was like! Indeed, outside of playing through the story in NBA 2K21 and occasionally jumping online, and a very brief return in NBA 2K23, I’ve stuck to the offline MyCAREER experience in NBA 2K14. Of course, it’s not just disinterest in the online scene that’s turned me off MyCAREER in recent years. From gameplay gripes to frustration with grinding and quests, I’m weary of the NBA side of the mode as well. Considering my willingness to change up my basketball gaming habits though, as we enter 2025, could anything persuade me to play online again?

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Today’s NBA 2K14 mod releases feature the College Hoops 2K25 project by nick15, which in the spirit of so many college basketball video games, includes fictional players for all 358 Division I NCAA teams! Pick it up at the link below, and check out the release and support topic here in the Forum for more previews and information on the project.

nick15
College Hoops 2K25 // FICTIONAL

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.

It’s been an incredible year for the NLSC Top 10 Plays, and we’re certainly wrapping up 2024 with a bang! The countdown begins with a throwback to Grant Hill’s rookie season in NBA 2K13, and only gets more exciting with a signature Kobe Bryant dunk in NBA 2K25, an incredible buzzer beater from Vince Carter in NBA Live 2005, and an assortment of vicious dunks and jaw-dropping moves from a total of six different basketball video games. Thank you to everyone who submitted highlights these past twelve months! We’re looking forward to another spectacular year in 2025, but for one last time in 2024, 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 lineups that despite their fame, didn’t actually last long.

Just how good is your memory? I like to think that mine is pretty good when it comes to basketball and basketball video games, because those are things that I’m passionate about. However, I definitely don’t have infallible recall! Moreover, our perception of time can be a tricky thing. To that end, while I may remember players, teams, lineups, and other such roster trivia many years later, my recollection of their longevity (or lack thereof) can be skewed. After all, what may feel like a long time when we’re living it day-by-day can turn out to be a short period in the grand scheme of things!

Case in point: the lineups that I’m talking about today. It’s no surprise that they stick in my mind – and I’m sure the minds of many long-time basketball fans and gamers – because they were all memorable in their own way. However, their memorability can ironically make us forget how short-lived those lineups actually were; especially if they did have a significant impact on the league (and video games) while they lasted. Even if they weren’t particularly successful, or a Video Game Team, they may still benefit from an oddity, or simply media hype, that grants them more nostalgic fame – or infamy – than you’d expect. Here are five such lineups that come to mind for me.

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Today’s mod releases for NBA 2K25 include new and updated Magic-Bird Era courts from Bassman58, and doublesync’s Player Data Cheat Engine table for roster modding. Check them out at the links below!

Bassman58
Houston Rockets Magic-Bird Era Court
Golden State Warriors Magic-Bird Era Court
Indiana Pacers Magic-Bird Era Court
Kansas City Kings Magic-Bird Era Court
Los Angeles Lakers Magic-Bird Era Court
Atlanta Hawks Magic-Bird Era Court (Updated to v1.1)
Chicago Bulls Magic-Bird Era Court (Updated to v1.1)

doublesync
NBA2K25 Player Data

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 2015 Christmas jerseys, and their appearances in video games.

Merry Christmas and Season’s Greetings, basketball gamers! I hope you’re having a fun day with your loved ones, or enjoying the holiday however you see fit. I’ll go out on a limb here and guess that nostalgic basketball gaming content probably isn’t on most people’s minds today, but I do pride myself on sticking to a schedule, as well as ensuring that there’s something new here on the NLSC every day. And so, if you’re joining us on Christmas Day – or catching up on recent posts as the case may be – I’d like to give you the gift of Wayback Wednesday!

Given that it’s the festive season and Wayback Wednesday has fallen on Christmas Day this year, it only make sense to cover a topic that’s related to the occasion. To that end, let’s reminisce about the Christmas jerseys that teams wore in 2015, and their presence in basketball video games. Obviously, I’m a year early as far as it being a nice round number for the anniversary, and I did touch on the subject back in 2019. Still, 2015 was a noteworthy year for Christmas jerseys when it comes to the virtual hardwood – and ’tis the season – so let’s take a look back…way back…

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #560 of the NLSC Podcast!

Merry Christmas and Season’s Greetings, basketball fans and gamers! It’s that time of the year again and we’re definitely in the holiday spirit, so this week we’re joining the community in asking Santa for three gifts that would grant some of our fondest wishes related to basketball and basketball gaming. Some of them might take a Christmas miracle to make happen, but if nothing else, it seems that quite a few of us are on the same page with our wishlists! We also join our listeners in reflecting upon some of our all-time favourite gifts related to real hoops and the virtual hardwood alike, as well as some other Christmas memories.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:01:49 — 42.8MB)

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!

At long last, and more than a couple of teases on the NLSC Podcast, I’ve put the finishing touches on my 2005 season roster for the Xbox 360 version of NBA 2K6, and it is now available to download!

This is a minimalist project in that it’s limited by what can be edited in the Xbox 360 version of NBA 2K6, but the roster includes final 2005 season lineups with twenty missing players added, a few ratings updates, and fixed dunk ratings and accessories for the Legends on the All-Decade teams.

The roster is the result of an extended retro kick with NBA 2K6, and a renewed interest in minimalist modding. Inspired by revisiting basketball video game manuals for Wayback Wednesday, the readme file is also a labour of love, with some extra information about the 2005 season and tips for achieving maximum accuracy with the roster.

Download the roster here, and check out the release and support topic here in the Forum. Please see below for more information, including installation instructions. Huge thanks once again go out to wiscard_rush for helping out with some final pre-release testing, to make sure that the file can be re-signed and transferred to another Xbox 360! I do have some other ideas for minimalist rosters for NBA 2K6 in the pipeline, so stay tuned for them coming in 2025, along with some other projects for old favourites on PC.

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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 totally serious theory (OK, not really) of how some classic John Hughes movies foretold the rise and fall of the Chicago Bulls.

The holiday season is in full swing with Christmas this week, and since that coincides with summertime here in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s also come to be known as our “silly season“. Therefore, in the spirit of the season, I’m mixing Monday Tip-Off with JaoSming’s old column, Dumb Mondays (what is this, a crossover episode?!?). This silly, light-hearted, Christmas-related topic is one that I’ve actually been sitting on for years, so it’s time to put it out there for some holiday cheer. Don’t worry; everything will be back to normal next week!

As a 90s kid, I can’t help but associate the movies of the late, great John Hughes with Christmas and the holidays. That’s chiefly due to Planes, Trains and Automobiles – a film set at Thanksgiving – and the first two Home Alone movies, two classics that take place at Christmas and are very near and dear to my generation. It only makes sense to reflect on those films and watch them again during the holiday season, but what do those iconic John Hughes movies have to do with the Chicago Bulls dynasty? Well, some years back, a Forum post prompted me to draw comparisons between the plots of those films, and the rise and eventual fall of the Bulls. Strap in, we’re getting silly!

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We’re still seeing mod releases for NBA Live 2005 thanks to community members such as Modders27, who has uploaded faces for Dalton Knecht and Cam Reddish. Pick them up at the links below!

Modders27
Dalton Knecht Face
Cam Reddish Face

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.

Christmas is still a few days away, but the NLSC Top 10 Plays is here to deliver some early stocking stuffers! Indeed, there’s quite a lot of “stuffing” going on, as this week’s countdown once again showcases a variety of spectacular slams. As always though, while dunks are king, it’s also about the moves that set them up. To that end, you’ll seem some crafty stick skills leaving defenders reeling before being put on a poster. Eight games are on display in this festive edition of the Top 10, from NBA Live 95 through to NBA 2K25. 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 another list of five teammates who were once traded for each other, and the video games that feature those stints.

When I posted my previous Friday Five recalling five teammates who had once been traded for each other, I mentioned that there was an example that I cut after being reminded of a pairing that I definitely couldn’t leave out the first time around. Since I hate to waste any writing and research, I kept that example aside, with the intention of revisiting the topic. It actually didn’t take too long to find four more examples of players who became teammates after being traded for one another, and as such, the time has come to follow up with a new instalment.

As I’ve often said, I love roster trivia like this! It’s fascinating to trawl through NBA history to find interesting trades, unique lineups, and other unusual events, including phantom stints, and familiar faces in strange places and back in familiar places alike. I look at them through the lens of the virtual hardwood, not only because it’s the focus of our content here at the NLSC, but also because as I like to say, basketball video games are interactive almanacs. I had to search beyond the obvious games to find virtual representation of a couple of these pairings, but that’s all part of the fun! And so, let’s tip things off with the pair of players that were cut from the previous article.

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Today’s NBA 2K25 mod releases enhance the Magic-Bird Era rosters in MyNBA Eras and Eras Play Now, as Bassman58 has updated the courts for seven 1983-84 teams. Download them all at the links below!

Bassman58
Atlanta Hawks Magic-Bird Era Court
Boston Celtics Magic-Bird Era Court
Chicago Bulls Magic-Bird Era Court
Cleveland Cavaliers Magic-Bird Era Court
Dallas Mavericks Magic-Bird Era Court
Denver Nuggets Magic-Bird Era Court
Detroit Pistons Magic-Bird Era Court

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 flashing back to NBA Live 18 and paying tribute to Ultimate Team with a highlight reel featuring stars of the 90s.

Now that the servers have been shut down, NBA Live 18 Ultimate Team is no longer available. This was most unfortunate for my retro basketball gaming habits, as I’ve enjoyed jumping back into the game every now and again to play with my squad of 90s All-Stars. Although that fun is over now, it was a blast while it lasted, and I made sure to capture my favourite plays. You’ve no doubt seen them show up in the weekly Top 10 countdown that Dee curates, but with the sunset of the mode, I decided to put together a supercut of some of my best highlights. Let’s take a look back…way back…

It’s one of the longest basketball gaming highlight reels that I’ve made to date, but I hope you enjoy some spectacular moments from a title that had a lot of potential. To that end, while Ultimate Team may no longer be playable, NBA Live 18 will still be in my rotation, and therefore in our content from time to time. With that being said, please subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel for more basketball gaming videos, including the Top 10, highlight reels, video essays, and game retrospectives, including a look back at NBA Street Homecourt that I expect to have ready in early 2025. And, as always, be sure to hit us up with suggestions of games you’d like to see us play!

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #559 of the NLSC Podcast!

There have been scores of basketball video games released over the years, but which one has been the best sim? This week, we join the community in nominating some of the top candidates for titles that have achieved the most realism on the virtual hardwood. We also reflect once again on what it actually means to be sim, from playcalling and performance to mechanics and motion systems. Following up on last week’s show, we also discuss even more madness with three-pointers in the NBA, as teams continue to brick treys at an alarming and historical rate, driving away hardcore hoop heads who are desperate for a better product.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:06:41 — 46.1MB)

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!