NBA Street

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 thoughts on why NBA Jam and NBA Street need to return.

2023 marks the anniversary of two iconic basketball games. NBA Jam set arcades on fire in 1993, meaning we’ve reached its 30th Anniversary. Meanwhile, though it was the second game in the series, NBA Street Vol. 2 is often considered to be the best release from EA Sports BIG, and it’s now turning twenty years old. For those of us who played those games as kids, teenagers, or even young adults, this might come as an overwhelming milestone; particularly NBA Jam hitting the big three-oh. Not to sound like the Grumpy Elder Millennial that I am, but man, time sure flies!

However, let’s put aside any existential crises that may come with the realisation that there are now adults who weren’t even alive when these classics came out. After all, anniversaries provide an opportunity to celebrate and fondly reminisce. The numbers that bring me down here aren’t how long ago the original NBA Jam and NBA Street Vol. 2 were released, but how long it’s been since either series has seen a brand new game. For NBA Jam, that was On Fire Edition back in 2011. Putting aside the Korean exclusive NBA Street Online, there hasn’t been a new Street release since 2007. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that a return for both series would be extremely welcome.

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It’s been a couple of months since the last update, but now that the trade deadline has passed, agent_michael_scarn has released a new version of the Current & Legendary Edition mod for NBA Street Vol. 2! Key features of the latest version (2.9.10) are as follows:

• Traded Durant to Suns
• Traded Irving to Mavs
• Moved Russell Westbrook to Thunder for Rashard Lewis
• Added D’angelo Russell to Lakers
• Added Kenyon Martin to Nets
• Traded Jason Kidd to Nets
• Updated Suns Away to All Purple
• Updated All Brooklyn away to black jerseys
• Updated Lakers Home Jerseys to Kobe/Shaq era jerseys

You can pick up NBA Street Vol. 2 Current & Legendary Edition here in our Downloads database! For more information on how to install it, as well as previews, further support, or if you just want to say thanks, check out this topic in the Forum.

In case you’re unaware, agent_michael_scarn has an ongoing project for the GameCube version of NBA Street Vol. 2 titled the Current & Legendary Edition Mod! The mod updates the game as of the current era, while also including legendary players. I’m a little behind in posting this bulletin, but agent_michael_scarn uploaded a minor update to the project a few weeks back. Key features of v2.9.9 include:

• Updated/Fixed Gary Payton’s Name (was McHale)
• Updated Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren Jerseys to Thunder Jerseys

You can pick up NBA Street Vol. 2 Current & Legendary Edition here in our Downloads database! For more information on how to install it, as well as previews, further support, or if you just want to say thanks, check out this topic in the Forum.

A new version (V2.9.7) of agent_michael_scarn’s Current & Legendary Edition Mod is now available for the GameCube version of NBA Street Vol. 2! Following on from the previous release, this update includes a minor change to the Washington Wizards’ jerseys:

• Replaced Wizards Home Jerseys with Cherry Blossom Edition

As previously noted, the rosters in the mod are updated as of the 2022 trade deadline. It also includes a template for anyone who’d like to make their own custom jerseys.

You can pick up NBA Street Vol. 2 Current & Legendary Edition here in our Downloads database! For more information on how to install it, as well as previews, further support, or if you just want to say thanks, check out this topic in the Forum.

A new version (V2.9.6) of agent_michael_scarn’s Current & Legendary Edition Mod is now available for the GameCube version of NBA Street Vol. 2! Following on from the previous release, this update includes the 2022 trade deadline deals and other fixes. Key changes in V2.9.6 are as follows:

• Traded Sabonis to Kings
• Traded Simmons to Nets
• Traded Harden to 76ers
• Updated Clippers Jerseys to LA olympic Alternative and Red jerseys
• Updated Baby blue jerseys for Kings, Heat and Clippers, so colors aren’t confusing
• Added Aldridge to Blazers
• Updated Sexton’s Jersey to Garland (oops)
• Updated Yao Ming’s Jersey to Red Away Jersey to match rest of team
• Added Photoshop Jersey Template for those who want to make their own updates
• Just save the file as a png over the original, and dolphin will update it! DO NOT CHANGE THE NAME OF THE FILE

You can pick up NBA Street Vol. 2 Current & Legendary Edition here in our Downloads database! For more information on how to install it, as well as previews, further support, or if you just want to say thanks, check out this topic in the Forum.

A new version (V2.9.3) of agent_michael_scarn’s Current & Legendary Edition Mod is now available for the GameCube version of NBA Street Vol. 2! Following on from the previous release, this update includes some new City jerseys. The specific changes in V2.9.3 are as follows:

• Updated Clippers Away Jerseys to City version
• Updated Wizards Away Jersey to City Version
• Updated Spurs Home Jerseys to City Version
• Updated LaMelo Balls Away Jersey to City Edition
• Updated Minnesota Away Jersey to City Version
• Updated Milwaukee Bucks Jerseys to City version for Giannis, Middleton and Holiday

You can pick up NBA Street Vol. 2 Current & Legendary Edition here in our Downloads database! For more information on how to install it, as well as previews, further support, or if you just want to say thanks, check out this topic in the Forum.

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 comparing the NBA Jam series to the NBA Street series.

It’s been over a year since I posted my first “Versus” feature, which compared The Jordan Challenge and NBA’s Greatest. My intention was for it to become a recurring feature, similar to my Familiar Faces in Strange Places/Familiar Places series. To that end, I’ve been sitting on a few ideas for other comparisons. Since I compared two modes in back-to-back releases in the same series for the first instalment, it only makes sense to go bigger for the second article. As such, today I’m comparing the two heavyweights of the arcade basketball scene: NBA Jam, and NBA Street.

There are many factors to consider here. There have been more NBA Jam games than NBA Street games, as well as a number of releases that were spiritual successors to NBA Jam under different titles, after Acclaim acquired the name from Midway. To that point, three different developers have released games under the NBA Jam brand, while every NBA Street game has come from EA Sports BIG. Nevertheless, I believe that all of the evidence must be considered, as we compare, contrast, and ultimately pick the winner out of these classic arcade hoops series. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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The Legendary Edition mod for the GameCube version of NBA Street Vol. 2, created by agent_michael_scarn, has received another small update! v1.5.8 includes the following changes:

• Added Select Dream Team Jerseys for Michael Jordan (Home), Scottie Pippen (Home), Charles Barkley (Away), Patrick Ewing (Away), and David Robinson (Home)
• Replaced Current Nets Away Jersey with recently announced retro jerseys (Irving, Durant, Allen)

Other key features of the mod include updated NBA rosters, new logos and jerseys, and era-specific jerseys for several Legends. For more information on previous releases, check out the bulletin for v1.5.7.

You can pick up NBA Street Vol. 2 Legendary Edition here in our Downloads database! For more information on how to install it, as well as previews, further support, or if you just want to say thanks, check out this topic in the Forum.

The Legendary Edition mod for the GameCube version of NBA Street Vol. 2, created by agent_michael_scarn, has been updated once again! The new version (1.5.7) adds updated Mamba Edition jerseys for the Los Angeles Lakers, with a Gianna Bryant heart patch. A full breakdown of the key updates in the most recent releases is as follows:

• Update incorporates Mazzochi’s updated logo and icon artwork, along with Team Giannis & Team LeBron
• Added Dream Team Logos and Composition
• Fixed Tim Hardaway Home Jersey Misspelling
• Added Era Specific Jerseys for several players including: Doc Rivers, Ron Harper, Larry Nance, Kareem Abdul Jabber, Ray Allen, Lamar Odom, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Gilbert Arenas, Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld, Grant Hill, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, Yao Ming, Marc Gasol, Pau Gasol, Mike Bibby, Amare Staudemire, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett, and Allen Iverson, among others.
• Replaced Eastern Conference All-Star Team with Generic NBA Star Team Logo
• Fixed Donovan Mitchell’s name
• Updated Heights for specific players, including Giannis and Ray Allen
• Updated Jerseys for Lakers and Utah Jazz
• Lakers Have Mamba Away Jerseys (Updated in v1.5.7)
• Jazz home/away jerseys were swapped, so purple jerseys are home (avoid confusion when playing home Suns)
• Replaced/swapped Kings Jersey for same reason

You can pick up NBA Street Vol. 2 Legendary Edition here in our Downloads database! For more information on how to install it, as well as previews, further support, or if you just want to say thanks, check out this topic in the Forum.

The Legendary Edition mod for the GameCube version of NBA Street Vol. 2 has been updated! Creator agent_michael_scarn has followed up the initial release with v1.5.5, which includes these updates and enhancements:

• Update incorporates Mazzochi’s updated logo and icon artwork, along with Team Giannis & Team LeBron
• Added Dream Team Logos and Composition
• Fixed Tim Hardaway Home Jersey Misspelling
• Added Era Specific Jerseys for several players including: Doc Rivers, Ron Harper, Larry Nance, Kareem Abdul Jabber, Ray Allen, Lamar Odom, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Gilbert Arenas, Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld, Grant Hill, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, Yao Ming, Marc Gasol, Pau Gasol, Mike Bibby, Amare Staudemire, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett, and Allen Iverson, among others.
• Replaced Eastern Conference All-Star Team with Generic NBA Star Team Logo
• Fixed Donovan Mitchell’s name
• Updated Heights for specific players, including Giannis and Ray Allen
• Updated Jerseys for Lakers and Utah Jazz
• Lakers Have Mamba Away Jerseys
• Jazz home/away jerseys were swapped, so purple jerseys are home (avoid confusion when playing home Suns)
• Replaced/swapped Kings Jersey for same reason

You can pick up NBA Street Vol. 2 Legendary Edition here in our Downloads database! For more information on how to install it, as well as previews, further support, or if you just want to say thanks, check out this topic in the Forum.

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.

Since I offered up my picks for the five best sim basketball games of their generation in last week’s Friday Five, this week I thought I’d focus on the arcade games. While there are sim heads who won’t touch arcade basketball games, and conversely more casual sports gamers who greatly prefer them to the sim titles, there are a lot of people who have a healthy appreciation for both styles. I definitely count myself as someone who has enjoyed both types of basketball games over the years, and as such, I have my own picks for the best arcade hoops title in five distinct generations/eras.

As with last week’s list, I’ll emphasise that these picks are only my opinion, and it’s not my intention to present them as infallible, definitive, or indisputable. I’d like to think that I have an informed and reasonable take on the subject, of course, but lists like this are intended to start the discussion, not end it. I’m certainly interested to see if some of you have a different take, and if so, what your picks are. With that being said, let’s once again tip things off with the basketball video games of the 16-Bit era and earlier, and take it right through until the current generation.

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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.

As revealed in the deep-dive developer blog and subsequent trailer, we’ll be introduced to a new cast of characters in NBA 2K17’s MyCAREER mode. Of course, the presence of fictional characters in basketball video games is nothing new, and goes back a long way before NBA 2K began taking a story-driven approach to MyCAREER. While we obviously remember and are familiar with the real players featured in basketball video games, new and old, those fictional players and other characters we encounter also have a tendency to stick in our minds.

For this week’s Friday Five, I’m compiling a list of some of the most memorable characters we’ve seen in basketball video games. Please note that I don’t necessarily mean memorable in a positive sense; just that we do remember them. Please also note that I’m excluding secret players in NBA Jam who are actors, politicians, or developers, as well as NBA mascots (who are obviously characters, but not ones created specifically for basketball video games). These are five fictional basketball video game characters that are all memorable for one reason or another.

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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.

As it stands, basketball gamers don’t have a lot of choice year-to-year. You can either buy NBA Live, NBA 2K, or both, or stick with an older release. Alternatively, you could not play basketball video games at all, but if that’s the case, you’re not exactly relevant to this discussion; no offense. While I wouldn’t be against another developer throwing their hat into the ring with a sim-oriented NBA game, I’m not sure that we necessarily need that to happen. I think that we basketball gamers will be alright as long as NBA 2K continues to do its thing, and NBA Live makes some big strides this year.

Of course, there’s always room in the market for other types of basketball video games. This includes full-blown arcade basketball titles, or perhaps sim-oriented games that focus on different leagues. Cheaper digital releases that focus on mini-games and the like. Resurrections of popular old properties, as controversial as that practice can sometimes be. As you can probably guess, I have a few possibilities in mind; without any further ado, here are five basketball video games that I’d like to see developed.

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We’re at midcourt, the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Get your week started here at the NLSC with a feature that’s dedicated to opinions, commentary, and other fun stuff related to basketball video games.

If you’re a basketball fan, you know who Michael Jordan is, even if you weren’t around in the 80s and 90s. Likewise, even if you were around in the 80s and 90s but weren’t a fan of basketball, you still knew of him, and at least a couple of noteworthy facts about His Airness. Such was his impact upon popular culture.

I was around during that era, and a basketball fan to boot. As many of you may already be aware, I was also a big fan of Michael Jordan, and he remains my all-time favourite player. I was therefore very excited when it was announced that MJ would grace the cover of NBA 2K11, a game which also included a celebration of his career in the form of the Jordan Challenge. Visual Concepts and 2K Sports were probably pretty happy about the arrangement too, as NBA 2K11 sold over five million copies, and was very well received by critics and the basketball gaming community alike.

Michael Jordan is still featured in NBA 2K, and indeed graces the cover of the Special Edition of NBA 2K16. 2K’s partnership with MJ has obviously been very beneficial to the visibility, sales, and reception of their game, but how much does that partnership cost them? While we don’t have any specific figures, some recent reports have given us fodder to speculate.

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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.

While we generally deal with sim oriented basketball video games in our community, several of us are also fans of the arcade style games. As I’ve said several times before, I’m an NBA Jam fan from way back in the day, and I still like the idea of having arcade basketball games as a change of pace from five-on-five simulation fare. Sometimes, you just feel like a quick game with somersault dunks from the rafters.

This week, I’m counting down my Top 5 arcade basketball games. It’s a slightly easier list to compile than the Top 5 simulation basketball games, as arcade basketball games tend not to have annual releases, thus there are fewer of them and it’s easier to pick out the best five from the cream of the crop. I might try to tackle the Top 5 sim titles in a future Five, but for now, here are my picks for the Top 5 arcade basketball games.

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