Tag Archives: Generated Rookies

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 picking up where I left off in Year 7 of my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER.

After wrapping up my sixth season in NBA 2K14 MyCAREER and playing the first couple of games in Year 7, I decided to take a break. It’s not that I wasn’t enjoying the journey anymore, but I felt it was time for a change. And so, I put that game on ice, with the intention of picking it up whenever I felt like it. Since then however, other basketball gaming activities have held my attention. It wasn’t until Dee and I were discussing our virtual hardwood habits so far in 2026 on the NLSC Podcast a couple of weeks ago that I thought about just how long it’s been since I fired up that save file.

To that point, my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER has been on the bench since September 2025. In other words, almost eight months now! I was surprised when I checked the date, though it speaks to how quickly the days, months, and indeed years fly by. I certainly don’t regret taking a break as I’m enjoying what I’ve been playing all year, but I have been thinking about bringing my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER back into the rotation. I’ll be alternating between it and other games more frequently than before, as it’s already been a long and satisfying journey, and I don’t want to shelve the titles I’ve been enjoying. Still, Year 7 features an intriguing scenario that’s drawing me 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 thoughts on fictional players in sim basketball games.

By definition, sim basketball games are anchored in reality. Unlike arcade games, we don’t expect or desire to see mascots and other secret characters being playable on team rosters. However, we are invited to create fictional scenarios through fantasy drafts and the trades and signings of our choice in franchise play, as well as the card collecting and old school custom teams modes. We can also inject NBA Legends and classic teams into the current NBA, play inter-era exhibitions, and mod in fictional characters. The All-Time Teams in NBA 2K are ready-made fantasy scenarios, too.

In other words, sim games aren’t always serious business, or about playing with real rosters, be they contemporary or historical. That is still the default starting point, of course. Any breaks from reality that we see are either at our discretion, or intrinsic to the concept of a specific mode. Furthermore, these fictional scenarios still involve real players. We’re generally not clamouring to see completely fictional characters inserted into modes where rosters are expected to reflect reality; at least to begin with. With that being said, we have seen fictional players who aren’t placeholders take part in modes based around the real NBA. I certainly have mixed feelings about that idea.

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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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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 reflecting on how we’ve now reached the end of Franchise mode in NBA Live 2000 in real life.

To quote Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – a classic film that I surprisingly haven’t referenced more often in my various articles – “life moves pretty fast“. That may not sound like a particularly profound piece of wisdom, but it is funny how a date that once seemed so futuristic is suddenly the present. In the 90s, the future draft picks in the 2000s that were being thrown into trades seemed so far away. Of course, back then the Year 2000 sounded incredibly sci-fi in general. Then it arrived, and apart from some very old computers rolling back to 1980 on their calendar, 2000 felt very much like 1999!

Around the turn of the millennium, we received one of the all-time great basketball video games: NBA Live 2000. The crowning achievement of the original NBA Live development team still holds up, especially the PC version which also brought us the first iteration of Franchise mode. Sim heads had been longing for multi-season play, and after NBA Live 99 gave us a small taste of the concept, Franchise in NBA Live 2000 truly delivered the goods. With the ability to play or simulate up to 25 seasons, we could reach the once faraway year of 2024! 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 basketball gaming theories that I can’t conclusively prove, but strongly suspect to be true.

Video games have attracted countless theories, rumours, and hoaxes throughout the years. From speculation about secrets to gossip about gameplay mechanics, these stories have spawned myths, legends…and occasionally, actually been correct! Yes, games are often designed to essentially cheat in order to give us a challenge. Yes, sometimes that rumoured hidden content is there (or at least, there’s a remnant of it). And yes, it’s hardly a wild conspiracy theory to suggest that so many modern Triple-A titles are being designed to push gamers towards microtransactions.

Of course, there are the theories that aren’t true: the secret that’s a hoax, the misguided belief as to why something is a certain way, and so on. These are the things that we’re so sure of, or want to believe, but they’ve been proven false. And then, we have the video game theories that we can’t conclusively prove – yet, anyway – but they haven’t necessarily been disproven, and seem quite likely. I’m not usually one for conspiracy theories – philosophical razors tend to make short work of most of them – but I do have a few related to basketball gaming that I am inclined to believe. Well, maybe not conspiracies as such, but they are five basketball gaming theories that I put stock in.

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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 reasons to love generated rookies in franchise and career modes.

When multi-season franchise modes were introduced, the annual Draft was naturally an aspect of the league that needed to be replicated. Since college players couldn’t be licensed, the solution was to have generated rookies; fictional Draftees that the game would automatically create using randomised names and appearances (or in a few NBA Lives, pre-made faces). It was a good solution, but from the very beginning, we sought to replace generated rookies with real prospects. We found ways of doing so through modding, and eventually NBA 2K introduced in-game Draft Class editing.

The ability to edit Draft Classes was an important and most welcome addition to the array of customisation options in NBA 2K. To that end, it should absolutely remain a staple of NBA 2K’s in-game roster editing tools. However, there’s something special about generated rookies. In my opinion, they can be just as fun, and sometimes even more fun, than injecting real future Draftees into your game. Judging by some of the responses I’ve had on Twitter when discussing Terry Hanson, I’m not alone there! If you’re wondering what’s so special about generated rookies, and why anyone might prefer them to real prospects, here are five reasons to love those fictional players.

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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 suggestions for retro modding projects.

As the stigma fades and retro basketball gaming increases in popularity, inevitably we start thinking about modding as well. After all, classic games are a blast to revisit as-is, but mods can breathe new life into them, too. Many of the modding tools are still available for retro basketball games, along with resources and archived mods to learn techniques from (or indeed, build upon). Even with the limitations of older titles, we’re capable of creating some outstanding mods that will facilitate new experiences on the virtual hardwood.

Needless to say, there are some challenges to overcome here. The audience is smaller, so anyone engaging in retro modding will be toiling on projects that are seen and used by fewer people. To that end, there are also fewer active modders for retro games, so some of the more ambitious projects may not have the level of detail we’d like, or be truly viable. Major roster mods in particular may need to use placeholder artwork, or whatever assets are available. That shouldn’t stop us from looking into retro modding, however. There’s always lingering interest in seeing new updates for old favourites, and there are plenty of retro modding ideas that we can and should at least consider.

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As I’m sure you can tell from my recaps in articles and on the NLSC Podcast, I’ve been enjoying NBA 2K14 MyCAREER for several months now. What began as an in-depth look back for Wayback Wednesday turned into an extended retro basketball gaming kick. Playing through multiple seasons has produced several fun stories throughout the league, including generated rookie tattoo regrets.

When it comes to generated rookies, a funny name or distinct appearance can make them stand out. In NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, a majority of these fictional draftees have a tattoo, randomly chosen from the selection that’s available to MyPLAYERs. While there’s usually no problem with that, it can end up looking like a regrettable decision on their part. Sergei Kursov is a prime example, and he’s the subject of my first NBA 2K14 MyCAREER Stories video!

I’m not sure if this will be a regular feature, but whenever I have a story that makes for a quick, fun video, I’ll put one together. I’ve also started a topic dedicated to my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER in our Stories section, which I’ll be keeping updated. While you’re there, I encourage you to check out the other story topics past and present, as there are some enthusiastic basketball gamers sharing fun stories about their virtual hardwood adventures. I hope you enjoyed this video on generated rookie tattoo regrets; please subscribe to the NLSC’s YouTube channel for more video content!

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 recap of Year 3 in my ongoing NBA 2K14 MyCAREER.

How enthusiastic was I to dive into Year 3 of my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER game? Well, it was only at the end of March that I was recapping Year 2, and noting how the adventure continues in the mode. By mid May, I’d played through another 82 games, and tipped off my third postseason. I found myself under the weather with a couple of illnesses and ailments this past month, and playing MyCAREER served as “comfort food”. I was already keenly playing through the third season from the time I posted my last recap, but that did allow the journey to move along even swifter.

Entering Year 3 of NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, I had a few goals. I wanted to beat the previous year’s record of 72-10, establishing a new mark for excellence in the regular season. Obviously, I wanted to win a third consecutive championship, and take home another MVP trophy. While I’d already averaged a triple-double in Year 2, ticking off that familiar goal, it was still my aim to post big numbers once again. However, I also had some – shall we say – less selfish goals. I also wanted to get Carmelo Anthony more involved in the offense, and to help Terry Hanson win the Rookie of the Year award. So, how did Year 3 of my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER ultimately turn out?

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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 tales of mentoring Terry Hanson, and trying to turn him into a star in my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER.

I’ve always enjoyed generated rookies in franchise modes, and later career modes as well. While NBA 2K’s franchise modes have allowed for custom Draft Classes – and this customisation is important to have – I personally prefer fictional players as the years progress. They become Virtual Hardwood Legends in our save files, weaving stories of Hall of Famers, breakout stars, and unfortunate busts. We can do that with actual NBA players too, of course, but generated rookies are a blank slate with no real world comparisons. We can completely indulge our imaginations with them.

Terry Hanson is a generated rookie in Year 3 of my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, a game that I just can’t get enough of right now. To date, I’ve done all the things that all of us always do in the NBA side of MyCAREER. I’ve set records, averaged a triple-double, and won championships. I’ve levelled up my MyPLAYER, maxing out at 97 Overall, as was the case with some builds in NBA 2K14. I’ve turned my avatar into an All-Star and punched his ticket to Springfield when the time comes to hang it up. Inevitably, if we play NBA MyCAREER long enough, we’ll fulfil a destiny of superstardom that’s at the heart of the story. Now I’m writing a new chapter: making Terry Hanson a star.

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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 provides five examples of coincidental names in various basketball video games.

Something that I’m sure is readily apparent across my various articles is that I’m a fan of interesting trivia and obscure tidbits. Whether it’s the players that appeared in more video games than real NBA games, phantom stints captured on the virtual hardwood, rare features, or other unusual facts, I find them fascinating, and enjoy talking about them. Strange and humorous coincidences would definitely fall under that umbrella. To that end, today I’m talking about coincidental names that I’ve encountered in various basketball games over the years.

Generally speaking, the default rosters of an NBA game likely won’t have too many coincidental names. At least, nothing out of the ordinary, or anything that doesn’t reflect a real life coincidence, such as the time there were two players called Marcus Williams in the NBA. “Coincidence” is also a word that we use, shall we say, quite flexibly. Sometimes “coincidences” have flimsy connections, or are in fact deliberate and thus not coincidental at all. To that point, I’m taking some liberties with the term, as I suspect some of these coincidental names were intentional. They are fun though, so if you’ll indulge me, here are five coincidental names that I’ve encountered.

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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 a look at how the adventure of my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER continues, and my future goals with the mode.

On the NLSC Podcast, Dee4Three observed that he hasn’t seen anyone warm up to a game as quickly and enthusiastically as I have with NBA 2K14. It’s a fair statement! There are other games that I’ve developed more of an appreciation for, but few of them have gone from “I accept it’s good, but it’s not for me” to “This is one of my all-time favourite games” the same way that NBA 2K14 has. I don’t know if it’s nostalgia for a era in the NBA I liked better, the fact that it’s one of the last games that came out when I was in my 20s, or my lukewarm reaction to NBA 2K22, but that’s how I feel.

Actually, that’s selling the game short. Those are definitely factors, of course, but the PlayStation 4/Xbox One version of NBA 2K14 was simply a tremendous game. I had my reasons for not playing it as much back in the day, but to that point, I’m making up for some lost time now. However, it’s surprising that I’m spending that time playing MyCAREER, given my burnout on the mode. I even titled my recap of getting into it last year as “One MyCAREER For The Road“, figuring that it would close the book on my interest in career mode play. Instead, I’ve found myself picking it up again. The adventure continues, and I honestly don’t feel ashamed or embarrassed about that.

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