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NLSC Podcast #512: NBA 2K25 Gameplay Wishlist

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #512 of the NLSC Podcast!

It’s Wishlist season once again, so this week, we join the community in listing our top three gameplay wishes for NBA 2K25! Not surprisingly, many of us have similar thoughts on what we want to see out of this year’s game. Following our recent sessions with them, we also discuss NBA ShootOut (aka Total NBA ’96) and Sony’s NBA 08, and compare them to their contemporaries. We’ve also got an injury update to share, and spend some time reflecting on past-their-prime players still having something left in the tank in real life, as well as being fun to play with in video games; especially when they’re familiar faces in unfamiliar places.

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!

Happy Thanksgiving! Virtual Hardwood Highlights!

Happy Thanksgiving! Virtual Hardwood Highlights!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our virtual ballers in the United States! I realise that many of you are probably enjoying quality time with family and friends right now, but I wanted to offer up a couple of Thanksgiving treats in the form of NBA Jam: On Fire Edition and NBA Live 08 videos. Dee has also recently uploaded some great highlight reels for NBA 2K14 and NBA Live 16 that you should definitely catch if you haven’t already.

First up, there’s a seasonally-appropriate NBA Jam: On Fire Edition video, featuring a full game between The Gobblers and characters from SSX. I’m playing the game on Real AI difficulty, which means that the CPU is very aggressive, and throwing my own strategies back at me. These turkeys may have escaped ending up on the dinner table, but it was a tough challenge to avoid them being roasted on the virtual hardwood instead!

Next up is a redux of my re-creation of Dazzling Dunks & Basketball Bloopers’ recap of the 1988 Dunk Contest in NBA Live 08 PC. You may recall that I posted that re-creation back in February for Michael Jordan’s 60th Birthday, and I decided to create a picture-in-picture version that compared my efforts to the original segment. As for Dee’s videos, he put together a reel from our exciting co-op session on NBA 2K14 using 2012 rosters, as well as a game of NBA Live 16 that he played against the CPU. We discussed both of those games in Episode #504 of the NLSC Podcast.

Check out all of those videos below! Once again, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who is celebrating it today. Be sure to subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel for more basketball gaming content, and as always, feel free to hit us up with any suggestions of games that you’d like to see us play.

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The Friday Five: 5 Stints That Never Appeared in Games

The Friday Five: 5 Stints That Never Appeared in Games

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 player stints that never officially appeared in any basketball video games.

One of the reasons that I enjoy retro basketball gaming, and covering old titles for Wayback Wednesday, is the interactive almanac aspect. As I’ve said so many times, firing up old games is like consulting an almanac or encyclopedia. You’ll see all the familiar faces in strange places, and back in familiar places. The memorable teams of yesteryear are there to browse, and of course, play with. For so many of us, video games complemented our NBA fandom, and were part of following along with the league that year. Not to overuse a phrase, but they capture a snapshot of the season.

Well…for the most part! As I’ve demonstrated through various articles, there are aspects of basketball video games that prevent them from being completely accurate interactive almanacs. We’ve seen phantom stints; the players that only appeared on certain teams in games, as they didn’t ever suit up for that club in an official NBA contest. There are comebacks that were over before they began, and players who made it into the rosters of video games without ever tallying a single minute in the league. And then, there are the players who had stints that never appeared in the official rosters of a game. Here are five of the most memorable unaccounted for stints.

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Wayback Wednesday: Weird Stints & Retro Gaming

Wayback Wednesday: Weird Stints & Retro Gaming

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 how weird stints can enhance the retro basketball gaming experience.

A topic that I’ve managed to get a ton of mileage out of for Wayback Wednesday is the phenomenon of familiar faces in strange places. It even spawned a companion series: familiar faces back in familiar places! Both are part of the interactive almanac aspect of basketball video games that I’ve frequently touted. It’s what makes revisiting old games and combing through the rosters so much fun, especially when there are weird stints that you’ve forgotten about. Together, they’re a great way for me to indulge my interest in NBA history and basketball video games alike.

However, these weird stints aren’t just fodder for creating content. Seeing them in games and reminiscing about them in articles makes me want to spend more time with those titles whenever I’m looking for something to play. That may seem odd, since the players usually aren’t in their prime and playing for the team that we mostly associate them with. Needless to say, I enjoy revisiting classic games that capture famous stints too, as they involve historically significant matchups. There are some rather intriguing scenarios involving those weird stints though, so let’s take a look back…way back…

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1988 Dunk Contest in NBA Live 08

1988 Dunk Contest in NBA Live 08

With Michael Jordan turning 60 today, it seemed only appropriate to celebrate His Airness with a basketball gaming video! As a fan of MJ since I got into hoops, his biggest triumphs are among my fondest basketball memories. However, I also loved learning about and watching his achievements that came before I was hooked on basketball, such as his iconic showdown with Dominique Wilkins in the 1988 Dunk Contest.

One of my all-time favourite NBA home video releases is Dazzling Dunks & Basketball Bloopers. It featured a segment recapping every NBA Dunk Contest to that point, which included the 1988 clash between Air Jordan and The Human Highlight Film. For a while now, I’ve had the idea of taking the audio from that segment, and re-creating it in a video game. Since I have some assets on hand thanks to a work-in-progress Ultimate Jordan mod, NBA Live 08 PC ended up being the title that I chose. Enjoy this re-creation, and see how it compares to the original segment!

One of my goals for 2023 is to get around to some articles, videos, and modding projects that I’ve been mulling over or keeping on the backburner for far too long now. Again, I devised this idea as a possible Wayback Wednesday feature some years back, so it’s extremely satisfying to finally put it together! Be sure to subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel, as Dee and I will be uploading plenty of content in the days and weeks to come.

Wayback Wednesday: Portraits in NBA Live 95 & 96 PC

Wayback Wednesday: Portraits in NBA Live 95 & 96 PC

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 player portraits in NBA Live 95 and NBA Live 96 PC.

Although our fondest basketball gaming memories come from what we accomplished on the virtual hardwood, our nostalgia encompasses everything about a title: graphics, sound effects, music, and the overall style. We fondly recall the smallest details, from the authenticity of Steve Nash lying on the floor in NBA Live 10 to Terry Mills and Oliver Miller having the same ratings in the PC version of NBA Jam Tournament Edition. When you’ve spent enough time with an old favourite to know it back to front, the most obscure details and trivia are embedded in your memories.

I’m not just trying to wax poetic with navel-gazing fluff here. I do honestly believe that, and it’s why I not only revisit games to produce Wayback Wednesday content, but also for my own enjoyment. It’s also why I don’t just do retrospective reviews, but also cover specific features and concepts in-depth. However, I’ll admit that it might seem like a flimsy justification to talk about – of all things – the portraits in NBA Live 95 and 96 PC! They are indeed an aesthetic element that are part and parcel of my nostalgia for those titles though, so let’s take a look back…way back…

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NBA 2K14 Retro Series: The First Four Games

NBA 2K14 Retro Series: The First Four Games

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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Wayback Wednesday: Retro Teams You Can Create in NBA 2K14 PS4/X1

Wayback Wednesday: Retro Teams You Can Create in NBA 2K14 PS4/X1

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 some alternative retro teams that you can create in the PS4/X1 version of NBA 2K14.

While I was on my extended retro kick with NBA 2K14 for PS4, I played several games with the retro teams. There aren’t as many to choose from as in later games, and while inter-era games can be fun, I do like to re-create historical matchups. As such, after a while I tried my hand at creating some alternative retro teams. I’ve already discussed my fondness for minimalist modding, and given the content that’s available and the lack of Create-a-Player in NBA 2K14 PS4/X1, it was a stimulating challenge to see how many new retro squads could be assembled.

To that point, there are some obvious limitations when you don’t have the benefit of mods and external roster editing, to say nothing of having to destroy the lone custom roster save file. However, as long as you have a backup on hand – either via USB or cloud storage – you can mess around and add some new retro teams to NBA 2K14 PS4, and later restore a cleaner custom roster as necessary. If you’re keen to find out how you can change up your retro gaming, let’s take a look back…way back…

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Wayback Wednesday: Familiar Faces in Strange Places

Wayback Wednesday: Familiar Faces in Strange Places

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 NBA players who became familiar faces in strange places, and the games that captured those stints.

With the NBA season on hiatus, a lot of the conversation on Twitter has turned to historical debates and reminiscing. I’ve seen a couple of recent threads talking about big names who had brief stints with teams that are often overlooked and forgotten. Those Tweets have taken the form of facetious captions describing these familiar faces in strange places as a legend of the team in question, sometimes with a photo for emphasis. It’s an apt way of describing the oddity of those stints, many of which we’d rather pretend didn’t happen (or at least, claim to).

They did happen of course, and we’ve got the photos, footage, and records to prove it. We’ve also got basketball video games, which as I’ve grown fond of saying, act as time capsules and interactive almanacs. In a previous Wayback Wednesday article, I noted how video games have marked various milestones in NBA history. This time, I’m reminiscing about the weird stints of well-known players, and the games we saw them in. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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Wayback Wednesday: Reimagining NBA’s Greatest

Wayback Wednesday: Reimagining NBA's Greatest

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 reimagining NBA’s Greatest in NBA 2K12.

I had a lot of fun reimagining The Jordan Challenge back in June, so I thought I’d give the same treatment to NBA’s Greatest. As I remarked in my retrospective on NBA’s Greatest, it was a fantastic follow-up to The Jordan Challenge, and added new content to NBA 2K12 with the lockout of 2011 delaying the inclusion of the new rookies and updated rosters. The level of detail with the retro presentation was very impressive, and it’s a feature that would be really fun to have when playing with historical teams in future NBA 2K games.

However, as with The Jordan Challenge, NBA’s Greatest wasn’t perfect. Looking back, there are a few ways it could’ve been better, and teams that would’ve been preferable. As with my previous reimagining, this isn’t intended to disparage the work that Visual Concepts put into NBA’s Greatest, but rather consider what might have been if not for a few legal barriers, and how an already fantastic mode could be made even better. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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