Tag Archives: Christmas

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #612 of the NLSC Podcast!

Another year is almost in the books! And so, as 2025 draws to a close, this week we’re joining the community in discussing the basketball and basketball gaming gifts that we gave and received during this holiday season. From shoes, shirts, and collectibles, to video games, DVDs, and new basketballs, it’s clear that we’re all still as passionate as ever about real hoops and the virtual hardwood alike. We also discuss the temptation to pick up a new ball whenever we see one on sale, the brilliance of the Ultimate Jordan DVD boxset, the price of collecting retro games, and ending up getting ourselves gifts while shopping for someone else.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 38:07 — 26.5MB)

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!

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 my Christmas of 1998, which included receiving NBA Live 99 for the Nintendo 64.

It’s Christmas Eve, so I hope that you’re enjoying the holiday season no matter how you spend it! To that point, I appreciate you checking in with us for some basketball gaming content. When I glanced ahead in the calendar and was reminded that this week’s Wayback Wednesday would fall on the night before Christmas, I naturally began thinking of what would be a suitably festive topic. I’ve previously reflected on the inclusion of the special Christmas jerseys in various games, and other ways that Christmas has been represented on the virtual hardwood.

This year, I’d like to share something a bit more personal, specifically memories of my Christmas in 1998. We all have years in our lives that are significant to us for one reason or another. Whether they were wonderful, terrible, or otherwise shaped the person we are today, those years stick in our minds. 1998 was a memorable year for me, and for mostly positive reasons. To that end, my Christmas of 1998 capped off a great trip around the sun, and also happened to deliver a new basketball video game: NBA Live 99 for the Nintendo 64. Join me as I 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 reflections on how after all these years, way too many people don’t know that EA Sports’ famous slogan is “It’s in the game”.

It’s Christmastime once again – aka the “silly season” – so it’s time for some merry, light-hearted fun in this week’s features! To that end, I’m combining my Monday Tip-Off “brand” with JaoSming’s old feature, Dumb Mondays. I did this last Christmas, in order to make a tongue-in-cheek comparison between the movies of John Hughes and the rise of the Chicago Bulls. It was a fun, silly “theory” that came to mind years ago. I ended up sitting on the rough draft of an article outlining the “connections” for a long time, before finally polishing it up and publishing it last Christmas.

Since the time has come for some more silliness, let’s talk about something that I find extremely silly: the sheer number of people who don’t know that EA Sports’ slogan is “It’s in the game”! More specifically, they believe that the slogan is something else that may sound kind of similar to that. Furthermore, they insist that they’re absolutely correct in thinking that EA Sports’ slogan is anything but “It’s in the game”. Now, this may not seem like something to get too riled up about, especially given the spirit of the season. With that in mind, I’m definitely not trying to be a Grinch here. This is all in good fun, and revelling in some silliness. At the same time though…come on, now!

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #561 of the NLSC Podcast!

With the 2024 holiday season drawing to a close and a new year almost upon us, this week we’re joining the community in sharing the basketball and basketball gaming gifts that we gave and received for Christmas, as well as listing some of our resolutions for both real hoops and the virtual hardwood in 2025. We also recap a couple of co-op games with the PC versions of two titles released some twenty years apart: NBA Live 95 and NBA 2K15. In addition to reflecting on two very different but nevertheless enjoyable sessions, we discuss how great of a sim game NBA Live 95 was for its time, and the ruthless AI that makes NBA 2K15 suitably challenging.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 55:24 — 38.4MB)

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!

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 2015 Christmas jerseys, and their appearances in video games.

Merry Christmas and Season’s Greetings, basketball gamers! I hope you’re having a fun day with your loved ones, or enjoying the holiday however you see fit. I’ll go out on a limb here and guess that nostalgic basketball gaming content probably isn’t on most people’s minds today, but I do pride myself on sticking to a schedule, as well as ensuring that there’s something new here on the NLSC every day. And so, if you’re joining us on Christmas Day – or catching up on recent posts as the case may be – I’d like to give you the gift of Wayback Wednesday!

Given that it’s the festive season and Wayback Wednesday has fallen on Christmas Day this year, it only make sense to cover a topic that’s related to the occasion. To that end, let’s reminisce about the Christmas jerseys that teams wore in 2015, and their presence in basketball video games. Obviously, I’m a year early as far as it being a nice round number for the anniversary, and I did touch on the subject back in 2019. Still, 2015 was a noteworthy year for Christmas jerseys when it comes to the virtual hardwood – and ’tis the season – so let’s take a look back…way back…

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #560 of the NLSC Podcast!

Merry Christmas and Season’s Greetings, basketball fans and gamers! It’s that time of the year again and we’re definitely in the holiday spirit, so this week we’re joining the community in asking Santa for three gifts that would grant some of our fondest wishes related to basketball and basketball gaming. Some of them might take a Christmas miracle to make happen, but if nothing else, it seems that quite a few of us are on the same page with our wishlists! We also join our listeners in reflecting upon some of our all-time favourite gifts related to real hoops and the virtual hardwood alike, as well as some other Christmas memories.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:01:49 — 42.8MB)

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!

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 totally serious theory (OK, not really) of how some classic John Hughes movies foretold the rise and fall of the Chicago Bulls.

The holiday season is in full swing with Christmas this week, and since that coincides with summertime here in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s also come to be known as our “silly season“. Therefore, in the spirit of the season, I’m mixing Monday Tip-Off with JaoSming’s old column, Dumb Mondays (what is this, a crossover episode?!?). This silly, light-hearted, Christmas-related topic is one that I’ve actually been sitting on for years, so it’s time to put it out there for some holiday cheer. Don’t worry; everything will be back to normal next week!

As a 90s kid, I can’t help but associate the movies of the late, great John Hughes with Christmas and the holidays. That’s chiefly due to Planes, Trains and Automobiles – a film set at Thanksgiving – and the first two Home Alone movies, two classics that take place at Christmas and are very near and dear to my generation. It only makes sense to reflect on those films and watch them again during the holiday season, but what do those iconic John Hughes movies have to do with the Chicago Bulls dynasty? Well, some years back, a Forum post prompted me to draw comparisons between the plots of those films, and the rise and eventual fall of the Bulls. Strap in, we’re getting silly!

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #508 of the NLSC Podcast!

We’re back on the air after a hard drive mishap, and it’s also our 2023 Christmas Special! After celebrating the arrival of a brand new desktop, we catch up on an exciting Top 10 Plays, and also compare NCAA March Madness 08 to NBA Live 08. Since we got into the festive spirit by playing a couple of games of NBA Live 16 using the Christmas Day jerseys, we recap those sessions, and once again discuss the game’s strengths and weaknesses. With the 2024 season well underway, we also join the community in listing the players and teams that we’re enjoying watching, and reflect on some of our favourite Christmas gifts involving basketball and basketball video games.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:35:28 — 65.9MB)

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!

Merry Christmas and Season’s Greetings, basketball gamers! I hope that you’re all enjoying the festive season. That might include spending some time on the virtual hardwood, and indeed, that’s what Dee and I have been doing, playing a Christmas Day showdown between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors in NBA Live 16!

As you may recall, Christmas Day 2015 featured that NBA Finals rematch, and the special jerseys that were worn in that game are available in NBA Live 16. To that end, it only made sense to take control of the eventual champion Cavs in co-op play, and try to gain some revenge over the team that defeated them just a few months prior. It was a competitive battle with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving doing their thing, while the Splash Brothers gave us everything they had at the other end. It reminded us of how fun NBA Live 16 can be, and you’ll find the highlights below.

You can also look forward to our recap of the game in Episode #508 of the NLSC Podcast, which will be out soon. Prior to our most recent show, Dee also fired up NBA 2K24 PC with some NBA In-Season Tournament mods installed, and played the finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers. On top of that, I’ve put together a highlight reel from Games 21-30 in Year 6 of my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER on PlayStation 4. Both of those videos can also be found below.

It’s been a great year of producing basketball gaming content for the NLSC YouTube channel, so be sure to subscribe if you haven’t already! As always, feel free to hit us up with any suggestions of games that you’d like to see us play. Once again, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and best wishes to you and your family!

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On behalf of the NLSC Team, Merry Christmas and Season’s Greetings to our community! Whatever your beliefs and traditions at this time of the year, I hope that you’re happy, healthy, and spending some quality time with friends and family.

A big thanks as always for continuing to support us throughout 2022! I hope you’ve enjoyed being a part of the community here at the NLSC this year, and are looking forward to more good times in 2023. We’re certainly keen to continue supporting our modding community, and creating entertaining original content in our coverage of basketball gaming. To that end, our gift to you today is a showdown between Santa’s Slammers and Team SSX in NBA Jam: On Fire Edition!

There’ll definitely be plenty of video content coming in 2023, so be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel! NBA Jam: On Fire Edition is also on my list of games that I’m overdue to cover for Wayback Wednesday, and with 2023 marking the 30th Anniversary of the NBA Jam series, it seems like an appropriate time to get around to it. Once again, Merry Christmas, Season’s Greetings, and a happy holiday season to basketball gamers everywhere. Enjoy these NBA Jam: On Fire Edition highlights, and if you’re hitting the virtual hardwood these holidays, have a blast!

Episode #407 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! Derek (aka Dee4Three) and I are your hosts for this weekly podcast that’s all about basketball gaming.

It’s our 2021 season finale, which means it’s time for a (slightly belated) Christmas special! We recap our recent Parsec sessions, which featured NBA Live 99 and NBA in the Zone 2. There’s also a matter with the Top 10 Plays of the Week that we feel the need to address. After that, it’s time for the listener mailbag! This week, we join our listeners in sharing some of our favourite Christmas-related basketball and basketball gaming memories, and special moments playing with friends and family. In the spirit of the season, it seems that the virtual hardwood has brought many of us closer to the people we love.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 51:52 — 36.0MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Join in the conversation in the comments below, or here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as mailbag questions and topic suggestions for future shows. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. The show also comes out on our YouTube channel, so be sure to subscribe for future episodes and other 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 Christmas content in basketball video games.

Merry Christmas and Season’s Greetings, basketball gamers! I hope you’re enjoying the festive season, and are looking forward to some of the marquee games that are set to tip off this Christmas Day. Since this week’s Wayback Wednesday has fallen on Christmas Day itself, I thought it would be fun to look back at how the occasion has been celebrated on the virtual hardwood. After all, a lot of video games have included Christmas content as Easter eggs – if that’s not too ironic a turn of phrase – and there are even seasonal games, such as the classic Holiday Lemmings.

Basketball games tend to have a more straightforward approach to the matter, but there’s still some interesting history with the virtual hardwood and the holiday season. With that in mind, and in the spirit of the season, let’s deck the halls, rock around the Christmas tree, and 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! 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 what I’ll be doing on the virtual hardwood these holidays.

With 2018 rapidly drawing to a close and Christmas Eve upon us, I’m in the mood to kick back with some gaming on the virtual hardwood…and maybe the virtual blacktop as well. While I’ll be spending time with family, going away with friends over New Year’s, and of course preparing future content for the NLSC, I’m looking forward to just relaxing with one of my favourite hobbies. With no less than four current hoops games out at the moment, the holidays make the process of juggling several titles a little bit easier.

Being that it is one of my favourite hobbies, basketball gaming is something that I’ve come to associate with the holidays. The school holidays were a time when my cousin and I would run franchise games in NBA Live 2000, replay the 1995 season in NBA Live 95, and defeat and play with every team in NBA Jam Tournament Edition. These days, I don’t have as long of a break and do have a few more responsibilities to get back to, but I’ll still have time to hit the virtual hardwood. The question is: what will I focus on playing as I wind down 2018? These are my current basketball gaming plans for the next week or so.

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