Tag Archives: Custom Teams

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 remnants of missing and removed features in basketball video games.

Features and content are removed from all genres of video games for a variety of reasons, from design changes and technical challenges to deadlines and legal issues. It’s unfortunate even when it’s understandable, but it’s also entertaining to discover the remnants of cut content. They’re intriguing mysteries when we stumble upon them, fascinating What Ifs when we know their back stories, and sometimes even things that can be restored through modding. Our community has definitely been able to make good use of leftover content in NBA Live and NBA 2K!

Of course, the remnants of cut content can also be annoying. Not only are they proof of what we missed out on, but sometimes they’re a sign of anti-consumer design. A feature that would’ve been useful to have – and indeed was in a previous game – may have been removed because it isn’t conducive to recurrent revenue mechanics being as profitable as they could be. That may not be quite as insidious as removing content in order to sell it as downloadable content, but it’s still lacking in goodwill! Whatever the case, there have been some memorable remnants of missing and removed features in basketball video games over the years. Here are five that spring to mind for me.

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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 game modes that are sorely missed nowadays.

Being a long-time basketball gamer eventually means missing a feature or an entire game mode that’s disappeared from recent releases. It may have been big and popular, or it might have been small and relatively niche, but either way, you wish that it were still available. There are countless examples that we could all cite, but there are five modes in particular that I believe are sorely missed nowadays. It doesn’t mean that we haven’t had other great modes and features, or that the games haven’t been any good since we lost these modes, but we still hated to see them go.

We must of course acknowledge that there are many reasons why modes we sorely miss were removed, and it’s not always malicious. If a mode wasn’t very popular, or if there was difficulty integrating it with new features, or there’s a solution that’s mostly better but for a couple of differences that appeal to a small contingent of the userbase, it’s going to end up on the chopping block.  If the removal of a mode or feature helps generate recurrent revenue…well, that feels much shadier! Mind you, whatever the reason may be, it still stings to lose modes that we’re fond of. With that in mind, here are five modes that I’d suggest are sorely missed by basketball gamers these days.

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #579 of the NLSC Podcast!

What are the best lineups that we can assemble picking from players in the modern NBA? This week, we fire up NBA 2K25 and run separate fantasy drafts in MyNBA Eras to craft teams that we believe would be both successful and a lot of fun to play with on the virtual hardwood. The exercise leads us to share a few more thoughts on NBA 2K25, and the community’s attitude towards it. We also recap a couple of fun co-op sessions with NBA Live 2000 and NBA 2K13, using the All-Decade teams and a 1985 season roster respectively. Both games continue to impress us all these years later, demonstrating that the best releases are timeless and undoubtedly worth revisiting.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 34:44 — 24.2MB)

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 sharing 30 fun facts about NBA Live 95, in honour of the PC version’s 30th Anniversary.

Can you believe that it’s been some 30 years since NBA Live 95 came to PC? The calendar says so and the maths checks out, but it’s still tough to get my head around! In any case, three decades have passed since EA Sports’ basketball games made a triumphant return to PC, and in doing so, ultimately inspired the creation of the NLSC and our modding community. With that in mind – and since we didn’t end up running any “official” 30th Anniversary of NBA Live content last year – it’s only appropriate that we mark the milestone with another look back at this iconic game.

Obviously, between Wayback Wednesday, our previous anniversary content, and other features, I’ve covered NBA Live 95 rather extensively at this point. A game of its quality and importance deserves its due though, especially on an anniversary. And so, I’ve decided to compile 30 fun facts about NBA Live 95 to celebrate the occasion. As you can imagine, it’s difficult to find 30 things about the game that haven’t been said before, but there are a few points of interest that aren’t talked about all that often. Hopefully, some will be news to you! 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 features that unfortunately seem highly unlikely to return.

There are reasons that certain features from older basketball video games have fallen by the wayside. As I’ve discussed before, even though some of the annual games may seem like mere roster updates, the code still has to be rewritten every year. If there’s a feature or function that doesn’t work properly with the new code, and if it isn’t a particularly popular or necessary part of the game, it may end up on the chopping block. Additionally, some features evolve into new concepts, or a technological advance or design change elsewhere will render them redundant.

This is how we lose some of the features that we really like. It’s not something that’s done out of spite, though when microtransactions are involved, there may certainly be a lack of goodwill. Mind you, a reasonable explanation for the absence of a beloved feature doesn’t remove the sting for gamers who were passionate about it. Sometimes we’re lucky and a mode or feature is brought back, though not always exactly how we wanted it. However, other features are seemingly gone for good, much to our dismay. We all have our own examples here, and to that end, here are five features that I wish basketball video games still had, but sadly doubt that we’ll ever see brought 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 our very first Wishlist compiled for NBA Live 98, and how far basketball games have come since then.

On February 6th 1997, our founders submitted a Wishlist for NBA Live 98 on behalf of the community. It’s fun to look back at those suggestions now, and see just how many of them have been implemented in subsequent games. NBA Live was able to grant several of those wishes, and as NBA 2K became the premier brand in sim basketball titles, it also introduced features that once seemed like pipe dreams. Of course, going down that Wishlist, we can also see some ideas that unfortunately fell by the wayside after debuting, as well as some suggestions that weren’t so great.

Since Monday marked the 26th(!) anniversary of that very first Wishlist, I thought it’d be fun to go through it section by section, discussing what did eventually make it into video games, what still hasn’t, and in hindsight, what weren’t such great ideas. I believe it will demonstrate that feedback is (or certainly was) never in vain, as well as how far basketball video games have come as far as content, features, and mechanics. It may not always have been as we originally envisioned, but our wishes have indeed come true. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #447 of the NLSC Podcast!

After putting together a rough draft of an All-Time Teams roster for NBA Live 2003 PC, we decided to test it out over Parsec. The result was a fun co-op game, and incentive to keep working on the project! We’ve still been having a blast with NBA 2K23 as well, and recap our recent sessions with MyTEAM, MyNBA, MyCAREER, and 3v3 Pro-Am. We also feel compelled to call out egotistical influencers who dismiss opinions based on follower counts, and remind everyone that you don’t need to be a “big name” to have a worthy opinion. After brainstorming some more modding ideas, we open up the mailbag to discuss ideas on how to improve customisation features.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:14:57 — 51.8MB)

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!

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 second look back at Fantasy Teams in NBA Live, which debuted as Quick Pick Play.

Although I have many titles and aspects of old basketball games that I want to cover here in Wayback Wednesday, sometimes I do have to revisit topics. As much care and passion as I put into my features, there are times when I don’t do a topic justice, or my opinion changes after some further retro gaming sessions. It’s why I’ve seen fit to post new retrospectives of NBA Live 06 and NBA Live 10. Sometimes my opinion doesn’t change much – as was the case with NBA Live 07 – but another look with fresh eyes can yield something you didn’t notice before, and alter your perspective.

I would definitely say that that’s the case with Fantasy Teams and Quick Pick Play, a mode featured in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of NBA Live 08 through NBA Live 10. I don’t necessarily disagree with what I wrote when I covered Quick Pick Play four years ago, but I’ve developed more of an appreciation for it since then. With that in mind, let’s take another look back…way back…

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Episode #397 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.

A birthday prompts us to once again reflect on long tenures in the basketball gaming community, and the stigma against gaming as an adult. This leads to us getting a little deep with some handy life advice for our listeners, young and old! After catching up on some modding developments and discussing the end of a retro kick with NBA 2K14, we start to ask each other the big questions; well, the big questions about basketball gaming, anyway. Our conversation covers games we’d give a second chance to, underutilised features, alternate choices for franchise teams, and modding projects we’d undertake given the time and resources. With the FIFA series possibly rebranding, we also consider new titles for NBA Live, and read some suggestions from the community.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:25:54 — 59.3MB)

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.

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 old features that could possibly be repurposed and included in future games.

Old basketball games include some interesting features, many of which I’ve profiled in Wayback Wednesday over the years. As I’ve noted in those articles, there are some features that were innovative at the time and fun to look back on, but are admittedly outdated now. They’ve either been replaced with a more evolved concept, or they just don’t fit in today’s games. On the other hand, there are features in old games that I’d like to see return. Some of them would fit perfectly into modern titles, while others would need to be revamped and repurposed to be properly utilised in a new game.

That last group is what I’m focusing on today. While NBA 2K remains a deep game, and NBA Live has introduced some good ideas over the past generation despite some shaky releases, there are some old features that would make a very welcome return; particularly if they were updated and adapted for use in contemporary gameplay and modes. Unfortunately, the design principles that Visual Concepts and EA Sports are adhering to these days may make it highly unlikely, but nevertheless, I’d like to throw out these ideas for repurposed old features. After all, you never know what may happen, especially if they can be repurposed in a way that makes them relevant again.

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We’ve been able to restock our NBA 2K11 archives with some new file additions, thanks to the latest uploads (and re-uploads) from nba2kiraq and JeremiahPlayz. The new additions include faces, shoes, an ESPN scoreboard, custom My Player files, a new net, and retro teams. Download all of the latest NBA 2K11 file additions at the links below!

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 File Additions bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.

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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 some thoughts on virtual hooping with and against people who aren’t big fans of basketball.

As our community is obviously made up of people who are big fans of both real and virtual basketball, we don’t really look at hoops gaming from the point of view of people who aren’t into the sport. After all, basketball and sports games in general are – to some extent – aimed at a very specific crowd. Sim titles in particular are intended for the avid fans that are more likely to want a realistic depiction of the sport. That’s not to say they can’t be for everyone – I’m not a fan of gatekeeping – but their focus on authenticity and minute details generally appeals to the more hardcore hoop-heads.

That means despite their success and popularity, basketball games and other sports titles are still somewhat niche. To put it another way, many of us basketball gamers will also play games like Fallout, Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, Mario, Zelda, Mass Effect, and so on, but a majority of the gamers who play those titles aren’t necessarily interested in virtual hooping, or fans of real basketball for that matter. If anything, they’re more likely to enjoy an arcade title like NBA Jam as it’s easier to pick up and play, and has a broader appeal. Some non-fans will dabble with the sim titles as well though, and virtual hooping with them is often an interesting experience.

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To mark the 25th Anniversary of NBA Live, we’re taking a look back at every game in the series with retrospectives and other fun content! This also includes re-running some features from our 20th Anniversary celebrations, with a few revisions. Whether you’re a long-time basketball gamer who grew up with NBA Live and are keen on taking a trip down memory lane, or you’re new to the series and want to learn about its history, we hope that you enjoy celebrating the 25th Anniversary of NBA Live here at the NLSC! Today, it’s a retrospective of NBA Live 96.

While NBA Live 95 tipped everything off, it could be said that the release of NBA Live 96 is what established NBA Live as a series. The NBA Playoffs series had seen annual releases and the reuse of the NBA Playoffs branding in its early titles, but they also stood apart with distinct names: Lakers vs Celtics, Bulls vs Lakers, and Bulls vs Blazers. NBA Live 96 ensured that NBA Live 95 wouldn’t be a once-off branding in the lineage, as NBA Live 95 itself was originally intended to do for NBA Showdown. The question is, was NBA Live 96 a worthy successor to an undisputed classic? Did it deserve its back of the box tagline of “Back-to-Back Champion”?

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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 features that were planned for basketball video games, but ultimately fell through.

We’re in the midst of another preview season, waiting to hear about all the changes, additions, and improvements in this year’s games. Of course, one of the perennial worries in our community is that popular features will be ruined by changes or, worse yet, removed altogether. It’s particularly frustrating when we look back at some of our favourite games and see features that are no longer available. It especially stings when they were originally implemented in the early days of basketball gaming, yet have been missing for several years.

That’s a tough enough pill to swallow, but it’s arguably even worse when we hear about great features and content during the preview season, only for it to ultimately fall through. Hearing about plans that didn’t come to fruition after the fact also leaves us wondering what might have been, as does discovering the remnants of scrapped features in game files. Features are never axed for malicious reasons; rather, factors such as time constraints, licensing issues, and other unfortunate circumstances are what cause them to fall through. They’re interesting trivia notes and What Ifs though, so let’s take a look at five of them, including one you won’t have heard before.

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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 of the little things in old basketball games that I miss.

In 2019, we have an interesting relationship with nostalgia. It’s popular to indulge in it, but in recent years, there’s also been a significant backlash against reminiscing about the past and holding it in high esteem. The argument is often distilled into “old heads that can’t get over their nostalgia filter” vs “clueless kids who don’t understand the concept of recency bias“. The conversation is further muddied when it comes to video games, because advances in technology have undeniably led to improvements over the years. Of course, there have also been undesirable changes and missteps.

These Wayback Wednesday features are obviously about celebrating nostalgia, but I also feel it’s important to appraise how well games and their mechanics hold up, as well as make comparisons to other titles from the same era. I have a lot of fun doing that, and it’s always interesting to revisit old favourites. It’s given me an appreciation of ideas that were ahead of their time, and how far basketball video games have come. There are things that are best left in the past, but I’ve also encountered a lot of little things that I miss, and that’s what I’m discussing today. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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