Tag Archives: 1996

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #627 of the NLSC Podcast!

We’re back on the air after an unfortunate technical mishap last week, and we’re ready and eager to take a deep dive into the somewhat overlooked PlayStation version of NBA Live 96! After recapping a couple of our sessions with the game and reflecting on the nostalgic 1996 lineups for the four featured teams, we take an in-depth look at the features and on-court experience, break down the detailed results of a simulated season, and draw comparisons to the 16-bit and PC versions along the way. We also join the community in discussing which version (or versions) of NBA Live 96 we owned and played the most back in the day, and nominate which one we’d currently say is our favourite.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 57:04 — 39.6MB)

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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 reflecting on the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies being in the NBA – and video games – for 30 years.

It’s funny how even though the Toronto Raptors and Memphis Grizzlies have been in the NBA for 30 years now, a part of me still thinks of them as “new” teams. After all, the Charlotte Bobcats came along in 2004. Of course, now that they’re the Hornets again and have reclaimed their history from 1988 to 2002, the New Orleans Pelicans have retroactively become the league’s newest team. Furthermore, 1996 was the year I became a hardcore hoop head. As such, the Raptors and Grizzlies were in the league when my interest in basketball really took off.

However, I was a casual fan before then, so I was aware that they were new. My first basketball video game – NBA Jam Tournament Edition – is set before they entered the league, and thus doesn’t include them. It wasn’t until I picked up NBA Live 96 that I played a game that featured the two expansion teams. As the youngest clubs during the early days of my fandom, they continued to feel new for years afterwards. All this is to say that it’s now been 30 years since the Raptors and Grizzlies were newcomers to the league and video games! Let’s take a look back…way back…

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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 basketball games that I’d love to add to my retro rotation in 2026.

With such a large collection of basketball video games and a predisposition for retro gaming, I’m not too bothered by my disinterest in more recent releases. Moreover, between a MyCAREER and historical matchups in NBA 2K14, a co-op NBA 2K9 Bulls Association with Dee, and a Bulls Dynasty in NBA Live 16, my retro basketball gaming rotation already has some enjoyable fixtures. There are also a handful of other retro favourites that frequently find their way back into my rotation, including NBA 2K17, NBA 2K6, and NBA Live 10.

Of course, there’s always room for other favourites! Furthermore, as fun as it is to have a retro kick begin unexpectedly and on a whim, there are some games that I’d like to make an effort to bring back into my rotation and enjoy anew. There was a time when I felt that certain games were getting too old to enjoy, but suffice it to say that I’ve changed my mind about that! Indeed, between unfinished business, playing different modes, and adding new content with mods, those old favourites can offer many fresh experiences. It remains to be seen how many of these titles re-enter my retro rotation, but they’re at the top of the list of games I’d love to revisit more often.

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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 pondering another historical NBA What If, specifically what if Charles Barkley was traded to the Lakers in 1992?

When I think of Charles Barkley, I generally picture him in the Phoenix Suns’ iconic sunburst uniforms of the 90s. After all, that’s where he was playing when I started taking a keener interest in basketball. Hoop heads who have been watching longer than I have may well picture him on the Philadelphia 76ers instead, and indeed that stint accounts for half of his career. With that being said, it wouldn’t surprise me if the MVP and NBA Finals appearance in 1993 has led to those fans likewise coming to associate Chuck with the Suns more than the 76ers (or the Houston Rockets).

Of course, had a proposed trade gone through in 1992, it seems a safe bet to say that we’d have never seen Sir Charles in a Suns or Rockets uniform. For a brief moment, Charles Barkley was set to join the Los Angeles Lakers, before the deal went up in smoke. As with any What If involving legendary players, it’s fascinating trying to imagine an alternate history and all of the possible ripple effects. It’s all speculation at the end of the day, but Charles Barkley going to the Lakers is undoubtedly a huge What If, in real life and on the virtual hardwood. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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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 reflecting on it being 30 years since I bought the PC version of NBA Jam Tournament Edition, aka NBA Jam TE.

These days, I have a sizeable collection of basketball video games – I’m overdue to take a new photo with the additions that I’ve made since 2022 – but it all had to start somewhere! As it happens, I purchased my very first basketball video game 30 years ago yesterday. That game was of course NBA Jam Tournament Edition, or NBA Jam TE as it’s also commonly known. A minor technical issue prevented me from playing it on January 27th 1996, but a day later that was all sorted, so today marks 30 years since I hit the virtual hardwood in NBA Jam Tournament Edition for the first time.

Needless to say, as one of the earliest titles that turned my interest in basketball and basketball gaming into full-blown fandom – some might say obsession – NBA Jam Tournament Edition is an all-time nostalgic favourite. It certainly helps that just like the original NBA Jam, it still holds up superbly three decades later. Of course, even if I wasn’t able to enjoy it today, it’d still be a special part of my history with the virtual hardwood and real hoops alike. As such, I’ll never pass up the opportunity to reflect on it, especially on a milestone anniversary! Let’s take a look back…way back…

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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 lost basketball video game saves that I’m tempted to reboot and play once again.

Decades of basketball gaming has resulted in far too many of my saves being lost. Sometimes it’s due to unfortunate technical issues, but all too often, I’ve made the mistake of believing that I was done with a particular game and carelessly discarded those files. As I’ve come to realise – especially with my preference for retro basketball gaming in recent years – I’m actually quite likely to revisit old favourites and make them a part of my rotation once again! To that point, it’s a shame that I can’t resume those lost Season, Franchise, and Dynasty saves when I dust off classic titles.

Of course, while the original saves may be lost, the ideas live on! With that in mind, while recovering those lost saves is highly unlikely unless I discover some backups somewhere – and trust me, I’ve already looked – I can always re-create them. Now that I’ve made my return to franchise gaming and reignited my passion for playing through seasons, I’m open to making that something I do with any old favourites that I end up getting hooked on. Sure, it wouldn’t be a true continuation of those lost saves, and it’d be tough to truly re-create the magic of the original experiences. I do think it’d be a lot of fun, though! With that being said, I’m quite tempted to reboot these five lost saves.

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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 revisiting the 16-bit version of NBA Live 96 – with a focus on the SNES release – and seeing if it can be updated for 1996.

Thirty years ago, the 1995-96 NBA season was in its early stages. It turned out to be one of the most iconic campaigns in league history, with the Chicago Bulls becoming the first team to win 70 games on route to their fourth championship of the decade. However, months earlier the season had been in jeopardy, owing to the lockout of 1995. That lockout is often overlooked as a new collective bargaining agreement was ultimately reached well in time to avoid losing any games. However, it led to various 1996 season video games launching with outdated rosters.

This includes the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive versions of NBA Live 96. While the PC and PlayStation versions were released later and thus weren’t affected by the lockout, the 16-bit versions had to ship with 1995 season rosters. This also led to that version including the Expansion Draft for the Vancouver Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors, as well as a bevy of unlockable players. With these features, as well as the addition of roster customisation outside Season mode, is it possible to properly update 16-bit NBA Live 96 for the 1996 season? Let’s take a look back…way back…

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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 the importance of playing with your own roster mods.

There have definitely been people over the years who are more interested in creating mods for basketball video games than hitting the virtual hardwood. Far be it from me to tell anyone else how to enjoy their leisure time, but that has always struck me as a little odd. Obviously there’s tremendous creative satisfaction in modding, but to me, mods are meant to enhance the gameplay experience. There are limitations to what we can achieve through modding of course, which is why I’d ultimately prefer a fun game that we can’t really mod to one that’s modder-friendly, but a poor on-court experience.

With that being said, the best and most popular games in our community throughout the years are the ones that were highly moddable, while also being great out of the box. As such, current roster updates, retro roster mods, and total conversions have all made some fantastic games even better. Because they take time to make however, if you’re creating one of those big projects, you may not always get to enjoy the fruits of your labour. I can certainly attest to this! It is important that we spend some time playing with our own roster mods, though. After all, not only should we be able to have fun with what we created, but it’s essential to becoming a better roster maker.

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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 rosters that I’d like to make for NBA Live 06 PC.

Even though I haven’t been as active in the modding community as I was during the heyday of NBA Live on PC, the lure to tinker with the games I’m playing has always been there. Admittedly I haven’t been moved to mod recent NBA 2K games any more than I have been to play them, but should a future release capture my interest, I won’t rule out the possibility. For now though, just as I’ve gravitated towards retro gaming, I’m far more interested in creating mods for old favourites that find their way back into my rotation…or new old favourites, as the case may be.

One old favourite that I’d like to play more often and mod once again is NBA Live 06 PC. Although it was generally well-received in its day – and in my view, is the last great all-around release in the NBA Live series – that may sound like a strange choice. Compared to games such as NBA 2K13 and NBA 2K14, it doesn’t have the same significant following several years after its release. To that end, I accept that any rosters that I create for NBA Live 06 will be niche projects, and indeed likely largely for my own use. That doesn’t mean I can’t and shouldn’t create them, though! They’re worth considering at least, and to that point, here are five ideas that I have in mind.

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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 modding projects that I unfortunately had to abandon before they were finished.

When I was reading Felicia Day’s first book several years ago, she offered up the advice to never throw away anything you’ve written. By all means start over or try to re-work what you’ve drafted, but don’t just delete the original file. After all, you may want to return to it as a starting point, or at least salvage a part of it. I’ve kept that in mind when writing articles since then. Whether it’s keeping the first draft while I take another run at a topic, or saving what I’ve written when I remove an example from a Friday Five list so that it can potentially be used elsewhere, I’m hesitant to scrap work.

The same goes for modding projects. Even an abandoned roster potentially has some data or art assets that can be recycled in another mod, so there’s value in holding onto both. Furthermore, while projects can hit a brick wall, there’s always a chance that you can persevere, perhaps by changing direction or scaling down the project. With that being said, there comes a time where you need to cut your losses rather than falling victim to the sunk cost fallacy. I’ve certainly done that with a few modding projects over the years! It’s never a good feeling, but it’s far wiser than wasting time on an ultimately doomed idea. Here are five of my modding projects that fell through.

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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 reflections on whether to create 1996, 1997, or 1998 season rosters, as I consider future modding projects.

As I’ve said before, in order to stand the best chance of completing any major roster projects that I attempt moving forward, I need to pick an idea that I’m invested in, for a game that I want to play. When it comes to the games that I’d most like to play and mod, NBA Live 06 PC is definitely one of the frontrunners. As far as roster projects, I’d prefer something nostalgic over a current season update. This includes an Ultimate Jordan roster, various classic team rosters, and if I can assemble the appropriate assets and viable placeholders, at least one complete retro season mod.

To that end, I have a few seasons in mind. My work with NBA 2K6 for Xbox 360 has demonstrated how 2006 season games can be effectively rolled back a few years, and such projects can be made even better on PC with all of the modding capabilities. I’ll always be drawn to the idea of bringing the 90s into a 21st century favourite though, but that raises the question of which year. Being a 90s kid and Chicago Bulls fan, the 1996, 1997, and 1998 seasons are all prime candidates when mulling the possibilities for retro rosters. However, even if I were to create all of them for NBA Live 06 PC or another game, I’d still need to pick one to start with. So: 1996, 1997, or 1998 rosters?

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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 creating Michael Jordan in NBA Live 96 PC.

Today, I’m forty. I’ve been alluding to it in articles and on the NLSC Podcast, and finally, the day has come. It’s a confronting realisation that I’m now technically middle-aged, but then again, I’ve been leaning into a few Grumpy Old Man opinions for a while now! Of course, that invites some armchair psychologist to dismiss those views as blind nostalgia, born of a desperate desire to cling to my youth and a time when everything felt simpler. Joke’s on them, though; I was born to be a retro gamer, and I was going wayback before I was even thirty, let alone forty!

Snark aside, it is my birthday and a milestone one to boot, so I’d like to do something fun to mark the occasion. With that in mind, I’ve been mulling the possibilities as the date drew nearer. I could revisit a favourite game. A couple of the features that I’d already planned would also certainly fit with the reflective nostalgia of another trip around the sun. In the end though, I decided that I’d reminisce about something that combines a favourite game, my all-time favourite player, and the hobby of modding: creating Michael Jordan in NBA Live 96 PC. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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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 roster updates for NBA Full Court Press.

While Microsoft’s NBA Inside Drive series was respectably popular in the early 2000s, many long-time gamers may forget about its predecessor, NBA Full Court Press. It’s understandable, of course. Its name didn’t spawn a series of titles like Inside Drive, Live, 2K, ShootOut, and so on, and it was also exclusive to PC. Additionally, although it has its strong points and it’s interesting to revisit it today, it didn’t have the best gameplay or most well-designed modes. I’d suggest that Microsoft made similar mistakes with NBA Inside Drive 2000, before the series took a big leap with 2002.

One of the interesting aspects of NBA Full Court Press is that it was a 1997 season title that featured 1996 season rosters. A few years earlier, it wouldn’t have been unusual for a game to launch without updated lineups and a new rookie crop, but that approach had fallen out of vogue by 1996. I’ve previously covered NBA Full Court Press with a retrospective back in 2018, but the issue of its outdated rosters deserves another look; especially because there were actually some official roster updates that I neglected to mention! Let’s take a look back…way back…

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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 revisiting the rosters in NBA Live 96 PC.

Have I mentioned that old basketball video games can be interactive almanacs? I believe I have, once or twice! It’s one of the things that I enjoy the most about retro basketball gaming, on top of the nostalgic throwback gameplay of course. As I’ve noted on several occasions, sim titles capture a snapshot of the league at the time they were released. This includes interesting trivia such as phantom stints, familiar faces in unfamiliar places, and familiar faces back in familiar places, to name just some of the examples that I enjoy keeping my eye out for.

I’ve previously revisited the rosters in NBA Live 2002, NBA Live 95 (both PC and Super Nintendo), and NBA Live 99 PC (with the official update). Those were fun trips down memory lane, but I’m even more excited to revisit the rosters in NBA Live 96 PC. It’s one of my all-time favourite basketball games, and while I sunk countless hours into it playing with my 1998 season roster, I also spent a considerable amount of time with the default lineups. It’s also helped me out with modding, and even in answering trivia all these years later! Let’s take a look back…way back…

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