Tag Archives: Franchise

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 ESPN NBA 2Night 2002 by Konami.

In my retrospective of ESPN NBA 2Night, I described it as one of the absolute worst basketball video games from a Triple-A developer that I’ve ever played. That’s a bold declaration that I don’t make lightly, and I stand by it. From poorly-designed controls to underwhelming AI to unpolished animations and collisions, gameplay was a mess. It could produce a rare fun moment, but on the whole, it was a lacklustre sim-arcade hybrid. As such, some of its impressive features like the ESPN presentation and face editing deserved to be in a much better game.

To that end, there was really nowhere to go but up for its sequel, ESPN NBA 2Night 2002. Released for the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox midway through the 2002 season, ESPN NBA 2Night 2002 definitely made an effort to be an improvement on its predecessor. Right out of the gate, I will say that it was respectably successful in that regard. That may sound like a backhanded compliment, but the game did make a commendable leap from the first ESPN NBA 2Night in some key areas. Does that make it a good or even a great game, though? 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 by talking about how I enjoy tinkering with rosters.

I know I’ve said it many times before, but it’s been an absolute joy to change up my basketball gaming habits in recent years. Because I’m no longer forcing myself to play the newest game even if I don’t enjoy it, I’ve also broken the habit of grinding away in MyCAREER year after year. I’m also not beholden to any MyTEAM Agendas, and I’m avoiding the online scene. Stepping away from those modes and leaning towards retro gaming has created time for other activities on the virtual hardwood, and that’s made basketball gaming as fun as it’s ever been for me.

Obviously, this includes playing into my seventh year of an NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, and at long last returning to franchise gaming; solo in NBA Live 16, and co-op with Dee in NBA 2K9. I’ve also played through 24/7 mode in NBA 2K6 and NBA 2K7, and hit The Streets in NBA Live 18 and NBA Live 19. Something that I’ve really had fun with however is just playing an assortment of exhibition games in titles that I’ve been drawn to. That in turn has led to me tinkering with the rosters of various games. Although that can lead to more in-depth projects that I’ll release publicly – such as my minimalist 2005 roster for NBA 2K6 – I’ve had a blast just casually editing rosters.

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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 two camera angles that I prefer to use in basketball video games.

As is the case with just about any fandom, the basketball gaming community has had some silly arguments and engaged in ridiculous gatekeeping. Post a fun highlight clip, and someone is bound to sneer that you must be playing on a lower difficulty level. That may or may not be true, but it’s needlessly judgemental when the point of a clip was to show off a cool animation, not to brag about stick skills. However, nothing compares to the ridiculous gatekeeping and elitism surrounding the choice in camera angles. It truly is the most absurd thing to judge other basketball gamers on!

I find the idea of there only being one “correct” choice in camera angles particularly silly as there are actually two that I primarily use, and a couple of others that I also like. Don’t get me wrong; even if there was only one camera angle for me, I wouldn’t consider others to be incorrect, or a sign of ineptitude and source of shame. For that matter, I don’t think that my preference for multiple camera angles makes me better than anyone, either! Indeed, given that there’s a reason basketball gamers prefer a particular view over other camera angles, my approach is arguably the weird one. However, there’s a reason that my basketball gaming is a tale of two camera angles.

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #598 of the NLSC Podcast!

Why do we still play basketball video games after all these years? This week, we discuss the factors that keep us hooked on the virtual hardwood, from a love of competition and shared experiences with friends and family to the way that it allows us to feel connected to and indeed more informed about our favourite sport. In fact, through a combination of modding, new releases, and a library of old favourites to revisit, we’re arguably enjoying basketball gaming as much as ever with the options that we have at our disposal nowadays! We also reflect on the lingering stigma surrounding gaming as an adult, and push back on the notion that it’s a childish hobby that needs to be left behind.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 51:34 — 35.8MB)

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!

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 roadblocks that stood in my way of returning to franchise gaming for far too long.

At long last, I’ve returned to franchise gaming on the virtual hardwood. It’s been a goal of mine since 2017, so to say that it’s overdue is a massive understatement! It feels great to be back, and while it hasn’t completely replaced career mode play in my basketball gaming rotation, I anticipate splitting my time more evenly between the two moving forward. That’s because I’ve been able to overcome the roadblocks that were the cause of my lengthy detour from franchise gaming. As soon as I was able to start those new franchise games, I was hooked, just as I was all those years ago.

Of course, that may sound melodramatic. What roadblocks can there be when those modes are readily available, and I can freely choose to play whatever I want? Well, it’s not quite that simple. From habits I’d formed to various concerns about the modes in recent titles, it’s been more difficult than I’d anticipated to return to what was once my mode of choice, and the flagship experience in sim basketball video games. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has fallen into a basketball gaming rut that has lasted for way too long. To that end, hopefully discussing the roadblocks that I encountered can help you to overcome any that stand in the way of your virtual hardwood fun.

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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 modes that I came to enjoy after initially being uninterested in them.

As I’ve freely admitted before, I’m a creature of habit. Whether it’s sticking with my preferred mode, choosing retro gaming over a modern title, or messing around with any available historical content while on a retro kick, I’m drawn to the familiar. To that end, for a long time I was all about franchise modes. Multi-season play was a concept that many of us playing basketball games back in the 90s were keen to see, and it was a big deal when NBA Live 2000 PC brought us Franchise, complete with free agency, salary cap, the rookie Draft, and 25 seasons of play.

My enjoyment of franchise play continued as the mode evolved into Dynasty. To this day, my various franchise games remain some of my all-time favourite experiences on the virtual hardwood. At the same time, I’m not completely averse to change! Whether it’s been inspired by content creation, suggestions from my fellow basketball gamers, or just curiosity, I’ve branched out from franchise modes and ended up really enjoying playing something different. That includes modes I never expected to find appealing! I’m still interested in franchise and traditional season play, and some of these modes did ultimately turn out to be a passing fancy, but nevertheless I came to enjoy them.

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #590 of the NLSC Podcast!

While NBA 2K26 will be a hot topic over the next month and beyond, this week we turn our attention to a classic that’s in our rotation, namely NBA 2K9. Now that we’re ten games into our co-op NBA 2K9 Association with the Chicago Bulls, we provide a detailed recap of everything that’s happened so far, and discuss some possible roster moves. The fun we’ve been having with the game also moves us to reflect once again on what a strong release it was. We also invited the community to weigh in on which teams they’d most like to start an Association with in NBA 2K9, and reminisce about some of the 2009 season lineups that were fun in real life and on the virtual hardwood alike.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:12:04 — 49.8MB)

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!

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 ways to improve MyNBA Eras.

MyNBA Eras is one of the most impressive modes in the history of basketball video games. The ability to wind back the clock and start a franchise game in previous eras, with the league evolving with expansion, re-branding, and even different rules and formats, is a concept that once seemed impossible. As is the case with any historical content in sports video games, there are obviously limitations. Licensing and likeness rights are the biggest issue, so if nothing else, we can expect to see some placeholders standing in for players who can’t be included.

Beyond that, I never want to downplay the hard work that has gone into creating a mode that so many of us fantasised about, but never expected to see. With that being said of course, this doesn’t mean we can’t critique MyNBA Eras, or suggest ways in which it could be better. It certainly helps that the framework is already in place, and generally speaking, the mode functions as intended while making the most of its huge but incomplete roster of historical players. Hopefully Take-Two can continue to work with the NBRPA to add those missing players, but in the meantime, there are some improvements that can be made to the content and experience that’s already on offer.

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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 at long last returning to my roots as a franchise gamer, following a very long detour.

It’s been a long time coming, but I’m finally an active franchise gamer once again! Dig into the archives, and you’ll find that I was eyeing a return to franchise modes way back in October 2017. I was all set to ration my time between MyCAREER, 2K Pro-Am, MyTEAM, and MyLEAGUE. Franchise was also an option in NBA Live 18, but I wasn’t completely sold on the “streamlined” approach. In the end of course, it didn’t matter. I soured on NBA 2K18, preferred Ultimate Team in NBA Live 18, and committed to making it to the Hall of Fame in MyCAREER come NBA 2K19.

And then, I got hooked on NBA 2K14 MyCAREER! That remains in my rotation as I’m still having a blast with that career seven seasons in. However, I grew up playing old school season modes and then franchise modes, so they’ve been responsible for so many of my all-time favourite basketball gaming experiences. Indeed, this is why I’ve often considered myself a franchise gamer who has been taking a detour, but at this point, there’s no denying that I’m a career and card collecting mode gamer as well! My love of franchise gaming never truly went away though, and now that I’m back into it, I expect it’s going to be a significant part of my time on the virtual hardwood.

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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 going back to manual substitutions in basketball video games.

Since I first got hooked on the virtual hardwood, my basketball gaming habits and preferences have evolved over the years. A couple of obvious examples that I often refer to are falling into a rut where I was grinding to level up a new MyPLAYER every year, and then subsequently breaking that habit by eschewing the latest release for some old favourites and new retro kicks. Of course, when it comes to my habits and preferences and the way that they change, isn’t always necessarily that big and drastic. I’ve also changed my mind about certain gameplay options and settings.

Like most basketball gamers I’m sure, I have my preference when it comes to manual and automatic substitutions, though it’s a setting that I have changed my mind about. More to the point, I’ve changed my mind about it a couple of times, or at least become far more flexible about my preference. Much like my other evolving virtual hardwood habits, there are reasons why I’ve come to prefer manual or automatic substitutions at different times. Right now though, I find that I favour manual substitutions whenever I play a mode that provides that level of control. Not only has it been refreshing to make that change, but it’s reminded me why I always used to prefer calling the shots.

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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 things that frequently spoil multi-season modes in basketball video games.

So, I’ve explained why I strongly believe that multi-season modes are awesome, and I stand by that. I wouldn’t maintain an interest in them if I didn’t! However, I also won’t pretend that they’re perfect and that nothing can spoil the experience. Please note that when I say spoil, I don’t necessarily mean that the mode is completely ruined and no longer capable of being enjoyed. Again, if these were insurmountable issues, then my interest in multi-season modes would soon evaporate, and even after all these years, that obviously isn’t the case!

Nevertheless, there are quirky things that are annoying or detract from the intended experience in some way. Even if they ultimately don’t stand in the way of enjoying multi-season modes, they’re among my pet peeves in some of my all-time favourite basketball video games, and issues that I’d prefer future games to avoid. In other words, if you were to ask me what are my least favourite aspects in some of my favourite modes and games, the issues that I’m discussing here are definitely on that list! I adore multi-season modes and will always recommend them as a fun way to play basketball games, but be warned: these are some issues that you might encounter.

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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 things that make multi-season modes in basketball video games awesome.

Growing up with the basketball video games of the 90s, I was able to experience some classic releases and see the genre evolve in some big ways from year-to-year. That of course includes the introduction of multi-season modes. If you go back and look at our early Wishlists for NBA Live, you’ll see that we were keen to see Season mode expand into an experience that lasted several years, and truly allowed us to play GM. Our wish was granted in NBA Live 2000 PC, and since then, multi-season franchise and eventually career modes have become staples of NBA Live and NBA 2K.

For gamers who prefer online team play and competitive modes in general, playing several full seasons against the CPU may not sound like a lot of fun. Gamers who prefer the card collecting modes may also not find the structure of the NBA-oriented modes to be all that appealing. For that matter, anyone who’s satisfied with a single, isolated NBA campaign may not feel the need to continue into Year 2 and beyond. It should be noted that these are all valid opinions and ways to experience basketball games, but as someone who has really enjoyed the extended journey that franchise and career play offers, I’ll give you five reasons why multi-season modes are so fun.

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #582 of the NLSC Podcast!

With the 2025 NBA season rapidly drawing to a close, how will we be spending our Summer (or for that matter, our Winter) on the virtual hardwood? This week, we join the community in discussing the basketball video games that we plan to play and mod in the coming months. While NBA 2K25 will remain in the lineup, it’s clear that basketball gamers will still be sticking with some old favourites! We also discuss if and how the offseason impacts our basketball gaming habits, some of the mods that we’d like to work on, and other video games that will likely be in our rotations when we need a break from hoops. Spoiler: a new Garfield Kart game might just be among them!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 42:30 — 29.5MB)

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!

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!

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #575 of the NLSC Podcast!

We recently played NBA 2K9 and NBA Live 09 over Parsec, with a view to starting a co-op season in one or both of them. In addition to recapping the fun we had during those sessions, this week we’re comparing and contrasting the 2009 season releases from EA Sports and Visual Concepts. We reflect on how they were both notable improvements over their immediate predecessors, discuss a couple of the teams that we’d potentially like to use in our season, and reminisce about the NBA of that era. The community also weighs in with their views on the comparison, and recalls some of the teams that they liked to use in NBA 2K9 and NBA Live 09.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 55:13 — 38.3MB)

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!