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NBA Live 15 Highlights: Knicks vs. Clippers

NBA Live 15 Highlights: Knicks vs. Clippers

In case you missed it, a new video has gone up on our YouTube channel! Dee has posted highlights from our game of NBA Live 15, in which he took control of Carmelo Anthony’s New York Knicks, and I used the Lob City Los Angeles Clippers. The game was made possible not only due to Parsec, but also the new beta version of the Xbox app that allows games to be streamed to a Windows PC.

Although NBA Live 15 was a rough release in many respects, we had a good time revisiting it, and were able to produce a number of highlights! From Melo’s scoring outburst during a fourth quarter battle, to Blake Griffin emphatically finishing lobs, there were some genuinely exciting moments. There were also a number of defensive plays that felt satisfying and organic, despite some of the quirks with player movement and animations. Unfortunately NBA Live 15 doesn’t support co-op play, but it turned into a great competitive contest down the stretch. Check out the reel!

We also took a deep dive into NBA Live 15 in Episode #480 of the NLSC Podcast, which you can tune into here. As always, please subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel for more basketball gaming content! Dee and I are also open to suggestions for games that you’d like to see us play, so feel free to hit us up.

Wayback Wednesday: The Yinka Dare Portrait Mystery

Wayback Wednesday: The Yinka Dare Portrait Mystery

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 investigating a mystery that surrounds the portrait used for Yinka Dare in NBA Live 96 PC.

Just when I think I’m done talking about portraits in NBA Live 96 PC for Wayback Wednesday, another topic comes to mind! It helps that I’ve connected with Dee to play the game over Parsec on a number of occasions, and even felt compelled to whip up a couple of minimalist roster mods for it to celebrate March Modness earlier this year. NBA Live 96 PC is one of my all-time favourite games, so between all of those hours playing it when it was new, and revisiting it in the years since, I feel as though I know the game inside and out.

Of course, I thought the same thing about NBA Jam Tournament Edition PC and NBA Hangtime for the Nintendo 64, yet I discovered oddities and had them pointed out to me over two decades later! A vague memory of a court bug in NBA Live 96 PC also prompted me to investigate further, and confirm that it wasn’t my imagination or a modding error. Since I’ve been playing NBA Live 96 PC and messing around in its rosters in recent months, I was reminded of another mystery, this time involving the portrait that was used for Yinka Dare. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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NLSC Podcast #480: Is NBA Live 15 Overlooked?

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #480 of the NLSC Podcast!

NBA Live 15 generally wasn’t well-received when it was released, but might it be somewhat overlooked today? A fun session playing the game over Parsec prompts us to take a deep dive into all of its pros and cons. Suffice to say it’s a mixed bag, but it might just work its way into our rotation! We also connected to play NBA Live 06 PC with a 2012 season roster, and were reminded of what a special release it was. In this week’s mailbag, we join the community in talking about how we play basketball in real life. Which players would we compare our style of play to, and does that at all influence the creation of our players in career modes?

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!

Monday Tip-Off: Humour on The Virtual Hardwood

Monday Tip-Off: Humour on The Virtual Hardwood

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 reflections on the role that humour plays in basketball gaming.

So, a quick note before we get into this week’s topic: yes, I do mean “humor”. I’m spelling it “humour” because Australian English, like British English, tosses the letter “u” into a bunch of words that American English doesn’t. I know it’s not an issue for most people, but I have received the occasional comment about supposed “mistakes” and “typos” in my articles because I’m not using American spelling. It’s a subject that’s bound to come up from time to time on a site discussing basketball, thanks to “centre” and “center”! In any case, humour, humor…I’m talking about the same thing.

With that out of way, humour is something that we do find in basketball video games, both sim and arcade. It obviously has its place in the genre, though the tone of a game tends to influence how heavily it leans into being humorous. Needless to say, personal preference is also a factor here. In a sim game, too much humour may have a negative effect on the atmosphere, making it feel too silly. Then again, how much is too much depends on how seriously you’re taking your virtual hoops! Conversely, arcade titles invite more humour in their presentation and gameplay, and can seem dry without it. When a game is able to strike the right balance, it adds fun to the virtual hardwood.

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NBA 2K23 Mod Releases: NBA Finals Jerseys

NBA 2K23 Cover Art

Today’s NBA 2K23 mod releases are timely updates for the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat, adding an NBA Finals patch to their jerseys. Download the latest release from pinoy21 at the link below!

pinoy21
NBA Finals Jersey Pack – Nuggets & Heat (pinoy21)

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.

NLSC Top 10 Plays of the Week: June 3rd, 2023

NLSC Top 10 Plays of the Week

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.

I know what you’re thinking. Of course we have poster dunks in this week’s NLSC Top 10 Plays, but that isn’t all! You’ll also see players making uncanny no-look passes, breaking ankles, spinning into crazy finishes, and taking advantage of a wild sequence off of a missed free throw to slam home the putback. Retro rosters are on display, reminding us that young Ray Allen was more than just a shooter, and that Kobe Bryant was simply incredible. On top of that, six different games are represented in the countdown, spanning a decade from NBA 2K13 to NBA 2K23. 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.

The Friday Five: 5 Types of Basketball Memorabilia I’ve Collected

The Friday Five: 5 Types of Basketball Memorabilia I've Collected

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 reflecting upon five types of basketball memorabilia that I’ve collected over the years.

Although I’m still passionate about basketball, there’s nothing quite like your first foray into a new hobby or interest. When I first got hooked on hoops, I couldn’t get enough! I needed to read every magazine and learn everything I could about the NBA and its history. I eagerly devoured highlights and any full games that I was able to watch. If I saw a basketball player on a cover or poster, heard their name on the news, or simply caught mention of the word “basketball”, it grabbed my attention. I can’t imagine how much it must have bugged my parents, but they supported my interest.

Needless to say, there’s a ton of basketball and basketball-related memorabilia that one can collect. Over many years of following the sport, I’ve indulged my passion with a variety of collectibles and keepsakes. Of course, I haven’t sought to get my hands on absolutely every bit of basketball memorabilia that I can find. I’ve never been to an NBA game, so I don’t have any ticket stubs or programs, and I’m not looking to buy anyone else’s. I’ve also never been into figurines or pop vinyls, so they’re not in my collection. There are other things that I’ve enthusiastically collected though, and they represent many fond memories as a long-time hardcore hoop head.

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NBA Live 06 Highlights: 2012 Thunder vs Heat

NBA Live 06 Highlights: 2012 Thunder vs Heat

NBA Live 06 PC is one of my all-time favourite games, and one of the highlights of the NBA Live series. As such, it was a blast to connect with Dee on Parsec yesterday, and play a co-op game using rosters from the old NBA Live PC Project. Specifically, we used the 2012 season roster to replay the NBA Finals matchup between the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Dee and I took control of the Thunder on this occasion, challenging ourselves to beat the Heat’s Big Three with OKC’s dynamic duo. What followed was an exciting game filled with big shots, emphatic dunks, impressive swats, and a win that wasn’t decided until the final minutes. Dee put together a reel of the best highlights, demonstrating just how fun NBA Live 06 PC can be in 2023. Check it out!

The roster that we were using is still available to download here. We were also using the Freestyle Superstars Replay Pop-Up remover that I released earlier this year for March Modness. You can pick that up here if you’d like to enhance the presentation of NBA Live 06 PC. As always, I encourage you to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more great basketball gaming videos, and invite you to hit us up with any suggestions of games that you’d like to see us play.

NBA 2K23 on PlayStation Plus This Month

NBA 2K23 on PlayStation Plus This Month

The PlayStation Plus monthly games for June 2023 have been officially announced, and NBA 2K23 is among them. From Tuesday June 6th until Monday July 3rd, PlayStation Plus subscribers will be able to add NBA 2K23 to their library at no extra charge. As with all other PlayStation Plus games, it will remain playable as long you have an active subscription.

According to the announcement, both the PS4 and PS5 versions of NBA 2K23 will be available. Obviously it’s quite late in the year to be getting into the game, and our community also tends to be more interested in the PC version anyway. However, if you do have a PS4 and/or PS5 and don’t yet own the game on those platforms, it’s a good opportunity to pick it up at no additional cost; as long as you’re a PlayStation Plus subscriber, of course.

A reminder that NBA 2K games are removed from digital storefronts when online support ends. While that won’t be happening with NBA 2K23 until the end of next year, if you’re a collector and completionist, once again it’s a good opportunity to add it your library without spending an extra cent. If you’re looking for some impressions of NBA 2K23, Dee and I shared our “definitive” take on the game in Episode #455 of the NLSC Podcast.

Wayback Wednesday: Running With The Baby Bulls & Beyond

Wayback Wednesday: Running With The Baby Bulls & Beyond

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 reminiscing about playing with the Baby Bulls teams in basketball video games.

My nostalgia for the NBA and basketball video games doesn’t end with the 90s; far from it! Many of my favourite titles were released in the 2000s through to the early 2010s, and I’ve remained an avid NBA and basketball junkie long after Michael Jordan called it a career. Of course, playing with His Airness on the virtual hardwood required some modding back in the day, owing to his absence from the official roster. When it came to running with Bulls teams in the years that followed, I (usually) didn’t have to worry about them missing a prominent player.

Mind you, while all the names might’ve been accounted for, the talent was certainly lacking. I’ve previously reflected on the challenges that came with assuming control of my favourite team in the early 2000s; an extraordinarily tough time to be a Bulls fan after experiencing the glory days of MJ! I mentioned in passing that they became far more appealing to play with as the decade wore on, and their rebuilding efforts began to yield better results. Those teams came to be known as the Baby Bulls due to their youth, and while they didn’t reach the top of the mountain once more, I did enjoy putting them on the virtual hardwood. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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NLSC Podcast #479: Narratives, Nuggets, & Inspiration

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #479 of the NLSC Podcast!

With some big stories and events in the NBA right now, our attention turns to real hoops this week! From the Denver Nuggets making their very first NBA Finals, to Carmelo Anthony announcing his retirement, to the latest sad and bitter tirade from Scottie Pippen, we’ve got some thoughts to share. Speaking of real basketball, we also join the community in talking about the pre-game rituals and inspirational material that gets us pumped up to play pick-up and league games. As for the virtual hardwood, we discuss a false narrative regarding the style of NBA Live and NBA 2K during the 2000s, and shout out some excellent content creators in the community. In this week’s mailbag, we’re taking a look back at the Overall Ratings of the top seven active players in ESPN NBA 2K5.

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!

Monday Tip-Off: We Can Wait Until It’s Ready

Monday Tip-Off: We Can Wait Until It's Ready

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 features that are implemented before they’re truly ready, and how we can and should be willing to wait until then.

Here’s some trivia for you: the first can openers were invented several decades after tin cans themselves were devised as a way of preserving food. Obviously there were ways of opening tin cans before that – knives, primarily – but the point is that tin cans were in use for a long time before a specific tool to easily open them was invented. Mad as it may seem, the two technologies – sealing food in a can for preservation, and then opening the can when required – were not developed simultaneously. Sometimes, that’s just the way it goes.

What does this have to do with basketball gaming? Well, as we’ve often seen, game development can be very similar. NBA 2K21 Next Gen introduced brand new contact dunks, but contact blocks had to wait until NBA 2K22. User control settings for shot timing were added in NBA 2K23, but because they were a late addition, there wasn’t a “normal” setting. Whether it’s a new mechanic lacking an appropriate countermeasure, or a feature that isn’t fully fleshed out, it feels like NBA 2K has a habit of giving us a can while neglecting to provide a can opener. In short, and all metaphors aside, we should wait on new features and mechanics if it means they’re properly implemented.

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NBA Live 2003 Retrospective by Live 01 Legends (Part 1)

NBA Live 2003 Retrospective by Live 01 Legends (Part 1)

Since it was released a little over twenty years ago, I’ve had mixed feelings about NBA Live 2003. It’s a landmark title due to the introduction of Freestyle Control, but its fast pace, arcade-leaning gameplay, and Courtside Comedy Cutscenes, have divided many basketball gamers. I’ve come to appreciate it more in recent years however, and to that point, I’m delighted to share an NBA Live 2003 retrospective by Nate of the Live 01 Legends!

In Part 1 of this documentary/retrospective, Nate discusses the need for the series to innovate following NBA Live 2002, and how that goal was achieved with the revolution of Freestyle Control. He compares the mechanic to NBA 2K’s Isomotion, and eventual adoption of right stick dribbling controls. It’s a well put together breakdown of what turned out to be a very significant game, and I’m honoured that Dee and I are featured by way of our commentary from the NLSC Podcast! Watch it below, or check it out here on YouTube.

As noted, a Part 2 of this retrospective is in the works, so stay tuned for that! I also encourage you to subscribe to the Live 01 Legends YouTube channel, and check out Nate and Roger’s other basketball gaming videos. You can also listen to our chat with Nate and Roger on the NLSC Podcast here. Finally, I also posted my own NBA Live 2003 retrospective as part of our 25th Anniversary of NBA Live celebrations a few years back, which you can read here.

NLSC Top 10 Plays of the Week: May 27th, 2023

NLSC Top 10 Plays of the Week

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.

I don’t envy the task of choosing just ten plays and then ranking them to boot, because the community keeps taking things to a new level with their submissions! Dee has an eye for highlights and a talent for video production though, and with basketball gamers bringing the goods once again, the NLSC Top 10 Plays is the best three minutes of virtual hardwood action you’ll find this week. And no, I’m not just saying that because I’m in there with a play from my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER! Prepare to be enthralled by ankle breakers, alley-oops, and clutch plays from seven different games…and also be ready to pick up a controller soon afterwards. 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.

The Friday Five: 5 Players Who Only Appeared on Certain Teams in Games (Part 12)

The Friday Five: 5 Players Who Only Appeared on Certain Teams in Games (Part 12)

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 Part 12 in an ongoing series looking at players who only appeared on certain teams in video games.

As I noted in Part 11 last month, in addition to bigger names, there are some lesser-known and remembered role players, journeymen, and bench warmers who ended up with phantom stints. I’ve gone back and forth on whether they’re worth profiling or not, since the prominent players that we all remember tend to be more interesting examples. Not only is there usually more to say about them, but as I also pointed out in Part 11, players who move around a lot and aren’t locks to be retained beyond training camp are more likely to have phantom stints captured in video game rosters.

Still, why should that disqualify them from being profiled? Besides, when you’re an NBA junkie, you’ll find that you remember some obscure names, even several years later! Video games undoubtedly help with that, from updating the rosters to making your own trades and signings in franchise modes. Indeed, my own memories of these players are definitely more closely tied to video games than the real NBA, with the exception of the one noteworthy name. Even then however, he’s been present in several of my franchise and career mode games over the years. Enjoy this list of role players, journeymen, and a notable name, whose phantom stints were made tangible!

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