Monday Tip-Off: The Wasted Potential of NBA Live 18

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 the wasted potential of NBA Live 18, in the wake of its servers being shut down.

NBA Live 18 has recently (and unexpectedly) made its way back into my rotation. Admittedly, it wasn’t an unthinkable prospect. It’s always been the eighth gen NBA Live that I’ve liked best – not that that’s a high bar to clear – and Dee and I also had a fun co-op session with it using Parsec and the Xbox app. Still, I expected it to be an occasional novelty, yet it became a full-blown retro kick. I’ve been revisiting Ultimate Team with my squad of 90s All-Stars, working through the challenges in The One’s Pro-Am Tour, and even assembling some makeshift 2017 and 2025 rosters!

These sessions have reminded me that NBA Live 18 had some good bones, and plenty of potential. In fact, I’d say that I have an even more positive impression of the game than I did when it was new! Of course, that has brought about a mixture of delight and wistfulness. There’s always joy in rediscovering a game or seeing one in a new light, and expanding your rotation. Given that most of my recent retro basketball gaming kicks have been much older, it was also refreshing to find a new one that’s from the past decade. At the same time, even before the server shutdown, the fun I was having with NBA Live 18 was accompanied by nagging thoughts of squandered opportunity.

Although NBA Live 18 wasn’t a roaring success by most metrics – at least compared to NBA 2K and classic NBA Live releases – it was still a solid comeback to say the least. After NBA Live 14’s unimpressive showing and incremental (but still welcome) improvements in NBA Live 15 and NBA Live 16, it wasn’t a given that the series would be able to recover from the disastrous debacle of NBA Elite 11. The delay and eventual cancellation of NBA Live 17/The Drive to NBA Live didn’t inspire much confidence in the continuation of the series. Thus, when NBA Live 18 was released and demonstrated encouraging improvements in key areas, it was a promising sign.

To that point, it became the highest-rated entry in the series since NBA Live 10. In some respects, that’s damning it with faint praise, because the eighth generation was a rough era for NBA Live following its total implosion towards the end of seventh gen. It’s worth noting that it still wasn’t quite as good as many of us were hoping it would be, and certainly not as good as it needed to be in order to truly compete with NBA 2K. At the same time, it wasn’t just a case of looking halfway decent next to complete garbage, or to be kinder, merely less subpar. Progress had been made, and the game had a promising direction that invited optimism. It was liked, not just disliked less.

Granted, there were legacy issues with player movement and animations. As much fun as I’ve been having with NBA Live 18, there’s no denying that. On top of having room for improvement there, there was also work to be done with the AI as far as a realistic depiction of the NBA, from accurate shot distribution to authentic team play styles and strategies. With that being said, the more that I’ve played NBA Live 18 and grown accustomed to how players move, the better it “handles”. The AI is also a little better than I’d remembered, recognising mismatches and taking advantage of open looks. There are flaws to the gameplay, but it does feel like it was on the right track.

Depth is a problem when it comes to modes. Franchise reverted to its original name, but the rebrand wasn’t accompanied by a suitable revamp. Ultimate Team is solid, but there’s a lack of variety compared to the different modes in MyTEAM, and the limit on collection size is also far less fun for completionists. Making The One the focus of NBA Live 18 undoubtedly impacted the other modes, leaving them too “streamlined” (i.e. barebones). The One is also not quite as deep as MyCAREER, though it has a far less annoying story than NBA 2K18, and no unnecessary open world. The Streets is a good companion to the traditional NBA career experience, but it’s not for everyone.

Suffice it to say, NBA Live 18 didn’t establish a new peak for the series. On the bright side, roster editing did return in a post-release patch! Furthermore, while it had its shortcomings, both on the virtual hardwood and in its modes, the game has appeal. It’s solid, and there’s fun to be had. As I said, there are clunky moments, but it does play better when you develop a feel for the gameplay. The modes needed more depth, but they’re not completely devoid of features and content, and what’s there does work. Progression in The One is swift, and it has no microtransactions. Ultimate Team did, but rather surprisingly for an EA Sports title, it wasn’t pushy about those mechanics.

Also, while it doesn’t come close to competing with NBA 2K in terms of historical content, NBA Live 18 did still include an assortment of Legends. Not making them available to play with outside of Ultimate Team was a missed opportunity, though I do appreciate their appearance in the Pro-Am Tour’s throwback challenges. Yes, more could’ve and should’ve been done with Franchise, Ultimate Team, and the historical content, but the ideas that were implemented definitely had merit. To that end, it was a commendable comeback following another year in limbo, and a sturdy foundation to build upon. Revisiting NBA Live 18 has really reminded me of its untapped potential.

That’s what makes NBA Live 19 and the dormancy of the series since 2018 so utterly frustrating! The foundation and blueprints were there – not to mention a desire for an alternative in the space – and EA threw it all away. As much as I’ve enjoyed a change of pace with The Streets in NBA Live 18, NBA Live 19 leaned far too heavily into that side of The One, while ignoring the traditional experiences. Gameplay was tuned for the online scene, spoiling the offline modes. Feedback from veteran community members who had been playing NBA Live since the beginning – and in some cases, since the NBA Playoffs series – was ignored, and they were given the cold shoulder.

There are a few good ideas in NBA Live 19 and some further gameplay polish, but it still failed to capitalise on the potential of NBA Live 18. In chasing a “younger, new demographic“, it alienated long-time fans. Back then, NBA 2K was still doing a fine job of catering to most gamers with deep experiences and enjoyable gameplay across the board. NBA Live 19 conversely did not, with the final patch essentially breaking shooting for offline gameplay. Court Battles and the customisable One Court were fun and great community-oriented initiatives, but other modes remained neglected. Roster editing was disappointingly buggy too, with the trade function inexplicably missing.

In contrast to NBA 2K19 effectively providing distinctly different styles of gameplay that were suitable for each of its modes, the streetball aspect of The One spilled over into other areas of NBA Live 19. It’s all well and good to equip The Professor’s flashy dribbling animations in The Streets, but they don’t belong in The League! Beyond that, focusing on The One, and in particular the online scene, resulted in a lack of improvement to authenticity in NBA modes and gameplay. This was absolutely the wrong direction to take after NBA Live 18. Also, while there is some more polish to 19’s gameplay, it’s not a huge jump, and it was ultimately spoiled by the poor tuning.

Simply put, you can’t follow up a promising comeback with minimal improvements, noticeable downgrades, and an approach that alienates many of your most loyal fans. Sure, you don’t want to just copy the brand leader – especially if you can’t match the quality – but if you’re vying for the same audience, you can’t eschew the staples. Even if you’re comfortable giving long-time fans the cold shoulder, you can’t ignore that the “younger, new demographic” wants many of the same things, and that’s why the brand leader has them. To be even blunter, you can’t follow up a game with enough potential to get our hopes up for the future of the series, with a release that is mediocre at best.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened with NBA Live 19, completely wasting the potential of NBA Live 18. Instead of listening to fans and building upon their suggestions, EA went in a new direction that stripped the series of its established identity. Instead of polishing the mechanics and animations that made a poor first impression on the audience they were trying to win over, they added streetball moves and more cosmetic items; not unwelcome in theory, but tough to enjoy without major gameplay enhancements. Instead of being another massive leap, NBA Live 19 was a combination of stagnation, baby steps forwards, and disappointing steps backwards.

Therefore, as much as I’m enjoying NBA Live 18, I’m also reminded of that wasted potential. Yes, there are zippy passes that bounce like a super ball, but some really crisp flashy dishes, too. There are awkward animations that did the game no favours considering the year off was ostensibly to iron them out, but when something looks good, it looks really good! That includes some beautiful dunks, particularly posters with contact. It’s possible to pull off some slick, satisfying ankle-breakers. The ball can bounce off the rim at an odd speed and trajectory, and animation transitions and chaining can be rough, but when everything flows, you’ll see some great sequences.

The problems are easily identifiable, and shouldn’t have been insurmountable. With further refinement to passing and catching animations, the speed and trajectory of certain passes could surely be more lifelike. There could be a wider array of moves in the paint, including more simple dunks and layups from a stationary start. Not every missed shot came off the rim awkwardly, and again, sometimes you’ll see animations chain together beautifully. There are plenty of glimpses of what the tech is seemingly capable of; moments that hint at the potential of EA IGNITE on the virtual hardwood. For as much as many of us doubted that engine, there were signs that it could work.

Moreover, the concepts, style, and design philosophies could’ve worked. NBA Live 18 struck a good balance between The Streets and the more traditional NBA-oriented modes. As a simhead, I’d have preferred more authenticity to the gameplay, but it is there. The ESPN presentation is fantastic, featuring the then-lead announce team of Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy. I like the lighting and the overall aesthetic. Some player faces are better than others – just as in NBA 2K – but there are some great ones, even for the Legends who couldn’t sit for scans. There are interesting ideas with the modes, and despite being shallow, they were definitely solid enough to expand upon.

Those positives are what drew me back into NBA Live 18. I’ve had so many fun moments playing through the Pro-Am Tour, looking to break ankles and make flashy passes; fortunately, that’s still playable offline. I’ve loved indulging my 90s nostalgia and producing high-flying highlights with my squad of Legends in Ultimate Team, though sadly that’s over now. The game has pleasantly surprised me with smooth moments and rare animations, such as when a CPU Giannis Antetokounmpo posted up Kevin Durant and overpowered me with a move and dunk I’d never seen before. I dig the overall vibe of NBA Live 18, and it leaves me wistfully wondering What If.

I know that many see NBA Live 19 as the missed opportunity, but for me, NBA Live 18 was the more promising title. Sure, NBA Live 19 wasn’t an unmitigated disaster of a follow-up, in contrast to the cancelled NBA Elite 11. Still, it was a similar misstep as far as squandering a springboard to further success. I’ve had a blast with NBA Live 18, and I’m glad there’s still offline content for me to enjoy. However, it’s impossible to ignore the elephant in the room: that there was so much potential in NBA Live 18. Had they continued down that path, the series would likely still be active and possibly thriving today. I’ve enjoyed this NBA Live 18 kick, but man…what could’ve been!