Tag Archives: Legends

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 few thoughts on how we’re in the age of gatekeeping, and how that gatekeeping frequently involves age.

With my thirties drawing to a close, I’ve never identified more with that classic scene in The Simpsons where Abe warns Homer that one day, he won’t be “with it”. For Elder Millennials like me, it feels like we’ve been suddenly and unceremoniously pushed out of pop culture and some of our favourite hobbies; or at least, an effort is being made to do so. Our fashions are outdated (yet at the same time, they’re being brought back), our jokes might as well be “Boomer Humour”, and apparently we don’t even shoot videos correctly! We’re now among the “old heads” being sneered at.

And hey, to make a very Millennial-coded reference, it’s the Circle of Life, right? We’re not the trendy young crowd anymore, with only the youngest Millennials clinging to the upper end of the 18-34 demographic. This is the way of pop culture; this is, as blink-182 put it, growing up. Still, it feels like we’re being pushed out of things that we’re not too old for, or that anyone is too old for, really. We’re in an age of gatekeeping in general, but the gatekeeping itself is also often about age. That’s not to say that we didn’t have our own version of “Old Heads Keep Out” on the proverbial clubhouse door, but online discourse definitely revolves around generational division.

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #534 of the NLSC Podcast!

We had a blast this past week playing a co-op game of NBA 2K10 PC over Parsec, using a 1997 season roster. We reflect on how the game is an overlooked gem, and the brilliance of retro season mods in general. Indeed, it seems there’s more and more interest in revisiting classic games and memorable seasons with retro roster mods recently, and we’re all for it! To that end, this week we join the community in discussing what’s been drawing us to old favourites and classic seasons in the NBA. We also talk about the importance of appreciating history and note how video games play a role in that, as well as touch on the need to debunk ridiculous narratives such as the recent hit piece on Michael Jordan.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:10:38 — 48.9MB)

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!

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #533 of the NLSC Podcast!

Which NBA players from past decades would be even better if they competed in today’s league, with all of the changes to the rules and the style of play? This week, we join the community in picking five players – be they superstars, fringe All-Stars and other very good players, solid role players, or even benchwarmers – that we believe would really thrive in the modern NBA. Speaking of players who would be fantastic in any era, we also pay tribute to the late, great Jerry West, the inspiration for the NBA logo and one of the most successful individuals the league has ever seen on the court, on the sidelines, and in the front office.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:30:37 — 62.6MB)

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 some thoughts on the padding and politics involved with player ratings.

Although the discussion has seemingly turned to MyPLAYER builds and figuring out the meta, I’d suggest that real player ratings will always be a point of interest. They’re still vital in accurately representing the players’ abilities and skill levels, and if you play franchise modes or with retro teams, you’ll notice mistakes and inconsistencies. There’s also still an interest in which players are top-rated in key categories such as dunking and three-point shooting, as well as where everyone ranks with their Overall Ratings. Again, it may not be as much of a focus now, but there’s still a discussion.

To that point, it’s clear that personal opinions and politics do play a role in both our view of the ratings, as well as how they’re assigned in the first place. Lest I sound like a grumpy old head grumbling about modern games, let’s make it clear that this has been going on for many, many years! Indeed, I’d suggest that as long as basketball video games have had visible ratings – and in some cases, where there have been some sneaky hidden mechanics – player abilities have been subject to padding and politics. There are times when it’s been fairly benign or even enhanced the experience, but it can certainly be problematic and damaging when it leads to widespread inaccuracies.

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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 clear message for Take-Two: when it comes to historical players, CTC; cut the cheque!

Browse the classic teams or the lineups in MyNBA Eras, and you’ll be able to compile a lengthy list of players who are missing. Now, getting everyone into the historical rosters in NBA 2K is easier said than done, and it’s unlikely we’ll ever see complete lineups outside of community-made projects. It should also be noted that 2K has made significant strides here, working diligently with Kenny Gattison – former NBA player and now Vice President of membership and Player Programming for the NBRPA – to get more alumni onto the virtual hardwood.

Even with his assistance, it’s not an easy task. Some players are difficult to track down, while others may not be interested in participating. If they’ve passed away, their family may be understandably reluctant to sign over their likeness rights. And of course, other players may simply be unimpressed by the offer Take-Two has made to them. In fact, three of the biggest names who remain absent – Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, and Rasheed Wallace – have been pretty clear that they’re dissatisfied with 2K’s pitch to be in the games. Indeed, when Sheed was asked about his absence, his response was CTC; cut the cheque! As such, I believe Take-Two should cough up.

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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 some throwback stints, as portrayed by the Xbox 360 version of NBA Live 06.

Tinkering with the rosters to set up fun scenarios and minimalist modding projects has become a staple of my retro basketball gaming. I enjoy the challenge of seeing what can be done with the assets I have at my disposal, and it’s gratifying whenever I’m able to cobble together something that I can at least get a game or two out of. Some attempts are more successful than others as far as creating playable scenarios, but if nothing else, I’ll get some interesting screenshots out of my endeavours. That’s what happened while I was on my extended retro kick with NBA Live 06 for Xbox 360.

While exploring the idea of a makeshift classic teams roster – something that fell apart thanks to a roster editing glitch that can happen way too easily – I ended up placing a number of players on their former teams, and taking some screenshots. I wasn’t sure what I’d do with those screens, but I didn’t want my efforts to go to waste, and figured that they’d come in handy for an article somewhere down the line. I may find further use for them yet, but for now, here are some throwback stints that I set up in the Xbox 360 version of NBA Live 06. 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 with some thoughts on how a combination of new inspiration, impatience, and the appeal of fresh starts, can derail modding projects.

Last year, I was quite relieved when I finally released my fixed official roster for NBA 2K10; a roster that added missing Legends, corrected ratings and tendencies for the original Legends, and made a few other enhancements. Not only was I pleased with the results – as egotistical as that may sound – but it was gratifying to finish a modding project that I’d started, particularly one that can inject more fun into retro basketball gaming, and possibly even serve as a base for future projects. It came out later than I’d hoped, but it did mean that I was able to take more care with it.

Of course, it’s not the only modding project that I’ve envisioned or attempted in recent years. I’ve shared some of the roster mod ideas that have come to mind in Friday Five articles, and of course previewed an NBA 2K11 current roster project that ultimately fell through. It’s not something I’m particularly proud of, as I was once very dedicated to maintaining current roster updates for NBA Live, on top of other mods over the years. Unfortunately, as I’ve looked to get back into the hobby, I’ve found that being struck by inspiration for another project has a tendency to cause impatience with the current one, and a strong yearning for the excitement that comes with fresh starts.

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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 at how minimalist modding can improve the retro basketball gaming experience.

It’s no secret that just as mods can enhance the most recent basketball video games, they can also breathe new life into old favourites. This obviously goes beyond the virtual hardwood. I remember discovering custom WADS for Doom II way back in 1998 that changed Doomguy and the enemies into characters from The Simpsons and South Park. I wasn’t really playing Doom II anymore, but learning about those mods and seeing what they were capable of encouraged me to dust it off so that I could try them out. It’s a great example of mods making an old game fresh and new again.

Of course, even without custom maps, those were still larger projects, akin to a current or retro season roster for an older basketball game. Those are fantastic and I absolutely support them; especially given my renewed interest in retro basketball gaming after a few years of feeling underwhelmed by the latest NBA 2K! However, minimalist modding can also freshen up older games and make them even more fun to revisit. Indeed, whenever I get hooked on an old game, I can’t help thinking about ways to change things up with some minimalist modding in order to expand upon the retro basketball gaming experience. Let’s look at a fun way to go back…way 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 investigating some alleged cheat codes for NBA Live 2002 that are listed on various websites.

Here’s a statement that will blow your mind: you can’t believe everything that you read on the internet. I’ll give you a moment to recover from the utter shock of that revelation! In all seriousness, it’s hardly a secret that the internet is as convenient a means of spreading misinformation as it is researching verifiable facts and figures. I’m not going to delve into the Big Issues here, because that’s beyond our scope as a site dedicated to basketball gaming, and I’m not looking to court controversy. Of course, there’s plenty of hoaxes and misinformation when it comes to video games.

All genres of games are subject to what TV Tropes creatively dubs an “Urban Legend of Zelda“. Indeed, the Zelda series itself has one of the all-time famous video game hoaxes, namely the claim that the Triforce was obtainable in Ocarina of Time. Hoops titles have their own urban legends, from claims of certain players being hidden in NBA Jam when they weren’t, to supposedly unlockable modes that in reality would be too big of a selling point to tuck away as an obscure secret. And of course, like other genres, there have been fake cheat codes. I’ve discovered some questionable codes for NBA Live 2002 that bear investigating, so let’s take a look back…way back…

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After hinting at it in Episode #497 of the NLSC Podcast, I’ve finally released my fixed version of the final official roster for NBA 2K10 PC! It’s taken longer than I would’ve liked thanks to juggling other projects and our regularly scheduled content, but at long last, V1.0 of the roster is done!

The roster adds missing Legends to the All-Decade teams, including Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and John Stockton. All players have proper faces, sourced from old roster projects. On top of that, I’ve gone through all of the original Legends and fixed their ratings and tendencies, a majority of which were copy-and-paste, or in the case of the tendencies, flat out missing/not properly assigned. All of the lineups and rotations for the All-Decade teams have been updated to accommodate the new Legends. I’ve also cleared all of the injuries, and fixed a couple of ratings for the current players. Full release notes can be found below.

Download the fixed final official NBA 2K10 roster here! You can also find a release/support topic here in the Forum. This project is intended to enhance NBA 2K10 for retro gamers who like to dust off old favourites, as well as potentially facilitate some new retro modding projects by serving as a base. All I ask is that you give credit for the roster, as well as leave the credits for the included faces intact. I hope that you enjoy this fixed roster for one of the earliest NBA 2K releases on PC!

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #498 of the NLSC Podcast!

After revisiting NBA in the Zone 2 over Parsec last week, we recap a fun showdown as we took on the Nuggets with the SuperSonics, while reflecting on the sim-arcade hybrid approach and comparing the game to NBA Live 97. We also played NBA 2K13 using the 1993 season roster from URB, which leads us to compare the attention to detail in retro mods to the lack thereof in MyNBA Eras. Speaking of inaccuracies, the WNBA Players Association called out NBA 2K24’s terrible player likenesses, a move that we wholeheartedly support. We also imagine the ideal gameplay for NBA 2K and NBA Live by combining our favourite mechanics from previous games in both series, and give a heads up on a great PC gaming deal.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:10:30 — 48.8MB)

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! 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 original All-Time Teams that were featured in early NBA 2K titles.

The concept of All-Time Teams is naturally a staple of sports discussion. Which franchise could field the best lineup with all the players that have ever worn their uniform? Who can boast the best all-time starting lineup? Who would prevail in a showdown of stars, if they could all be together on the team in their prime? Such What Ifs are impossible to conclusively prove in reality, but they’re a great idea for fantasy matchups in video games. Even in the early days of NBA Live modding, the community was creating Legends and All-Time Teams rosters.

Those projects have remained popular over the years, so it’s no surprise that with all of the other historical content in NBA 2K, All-Time squads were eventually added for each franchise. As I noted when I covered those teams in a previous article, while the concept was nothing new, it saved us a lot of time by ensuring that certain players and assets would be in the game by default. However, I neglected to mention that NBA 2K18 wasn’t the first game in the series to feature All-Time Teams, as a few such squads were unlockable in earlier releases. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #496 of the NLSC Podcast!

Many of our all-time favourite basketball video games are still in the rotation, and this week we connected on Parsec to revisit two of them: NBA 2K17 and NBA Live 06 PC! We reflect on the strong points of each game and why they hold up so well years later, as well as the satisfying feeling of playing them with mods that we created! We’re also interested in the community’s all-time favourite hoops titles, so in this week’s mailbag, our listeners tell us which ones they still hold close to their hearts. We’ve also got some tips regarding affordable cards in NBA 2K24 MyTEAM – while advocating for No Money Spent, of course – and a couple of customary cheap plugs.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:12:23 — 50.1MB)

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 how Legends have been misused in NBA Live over the years.

If you remember hitting the virtual hardwood before NBA Live 2000 was released, then you’ll recall what a big deal it was when Legends were announced for the game. Sure, we had modding, and even on console Create-a-Player could be used to make some serviceable retro players, but now they were going to be right there in the game by default! They’d have proper faces, and their names would be called by the PA Announcer and commentators. And of course, Michael Jordan would at long last appear in an NBA Live game. It was huge news, and a landmark feature.

Considering that EA Sports had found themselves in hot water after trying to sneak some Legends into the 16-bit version of NBA Live 96, it seemed like something that would never happen. That made the official inclusion of Legends even more special, and it’s why I won’t take historical content for granted. However, it’s fair to say that over the years, NBA Live didn’t do as much with the Legends as they possibly could have, leaving the door open for NBA 2K to blow us away with retro content and features. Even before that though, NBA Live was dropping the ball with throwback players. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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As Dee and I have discussed on the NLSC Podcast, we both enjoy dabbling with the card collecting modes in NBA Live and NBA 2K. To that end, we’ve both recently uploaded highlight reels from NBA Live 18 Ultimate Team and NBA 2K24 MyTEAM.

In my NBA Live 18 Ultimate Team reel, the 90s All-Stars are back in action! The Glove connects with The Reignman, The Dream shakes and bakes in the post, Clyde glides before finishing with force, Shaq attacks the rim without mercy, Tim Bug breaks ankles with the UTEP Two-Step, Penny shines and drops dimes, Nique is a Human Highlight Film, and Pip does a little bit of everything! My aim was to capture the spirit of the NBA in the 90s, which had us all saying “I love this game”!

Dee’s NBA 2K24 MyTEAM reel also showcases some memorable historical players, as well as current stars. Darryl Dawkins is dominating in the paint, while Robert Pack reminds us that you don’t need to be seven feet tall to leave the basket shaking! Rick Barry and Jack Sikma also get buckets, while Steph Curry is dialled in from long distance. Cover player Kobe Bryant also dazzles and shows off the Mamba Mentality as Dee completes all three 76ers Challenges in Domination.

Check out both highlight reels below! We’ll be sharing further impressions of NBA 2K24, including thoughts on MyTEAM, in the next NLSC Podcast. Stay tuned for that, and be sure to subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel for more basketball gaming content!

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