Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside

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 midseason rosters in Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside.

Now that roster updates are common and viable on all platforms, we’re accustomed to midseason moves being officially represented in video games. In the 90s and into the early 2000s however, we generally had to make our own roster updates, even on PC. As such, there have been many brief stints and short-lived lineups that don’t appear in any official rosters due to occurring midseason, and being over by the time the next game is released. Outside of those rare official updates, the only way we’d see games reflect midseason rosters would be revised and re-released editions, and late launches.

That brings us to Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside, a Nintendo 64 exclusive released in 1998. Indeed, that is the key factor that sets it apart from other 1998 season titles such as NBA Live 98 and NBA Action 98/NBA Fastbreak ’98. Whereas those games were released in late 1997 ahead of or around the beginning of the season, NBA Courtside came out after the calendar rolled over to 1998, and thus features midseason rosters. To that end, it captures a unique snapshot of the 1998 season, with some stints and lineups that you won’t find in any other games. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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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, it’s a video retrospective of Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside for the Nintendo 64.

When Kobe Bryant played his final NBA game, I dedicated a Wayback Wednesday feature to his history in basketball video games. With his jersey retirement ceremony taking place this week, it seems only fitting that I look at one of those titles in more detail. Released for the Nintendo 64 in 1998, Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside was the first of three Nintendo-exclusive games endorsed by the Black Mamba, and one of two titles that featured the rising star on the cover that season. I’ve mentioned it in several articles to date, so an in-depth retrospective is somewhat overdue.

An article didn’t feel like quite enough to mark the occasion, and it’s long been my intention to get into the habit of creating more video content for my weekly features. With that in mind, I’ve put together a video retrospective of Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside, which you can watch below, or check out here over on our YouTube channel. Without any further ado, let’s take a look back…way back…

I hope you enjoy the retrospective! As 2017 draws to a close, I probably won’t be releasing any new videos over the next couple of weeks, but I’m looking forward to creating them more often in 2018, along with my regular written features. To that end, be sure to subscribe to the NLSC on YouTube, and keep it locked to the NLSC every Wednesday for more retro basketball gaming content.

Welcome to Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! This is a feature where we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in 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.

Kobe Bryant is set to play his final NBA game today, as the Los Angeles Lakers wrap up their 2016 season against the Utah Jazz. It marks the end of a long and successful career for one of the best players in the history of basketball, and the only player to suit up for the same NBA team for twenty seasons. Despite the fact that Kobe Bryant was often as reviled by NBA fans as much as he was loved, there’s been much nostalgia and celebration as his career has drawn to a close.

His long NBA career has meant that Kobe Bryant has appeared in numerous basketball video games over the past couple of decades. In fact, former teammate Shaquille O’Neal may be the only player with more official appearances in NBA titles, as he played nineteen years in the league himself, and has continued to be featured as a Legend following his retirement. So, as Kobe Bryant’s last NBA game looms, I thought I’d take a look back at his history in video games.

Kobe has of course appeared in every NBA title since he entered the NBA, but I’m just going to focus on some of the highlights here, kind of a glance back through the years. With that said, let’s take a look back…way back…

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