Tag Archives: Chicago Bulls

Last time in the NBA 2K14 Retro Series, I played a matchup between the ’93 Bulls and ’93 Hornets. I’m sticking with my favourite team and player for this latest instalment, this time flashing back to 1986 with a showdown between a young Michael Jordan and Larry Bird’s Celtics.

This matchup is of course the one that produced MJ’s 63-point game in the first round of the 1986 Playoffs, a record that still stands today. The Bulls were nevertheless outmatched by the eventual champions, being swept in the series. Even though the aim of the NBA 2K14 Retro Series is to portray actual historical matchups, I will take liberties here and there, especially as I’m always aiming to win the games. Something that is definitely true to life here is MJ racking up buckets with an array of aerial moves and midrange jumpers, and you’ll certainly see that in this highlight reel. The game came down to the wire, much as his 63-point game did. Will history be re-written here? Watch to find out!

As always, a reminder that Dee and I are regularly uploading highlight reels and other video features to the NLSC’s YouTube channel, so be sure to subscribe for more basketball gaming content!

This past week, Dee and I connected on Parsec to play NBA Live 98 – a standout game in the series – and as always, our session produced some fun highlights. Dee has put together a reel of those moments, and uploaded them for the community to enjoy.

As you can see, we took control of the Chicago Bulls in a co-op showdown against the Utah Jazz. It was a highly competitive game that saw us make a furious rally to force overtime. In case you’re wondering about the presence of Michael Jordan in these NBA Live 98 highlights, we were playing with the 1998 season roster update created by our founders, Lutz and Tim. That mod is still available here in our Downloads database, for anyone who would like to use it in their own retro gaming sessions!

We’ve said it several times on the NLSC Podcast, but connecting to play over Parsec has been an absolute joy, and we expect it to be a large part of another fun year of basketball gaming in 2023. Dee has been spearheading the initiative to share gameplay highlights for the past couple of years – from reels to the weekly Top 10 Plays – and there’ll be a lot of fun coming your way throughout the year. To that point, please subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel, and feel free to hit us up with any suggestions of games that you’d like to see us play!

Happy New Year, basketball gamers! I hope you’ll join us throughout 2023 to discuss basketball video games, share and download mods, and enjoy our original content. To that end, I’m tipping off the New Year with the next instalment in the NBA 2K14 Retro Series, featuring the ’93 Bulls taking on the ’93 Hornets.

Can you believe this matchup is a throwback to thirty years ago? As much I’m trying not to think about that, I had a blast replaying it in NBA 2K14, a game that turns ten this year. This clash between the two-time defending champion Bulls and an up-and-coming Hornets team gave us some exciting moments in real life, and also inspired Michael Jordan’s challenge in NBA 2K12’s NBA’s Greatest mode. MJ was in his prime at this point, so you can expect a mixture of high-flying dunks and savvy plays. Scottie Pippen, Alonzo Mourning, Larry Johnson, and Muggsy Bogues also contributed to the highlight reel, presented with post-production effects to resemble a broadcast from the 90s.

You can catch up on the entire NBA 2K14 Retro Series using this playlist! While you’re there, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. We’ve been stepping up our video content over the past couple of years – an initiative that Dee has been spearheading – and that’s definitely going to continue throughout 2023. So, stay tuned, and feel free to suggest historical matchups for me to play in future instalments of this series!

Although I’ve chiefly kept NBA 2K14 for PlayStation 4 in my gaming rotation because I’m enjoying an ongoing MyCAREER, it’s not the only thing I’m doing with the game. If you’re subscribed to our YouTube channel or follow us on social media, you may be aware of my NBA 2K14 Retro Series.

In short, the NBA 2K14 Retro Series is a journey through NBA history, using NBA 2K14 PS4. On top of playing various matchups with the game’s selection of classic teams, I’m adding effects in post-production to capture the aesthetic of their respective eras.

First up, there’s a showdown between two bitter rivals, the ’89 Bulls and ’89 Pistons. In addition to the filter, you’ll also see some VHS tracking, as you might if you were re-watching the game on an often-played and well-worn tape. Next, there’s the ’65 Lakers and ’65 Celtics squaring off, in glorious black and white with some era-appropriate audio and visual effects!

After that, I got a little creative and used the ’95 Magic and ’94 Rockets to play a November 1994 matchup between the two future 1995 NBA Finalists. My most recent entry in the series is a matchup between the ’86 Hawks and ’86 Celtics, as Dominique Wilkins duels Larry Bird in the old Boston Garden. Along the way, you’ll notice a few other touches to take you back to the year in question.

Check out the first four games in the NBA 2K14 Retro Series below! Stay tuned for more classic matchups using NBA 2K14 PS4, and feel free to throw out some suggestions for other historical showdowns you’d like to see. Be sure to subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel for more basketball gaming content.

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Welcome to another edition of The Sunday Substitute! This is an occasional end-of-week feature where I share my experiences in basketball gaming, as well as give my two cents on certain issues within the space. Today I resume with Part 2 of The MyPLAYER Transaction Report.

The MyPLAYER Transaction Report is a series where I chronicle my career campaigns in basketball video games. Whether it’s one game or a thousand games, every stop along the way counts. So far, I’ve played for 28 teams…try and guess the last two I haven’t played for!

This second part is arguably the golden era of this series. It includes some of my greatest moments in career stories and my first foray into an alternate build. NBA Live also debuts in this edition, with NBA Live 16 and 18 providing career modes that could have been a great foundation for the series moving forward.

Let’s start by continuing with a build I mention in Part 1.

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The latest NBA 2K23 mod releases feature Pinoy21’s jersey updates for the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. Download them both at the links below!

Pinoy21
Chicago Bulls Jersey (Pinoy21)
Los Angeles Lakers Jersey (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.

Dee4Three has put together a reel of NBA Live 2001 highlights from one of our Parsec sessions a few weeks back. In the game, we were using my 1996 season roster mod, taking on the Milwaukee Bucks with the Chicago Bulls in co-op play.

To be honest, we were expecting an easy victory, even as we cranked up the difficulty for more of a challenge. The CPU had other ideas, though! Vin Baker, Glenn Robinson, Eric Murdock, Todd Day, and an aging Terry Cummings were not intimidated by Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and Toni Kukoc, jumping out to an early lead. Even after we seized control, the Bucks weren’t about to quit, leading to a double overtime thriller. Of course, my choke job at the end of regulation didn’t help matters. Watch the highlights below, or check them out over on YouTube!

We’ll be talking about NBA Live 2001 in this week’s NLSC Podcast, as Nate and Roger – the NBA Live 2001 Legends – have returned for another guest appearance. Stay tuned for that show, and possibly a couple of further updates to that 1996 season mod! Now that I’ve been able to troubleshoot my controller issues in NBA Live 2001 PC, you’ll probably see some more highlights from the game here and there. As always, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more basketball gaming content! You may also want to check out my NBA Live 2001 retrospective – part of our 25th Anniversary of NBA Live content – and of course, feel free to discuss the early NBA Live games here in our 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, it’s a highlight reel from a makeshift 1998 Bulls vs Lakers matchup in NBA Live 06 for Xbox 360.

Yes, the retro kick continues! Although I could easily play this matchup with proper faces and jerseys in NBA 2K22, there’s something really fun about makeshift rosters. Of course, given the lack of modding options for the Xbox 360 version of NBA Live 06, a minimalist approach to re-creating a 1998 Bulls vs Lakers game is the best I can do! It nevertheless resulted in an extremely enjoyable retro gaming experience. Even with animations that are showing their age and lack variety, there were a couple that felt “Jordanesque”! Since I had such a blast, I kept the recording and created another highlight reel. Join me as I take a look back…way back…

Although NBA Live 06 PC is the better all-around release, the Xbox 360 version is far more impressive than I once thought. It has its limitations, but it holds up as a fun game to revisit. Normally I’d use it to indulge my nostalgia for the mid 2000s, but on this occasion, I’m celebrating the late 90s and The Last Dance as well. It’s a shame that we can’t mod the Xbox 360 version, but as you can see, you can still have a great time with a little effort and imagination. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this reel, and may perhaps be inspired to give NBA Live 06 or another old game a second look. In the meantime, be sure to check out our YouTube channel for more video content!

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, it’s a highlight reel from my re-creation of my NBA Live 06 PC Dynasty with the Chicago Bulls on Xbox 360.

My Chicago Bulls Dynasty in NBA Live 06 PC remains one of my all-time favourite experiences, in one of my all-time favourite basketball video games. This year, I’ve come to appreciate the Xbox 360 version of NBA Live 06 as well, though the game is of course lacking Dynasty mode. Nevertheless, the Xbox 360 version has recently been my retro kick. Just for fun, I re-created the roster from Year 1 of my PC Dynasty on Xbox 360. I ended up playing a game against the San Antonio Spurs, the team that I defeated in that first season to clinch the Bulls’ seventh championship. As I recorded some highlights from the game, you can join me as I take a look back…way back…

As always, I’m never sure how long a retro kick will last. Between this re-creation, the 2006 All-Star Game, and some other games that I’ve played in the Xbox 360 version of NBA Live 06 however, I’ve really enjoyed revisiting it. Although its lack of depth made for a shaky start to the seventh generation, it’s frankly an underrated game that deserves more credit for its gameplay and graphical advancements. Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed the highlights. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more video content!

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 taking a look back at Michael Jordan and his time with the Washington Wizards, as well as its impact on video games.

For those keeping track, it was twenty years ago this Saturday that Michael Jordan announced that he was coming out of retirement to play for the Washington Wizards. Although it’s a chapter in his career that many people gloss over, MJ’s Wizards years did have their bright moments. His second comeback and third NBA stint overall also had an obvious effect on basketball video games, especially given his history on the virtual hardwood throughout most of the 90s. In that regard, it actually had more of an impact than when he said “I’m Back” almost 27 years ago!

As a Michael Jordan fan and avid basketball gamer who had just taken over running the NLSC, his comeback with the Wizards stands out quite vividly in my memory. Given that it’s the 20th Anniversary of a comeback that saw His Airness become a familiar face in a strange place, I felt that it would only be appropriate to reflect on both the real event, and how it affected basketball games. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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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 taking a look back at some famous NBA What Ifs, and portraying them in NBA Live 10.

What Ifs can be fun to ponder, whether they concern the NBA or video games. There are trades and signings that, if they’d happened, would’ve changed the course of NBA history. Likewise, we can point to game-changing moments in the history of the virtual hardwood. Indeed, NBA Live 10 is an example of such a turning point. If EA Sports had elected to continue building on the base it established rather than trying to reboot the series with the ill-fated NBA Elite 11, the basketball gaming landscape would undoubtedly be very different today.

As far as NBA What Ifs are concerned though, they’re something that we can play out in video games. It’s a great concept for a roster, and while that’s not what I’m doing today, I’ve decided to mix a couple of ideas together by reflecting on some of the biggest NBA What Ifs and portraying them using NBA Live 10; a game that has an air of What If about it. Obviously there are some other historical NBA What Ifs that I won’t be touching on here because the players aren’t in NBA Live 10, but feel free to discuss those in the comments as well. Let’s wonder what might have been as we take a look back…way back…

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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. This week’s Five is a list of five times that various basketball video games featured incorrect jerseys.

In sim basketball titles, accuracy down to the last detail is the name of the game. An arcade title usually has more wiggle room for inaccurate, exaggerated, and stylised details, but we still expect a certain degree of faithfulness in NBA-licensed products. Some inaccuracies are admittedly only apparent to the most eagle-eyed gamers who are particularly attuned to minute details on jerseys, courts, and shoes. However, other inaccuracies are blatantly obvious to everyone, leaving one to wonder just what the developers and artists were thinking (or what sources they were working from).

Case in point: the five incorrect jerseys that I’ll be spotlighting today. Now, I’ve decided not to include any jerseys with incorrect colour palettes, such as the Chicago Bulls jerseys that were more pink than red for so many years. My reason is that they tend to be well-known examples too numerous to mention, and we can assume that they’re the result of developers working from official colour palettes that didn’t yield the proper results in-game. Instead, I’m focusing on jerseys that were incorrect due to weird mistakes in their design, or some other oddity. Some of these incorrect jerseys are noticeable right away, while others do require being something of a uniform buff.

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We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Start your week here at the NLSC with a feature that’s dedicated to opinions, commentary, and other fun stuff related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games. This week, I’m tipping things off with a few thoughts on the need to be wisely judicious when picking modding projects to undertake.

I had what you might call a modding disaster last week. A project that I’d started on a whim went up in flames when an unexpected glitch ruined the better part of a day’s work, to the point where I had to abandon it. To say that it was extremely frustrating is an understatement. It was, after all, time that I could’ve spent on other modding projects that I’ve been trying to finish for a while now. Beyond that, I liked how it was beginning to come together. There was still some work to do, but it probably would’ve only taken another day or so.

I’ll describe the project and the resulting disaster in more detail momentarily, but in the aftermath of losing all that work, it really impressed upon me the need for good modding habits. There are reasons that we can find ourselves being pulled in many directions by appealing ideas for modding projects, why we neglect what’s already on the workbench for that shiny new spark of inspiration. Even if you only stick to one project at a time, however, there are pitfalls that can catch you out no matter how long you’ve been modding. Sometimes you won’t even consider them until it’s too late, and both time and work is lost. It’s why we need to pick our modding projects wisely.

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My first releases for this year’s March Modness are a little different. As I mentioned in Episode #363 of the NLSC Podcast, revisiting the Xbox 360 version of NBA Live 06 to check a couple of details resulted in an extended session with the game, and the inclination to mess around with its rosters.

To that end, I’ve whipped up a couple of quick projects, both of which I’m sharing today. The first is an End of Season roster, which includes final 2006 season lineups. I’ve also added a few missing players that ended up having prominent roles, such as Smush Parker. It’s not as detailed of an update as I’d make for PC, but it’s something I put together for my own use, and have decided to share it.

The second roster adds makeshift 1998 Bulls and 1998 Lakers to the game. Again, it’s nowhere near as comprehensive as a roster I’d make for PC, but you get the idea. It’s something else I made just for fun, and am sharing in case anyone else wants to try it out. Download the End of Season rosters here, and the ’98 teams rosters here. I’ve also created a post for them in my NBA Live 06 release topic.

Please note that rosters for the Xbox 360 version of NBA Live 06 need to be rehashed and resigned before they’ll work on another console. I’ve found a video which explains the process, which I’ve posted below along with some basic installation instructions. Other than that, I’m providing these saves as-is, with no guarantees. I hope a few people will feel inclined to try them out! I’m also still working on some projects for PC games, so stay tuned.

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What’s that? A surprise edition of The Sunday Substitute to start the new year? With the next generation of consoles here, I’ve decided to reflect on my PS4 MyCAREER experiences and rank them from worst to best.

MyCAREER has been a part of my basketball video game experience ever since I first picked up the mode in NBA 2K10, back when it was called My Player. However, it wasn’t until I purchased my PS4 that I played the game annually (except for NBA 2K18). During my run on PS4, I made a conscious decision to make each MyCAREER experience unique. For this reason, I played a different position for each game.

Every situation had its strengths and weaknesses, but some stood out more than others. So, I’m going to rank each of my last five MyCAREER campaigns on PS4 from worst to best. Let’s get this show on the road!

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