NLSC Your source for basketball video games.

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 the habit of tossing out confidently incorrect gotchas in online discourse.

Through message boards, chat rooms, social media platforms, and Discord servers, the internet provides us with various ways to connect and discuss the hobbies and interests that are important to us. To that point, we have numerous avenues to tell each other that we’re wrong! This is of course a very old observation about online discourse. Cunningham’s Law posits that posting an incorrect answer is the best way to get the correct information about a topic. The iconic xkcd strip “Duty Calls” sums up our need to argue with each other: “Someone is wrong on the internet!”

You don’t have to be a troll or a toxic member of an online community to have felt the catharsis of telling someone they’re wrong and setting the record straight. As much as we rightfully call out the obnoxiousness of an “um, actually“, there’s no denying its appeal. Besides, it is possible to offer up a correction and useful information without being a pompous know-it-all. Unfortunately, the appeal of being the one to catch a mistake or misinformation leads some people to be very quick on the draw. In short, some of us are way too eager to shout “wrong” in an effort to embarrass someone else and sound smart. This is how we end up with so many confidently incorrect gotchas.

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Today’s mod releases for NBA 2K14 feature a 2025 season logo pack from Sastre Matulin. Pick it up at the link below!

Sastre Matulin
2024-2025 NBA Logos

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 Dee! 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, send Dee a message, or hit him up on X.

There are some interesting trends in this week’s NLSC Top 10 Plays. Gamers are clearly enjoying recent releases, with NBA 2K24 and NBA 2K25 showing up a couple of times. However, the classics are also still in people’s rotations, as NBA Live 2003, NBA Live 2005, and even NBA Live 99 make an appearance! Unsurprisingly, NBA 2K14 also remains a favourite. Of course, the main thing is that every game is producing some spectacular virtual hardwood highlights, as Shawn Kemp, Vince Carter, and other stars past and present are rocking the rim, swatting shots, and generally putting on a show. 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 aspects that made season modes in old school basketball video games so much fun.

Being a keen retro gamer, one of my least favourite phrases in gaming discourse these days is “I can’t believe we used to think this was good”. It’s a myopic statement that forgets that we needed generations of technological improvements to get to where we are today. Moreover, just because graphics, mechanics, and modes have since been surpassed, it doesn’t mean that they’re retroactively terrible. Putting aside the fact that many classics do hold up on the sticks years later, they represent important stepping stones that ultimately led to major developments and improvements in the genre.

Of course, I’m not suggesting that modern games should be as basic as their more primitive predecessors. Just because I’m praising something in an old game, it doesn’t mean that I think it should be in a new one; at least, not in the same form. Once again though, games didn’t get to where they are now without those early attempts at modes and features that we enjoy so much, and indeed take for granted. Furthermore, beyond being nostalgic and worthy of appreciation for their innovation, there’s definitely an appeal to certain aspects of old school season modes. With that in mind, I’m not just reflecting on how those modes paved the way, but how their ideas are still fun today.

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Today’s NBA 2K25 mod releases are all about throwbacks! FurryBeans has uploaded a new version of his Kobe Era roster, while Bassman58 has released some fixed versions of his Magic-Bird Era courts. Check out all of the latest mod releases for NBA 2K25 at the links below!

FurryBeans
Bean’s Kobe Era Roster (Updated to v1.2)

Bassman58
New York Knicks Magic-Bird Era Court (Updated to v2.0)
Phoenix Suns Magic-Bird Era Court (Updated to v2.0)
Portland Trail Blazers Magic-Bird Era Court (Updated to v2.0)
San Antonio Spurs Magic-Bird Era Court (Updated to v2.0)
San Diego Clippers Magic-Bird Era Court (Updated to v2.0)
Seattle Supersonics Magic-Bird Era Court (Updated to v2.0)
Utah Jazz Magic-Bird Era Court (Updated to v2.0)
Washington Bullets Magic-Bird Era Court (Updated to v2.0)

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 NBA Give ‘n Go.

Back in the 90s, EA Sports were the dominant brand in sim basketball games with NBA Live, while Midway developed the best arcade hoops titles with NBA Jam. However, Konami were producing some fun games in the sim-arcade hybrid genre; that middle ground between sim and arcade that’s not too over the top, but still isn’t too concerned with realism. I’ve already covered a couple of those Konami games, namely NBA in the Zone and NBA in the Zone 2. Left Field Productions also tried to imitate Konami’s formula with Slam ‘N Jam.

As I’ve said before, I didn’t really have much interest in those games growing up. I either wanted the sim approach of NBA Live, or the wild arcade action of NBA Jam. The hybrid style of Konami’s games or Slam ‘N Jam was certainly intriguing, but that middle ground didn’t really appeal to me at the time. All these years later, I have far more appreciation for the sim-arcade hybrid, even if it isn’t my first choice. Konami’s NBA Give ‘n Go is a classic release in that genre, and I’m definitely overdue to cover it. With that being said, let’s take a look back…way back…

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #581 of the NLSC Podcast!

What are some of the most memorable plays that we’ve seen in all of our years watching basketball? This week, we join the community in reminiscing about a few of our all-time favourite highlights. Considering our favourite teams, players, and eras to watch, some of our choices might just surprise you! Of course, a couple of others certainly won’t be particularly shocking. We also discuss which game should be featured in the next NLSC Tournament that will be played over Parsec, hopefully in the near future. The community also has some suggestions in that regard, and suffice it to say, there are some very popular picks when it comes to sim and arcade titles alike.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 46:15 — 32.1MB)

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!

You may recall that late last December, I released a 2005 roster for the Xbox 360 version of NBA 2K6. There were further enhancements that I could make to the project however, and to that end, V1.1 of the roster is now available!

Although the developers had already set ratings based on the 2005 season, I wasn’t satisfied with all of them. Combing through the rosters I noticed several players that were undercooked or had a questionable rating here and there, so I’ve gone through and fixed them. I also went ahead and created an “uninjured” version of the roster that’s better suited to Association play, since all of the key players are in the lineup.

Download the 2005 roster for the Xbox 360 version of NBA 2K6 here, and check out the release and support topic here in the Forum. Please see below for more information, including installation instructions. I won’t rule out any further updates, but I’m fairly satisfied with the project for now, so I’ll be moving onto some other minimalist rosters for NBA 2K6. Stay tuned for more info on those!

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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 some thoughts on why I find it distasteful when video game companies join in with memes and jokes, especially about themselves.

Like any joke or popular fad, online memes eventually run their course. To that end, the general lifecycle of a meme has been astutely lampooned by several people. Last year, Man Carrying Thing posted a sketch that summed up the rapid rise and fall of many an absurd meme that achieves inexplicable popularity. While “OK Boomer” lives on as a common retort, cartoonist Kasia Babis aptly used it as an example of a meme’s lifecycle. Another cartoonist, Alex Krokus, perfectly captured the general response to brands jumping on memes and online trends.

Alex’s comic in particular resonates with me, because we’ve seen more and more brands attempt to join in on viral trends as a marketing strategy. Naturally, this also includes video game developers and publishers. On paper, it makes sense for these companies to angle for some viral positive publicity by attempting to cultivate a fun and relatable image, though this can easily backfire. This is especially true whenever a company tries to lean into jokes and memes about itself. Although it can be a very effective strategy if they end up pulling it off, it can easily fail to achieve the playful vibe that they’re aiming for. All too often, it instead comes across as condescending.

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PatTheHead continues do some amazing work for NBA 2K13, as his roster pack now includes an end of 2025 season update. This is fantastic news for everyone who’d like to bring the modern NBA into a classic release!

In addition to updated rosters, the latest release includes new dornas, new cyberfaces for hundreds of players courtesy of several contributors, and Pep’s 2025 All-Star jerseys. Enhancements have also been made to other rosters in the pack, including teams for the exhibition games in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic mods. A handful of jersey numbers have also been fixed.

For those who are unfamiliar with the previous releases, on top of a 2025 season update and Olympic rosters, PatTheHead’s NBA 2K13 roster pack includes a host of retro season mods spanning decades of basketball history. This includes retro NBA rosters, ABA rosters, NBL rosters, BAA rosters, and even ABL rosters! It’s definitely a love letter to hoops, in a game that still holds up superbly today.

Check out Pat’s release topic for the download links, as well as previews of what’s already available and what’s coming in future updates! You’ll also find some fun basketball history and trivia. Shout out as always to Pat and everyone else who’s keeping NBA 2K13 and other classics alive with retro rosters, current roster updates, and other excellent mods! Your efforts and willingness to share these fantastic projects with the community free of charge is most appreciated.

Get ready for more fantastic highlights from the basketball gaming community in the NLSC Top 10 Plays of the Week, curated by Dee! 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, send Dee a message, or hit him up on X.

Can you believe it? We’re tipping off Year 5 of the NLSC Top 10 Plays, and as you’d expect, we’re doing so in style! As usual, variety is the name of the game, with seven different titles in the countdown ranging from NBA Hangtime to NBA 2K25. There’s also a dazzling array of highlights, from breathtaking alley-oops to flashy and powerful poster dunks to wild buzzer beaters. The 2025 NBA season may be rapidly drawing to a close, but as always, the community exemplifies that old Nike slogan: basketball never stops. Please keep the awesome submissions coming, but for now, 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 major problems with open worlds in sports video games.

Since the introduction of The Neighborhood in NBA 2K18, open worlds have been a core part of the MyCAREER experience. Whether an urban complex, a cruise ship, or a beachfront town, they’ve taken MyCAREER and its connected modes from menus to an environment that can be explored. The Neighborhood has since given way to the much larger open world of The City in the flagship version of NBA 2K, although it was condensed slightly in NBA 2K25. Elsewhere, WWE 2K25 now features The Island, and EA Sports are reportedly also looking to bring open worlds to their games.

Now, I have nothing against open worlds in video games. I’m a fan of both the Grand Theft Auto and Fallout series, so I know how much fun the concept can be. However, I don’t believe open worlds belong in sports video games like NBA 2K or WWE 2K. Sure, they can be made to work, facilitating the MMORPG aspects of career modes nowadays. To that point though, I don’t think that it results in a better experience for gamers, particularly anyone who prefers traditional career mode gameplay. With that in mind, here are five big problems that are created when open worlds are forced into sports games, and therefore five reasons why they shouldn’t be a part of those titles!

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The modding scene for NBA 2K14 is still going strong after all these years, as we continue to see some regular mod releases! To that end, Blang has uploaded a pack of 43 faces for prospects in the upcoming 2025 Draft Class, which you can pick up at the link below.

Blang
43 Faces for 2025 Draft Class

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 Dennis Rodman and his changing hair colour on the virtual hardwood.

For decades now, it’s been common to see NBA players with prominent tattoos. Other players have made fashion statements through their hairstyles, sometimes bleaching or colouring their locks in some way. Jeremy Sochan is an example of both, sporting ink and adopting some very colourful looks during his three year NBA career. To that point though, Sochan brings to mind another power forward that once played for the Spurs, wore #10, and was infamous for his numerous tattoos and ever-changing hair colour. I am of course referring to Dennis Rodman!

The Worm’s unique style and unapologetic self-expression at times overshadowed his brilliance on the court, but there was no denying his popularity in the 90s; especially after he was traded to the Chicago Bulls and became an integral part of their second threepeat. Naturally, Rodman’s counterpart on the virtual hardwood was expected to capture this look, which was indeed achieved through unique textures and models. Quite impressively however, several old games also went so far as to give Dennis Rodman changing hair colour as well. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #580 of the NLSC Podcast!

Which teams have we most enjoyed watching, and indeed putting on the virtual hardwood, throughout all of our years of basketball fandom? This week, we join the community in naming our favourite teams from our favourite franchises, our favourite teams from franchises that aren’t our chosen clubs, and our favourite bad teams; bad of course being a relative term in some cases! This leads us to reminisce about a wide variety of teams, from NBA Champions and perennial contenders to flash-in-the-pan squads, basement dwellers, and memorable underdogs, as well as the lineups that made them such fun teams to use in basketball video games for one reason or another.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 58:58 — 40.9MB)

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!