Tag Archives: Legends

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 Shaquille O’Neal’s history with NBA Live.

Before the 2019 NBA Finals tipped off, it was noted that the series marked the 35th year in a row that the league’s championship round featured a player who was at one time a teammate of Shaquille O’Neal. It’s not the first time that Shaq’s connections to a Finals participant has come up, but with LeBron James’ offseason move to the Los Angeles Lakers after eight consecutive Finals appearances with the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers, there was speculation that the streak may finally come to an end. Thanks to Danny Green and the champion Toronto Raptors, it remains intact.

With a nineteen year career that began in 1992 and ended in 2011, and saw six stops along the way, the streak is arguably less surprising than it seems. Given the number of journeyman he played with, and his own nomadic nature later on in his career, it’s no surprise that there are connections stretching out in both directions. On the virtual hardwood, Shaquille O’Neal has a similar streak of longevity, particularly when it comes to the NBA Live series. 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! 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 a look at how partnering with 2K has impacted the NBA Playgrounds series, both positively and negatively.

Since its release last October, our coverage of NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 has been fairly light. I must admit to missing a few bulletins regarding official patches, something I’ve tried to remedy recently. One of the main reasons that our coverage has been so lax is that our community hasn’t really taken to the game. There was some support of the first NBA Playgrounds a couple of years ago, especially when we heard that it would be available for PC as well as consoles, but since then, there hasn’t been much enthusiasm around these parts. The lack of modding probably doesn’t help.

It’s unfortunate, as NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 has made some pleasing improvements on its predecessor. It has its shortcomings, but overall, it’s a very solid arcade basketball game. The partnership between Saber Interactive and 2K has helped the game attain a higher profile, and also facilitated new content and features that are most welcome. At the same time, however, there have been some changes that definitely feel as though they’ve been influenced by the larger company. These changes incorporate some of the worst parts of recent NBA 2K titles, and are thus disappointing to see. Let’s go over some of the best and worst aspects of NBA Playgrounds joining the 2K family.

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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 discusses five ideas that NBA Live should borrow from NBA 2K.

Since we’re in the process of compiling feedback for our NBA Live 20 Wishlist, I feel like discussing some of the improvements that I believe would take the game to the next level. In particular, I’d like to discuss some ideas and concepts from NBA 2K which NBA Live should be looking to borrow. After all, when it comes to good ideas and features that an NBA video game should have, it doesn’t matter who did it first. The important thing is that games find a way of implementing those ideas and making them work. It never hurts to look at what the brand leader is doing, either.

Glancing at Twitter as of late – a foolhardy thing to do, some might say – I have seen some divided opinions when it comes to the matter of NBA Live’s approach, identity, and the notion of borrowing ideas from NBA 2K. A lot of younger and admittedly passionate fans are downplaying the concerns and suggestions of “old heads”, their point being that it’s a new day and we’re hung up on the past. Respectfully, I must disagree. While it is easy to get caught up in nostalgia, we long-time virtual hoops enthusiasts do know a thing or two, including what the game was like it in its heyday. To that end, NBA Live would benefit from borrowing these NBA 2K concepts.

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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 the Decade All-Stars in older NBA Live games.

I’ve mentioned the Decade All-Stars in several previous articles, including my first look back at Legends in Wayback Wednesday, my NBA Live 2000 retrospective, and as an example of content that I’d like to see return. However, apart from a profile of the 50s All-Stars on the anniversary of the BAA-NBL merger to form the NBA in 1949, I haven’t yet dedicated an entire feature to talking about those squads. Given how popular they were, and how much I personally enjoyed having them, it’s time to rectify that with a long overdue retrospective.

A lot of older basketball gamers who played NBA Live back in the day no doubt remember the Decade All-Stars quite fondly. It’s interesting that many of us do feel nostalgic for them now, considering how they were the original attempt to capitalise on nostalgia in basketball video games. For those who remember them, and for those who don’t know what all the fuss is about, let’s take a look back…way back…

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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 the All-Time College DLC for NBA 2K17.

Downloadable content hasn’t been too common for basketball video games over the years. Compared to RPGs with their expansion packs and fighting games with their myriad of DLC characters, NBA Live and NBA 2K have generally stuck with the “recurrent revenue” model to earn additional income from their annual releases. There has been some DLC for hoops titles though, from the free Oklahoma City logo update for NBA Live 09 to NBA 2K12’s Legends Showcase that cost $10 (or 800 Microsoft Points).

The NBA 2K series has featured some DLC as recently as NBA 2K17, however. In addition to offering up the 1992 Dream Team as a pre-order bonus, 2K also released an All-Time College DLC pack. The pack, which was available around launch and exclusive to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions, expanded the roster of bonus teams with some college content; a rarity in the wake of the Ed O’Bannon lawsuit. I realise that NBA 2K17 is still a fairly recent game, but let’s take a look back…a little way back…

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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 double countdown, featuring the Top 5 Positives and Top 5 Negatives in NBA Live 19.

I will be producing a written review of NBA Live 19 in addition to discussing the game in the Forum and on the NLSC Podcast, but right now, I’m still collecting my thoughts and evaluating the game as the initial content updates and bug fixes come through. That full review will be coming soon, but in the meantime, I wanted to post some initial impressions of this year’s release from EA Sports, spotlighting five of my most positive observations so far, as well as five things that stand out as some of the more prominent negatives.

Basically, if you’re looking for a quick overview of my take on NBA Live 19 so far, this is it. In my opinion, the game has taken some further steps forward this year, and while there is still room for improvement in many key areas, a solid foundation has been established. In ranking the positives and negatives that I have observed so far, I’m basing them on my preferences and expectations of the game, so their importance (or indeed, whether or not they count as a positive or negative) may differ for you. With that being said, let’s get on with a 2-for-1 edition of the Friday Five, and take a look at what’s good and what’s not so good in NBA Live 19!

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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 countdown of the Top 5 NBA Legends that I’d like to see featured in NBA Live.

As NBA Live continues to evolve into a viable alternative to NBA 2K for basketball gamers seeking a sim experience, it’s important that it becomes a well-rounded title. This means that on top of quality gameplay that realistically depicts the NBA, modes must also be deep and engaging. It’s also important to include some additional content beyond the current NBA teams. NBA Live has obviously found a great hook in the global courts found in The Streets, as well as WNBA players, but one area where it could stand to improve is in its usage of historical content, specifically NBA Legends.

It’s tough to match what NBA 2K has done in terms of utilising Legends, not only with its historical squads but also the All-Time Teams. However, NBA Live could do a little more with the Legends that EA Sports has licensed, beyond simply featuring them in Ultimate Team. From Decade All-Stars to the ability to assign Legends to the current teams, there are ways that they could (and should) have a bigger presence in NBA Live. There are some prominent names missing however, Legends that I’d love to see in EA’s game once more. Licensing some of them is easier said than done, but should it ever be feasible, these are the Top 5 Legends I’d like to see in NBA Live.

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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 lists five examples of content that should return in future NBA Live and NBA 2K games.

Basketball video games have come a long way when it comes to additional content. In the very early days, simply including every single NBA team (rather than a selection of the previous year’s postseason teams) was a big deal. Once it became standard to include every team, extra content was basically limited to the custom teams and a few secret unlockable teams usually comprised of the game’s developers. NBA Live 2000 would see the arrival of Legends, and then 2K would take historical content even further beginning in NBA 2K11, with the inclusion of Michael Jordan’s Bulls squads.

Indeed, much of what we might have once called bonus content is now considered to be essential. It’s difficult to imagine Visual Concepts removing the historical teams from NBA 2K; if it were to happen, the backlash would be tremendous. The removal of content is a sore point for basketball gamers because we have seen certain features disappear from both NBA Live and NBA 2K over the years. While content such as the historical and WNBA teams nicely round out recent games, there are things that a lot of gamers would like to see return. I obviously have my own list of content that I’d like to see again, which I present for everyone’s consideration (including EA and 2K).

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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 the introduction video for NBA 2K12.

Although NBA 2K11 was a tough act to follow, I would suggest that NBA 2K12 was up to the challenge. Continuing to improve upon the gameplay of its predecessor, it also successfully expanded the historical content we’ve come to associate with the NBA 2K series. The Jordan Challenge gave way to NBA’s Greatest, a mode featuring fantastic production values and several of the best teams in the NBA history on top of MJ’s Bulls. The game was hampered by the absence of the Class of 2011 rookies at launch owing to the lockout, but official roster updates would later resolve that issue.

Firing up NBA 2K12 for the first time immediately got you in the mood to play with the new historical teams, with an introduction video that I once ranked as the best among basketball games. Although we’ve seen some slick intros in the years since, there’s still a strong case for NBA 2K12’s boot-up remaining in the top spot. As such, I thought I’d look back at it this week, and the real highlights that inspired several moments in the intro. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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We have our first teaser screenshot for NBA Live 19, via the official NBA Live Instagram account. The screenshot features a variety of current and former NBA players posing on a street court, with the Legends wearing their throwback jerseys. WNBA player Maya Moore and NBA Street character Stretch are also notably among the players in the screenshot.

While there’s still a lot to learn about NBA Live 19, this obviously confirms the presence of NBA Legends, at least one NBA Street character, and WNBA players in this year’s game. It remains to be seen what capacity Legends and WNBA players will appear in throughout the game, but if nothing else, it seems as though they’ll be present in The Streets. From the screenshot, and other teasers from the developers on Twitter, it seems that international street courts will also be featured this year.

NBA Live 19’s presence at EA Play 2018 will allow us to find out more about the game very soon. Details are expected to be revealed during EA’s press conference, which will begin in about eleven hours. You can stream it live here on YouTube, or watch it below once it begins.

You can also check out the full size teaser screenshot below. What do you make of the teaser? What are you hoping or expecting to hear about NBA Live 19 during EA’s press conference? Have your say in the comments section below, and join in the discussion here in the NLSC Forum.

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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 improvements that are needed in both NBA Live 19 and NBA 2K19.

The NBA Live 19 and NBA 2K19 Wishlists that we’ve submitted, in my opinion, comprehensively cover the most important suggestions for fixes, enhancements, and additions for both games. Each game has its own list of improvements that we’re hoping to see added in the next release; for NBA Live 19, I would suggest that it comes down to further polish to gameplay and more depth to modes. NBA 2K19, on the other hand, needs a slight course correction after some missteps in NBA 2K18. With that being said, while the games have their own issues, there are currently some that are common to both series, and areas in which they can both improve.

Please note that I’m not suggesting that these are necessarily the most important issues that must be addressed in both NBA Live 19 and NBA 2K19. As I said, our Wishlists demonstrate that both games have a long laundry list of things that can be added or enhanced, and several are specific to one series or the other. Indeed, I’ve already discussed some of the specific things that NBA Live 19 and NBA 2K19 need to have in previous Friday Five columns. These are just areas where both games have some common problems and room for improvements, though the respective solutions may differ slightly. With that being said, let’s get to the first item on the list.

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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 players who I feel could and arguably should be appearing on multiple All-Time teams in NBA 2K.

Despite a couple of omissions, the All-Time squads were a very welcome addition in NBA 2K18. I’m hoping that those teams will remain in the game moving forward, as they provide an opportunity to play with a variety of retro players who don’t have their own historical squads. I also hope that players such as Charles Barkley, Moses Malone, and Reggie Miller can be included at some point. Their omission has led to the inclusion of some less than ideal players on the All-Time teams, including a few active players who are certainly good, but lack the same historical significance.

It’s not just the absence of a few big names that makes some of the active players on the All-Time teams stick out like a sore thumb, however. There are historical players already in the game that could feasibly appear on a couple of other All-Time squads, replacing active players who aren’t stars of the same magnitude. While it could be argued that they didn’t have as big of an impact with those teams, or that their stints were too short, some All-Time teams do include players who had a very short tenure with them. With that in mind, here are five players who are not currently on multiple All-Time teams, but I believe could and should be.

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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 an update on my efforts to build a team of 90s All-Stars in NBA Live 18’s Ultimate Team.

As I’ve noted in previous articles and in episodes of the NLSC Podcast, my current mode of choice in NBA Live 18 is Ultimate Team. Unfortunately, Franchise mode just isn’t where it needs to be yet, and while I do like the concept of LIVE Events and LIVE Run, living in Australia, I’ve found online play to be very choppy so far in NBA Live 18. While I obviously hope NBA Live 19 will see an improvement in both of those areas, for the moment I am enjoying playing Ultimate Team. I was taken in by the mode when it debuted in NBA Live 14, so even if those other modes were more appealing to me right now, I know that I’d still be spending some time with LUT.

I spent a considerable amount of time with Ultimate Team back in NBA Live 15, and managed to put together a team comprised of 90s Legends. As Legends packs began to be released for NBA Live 18, I decided that I wanted to try that again, especially as it’s currently still the only way to play with Legends in NBA Live. After drawing Scottie Pippen a few weeks back, those efforts got off to a very promising start. After adding John Stockton and Karl Malone last week, I found myself with a formidable starting five that’s reminiscent of the old 90s All-Stars squad. While I’m quite satisfied with that lineup, I wanted to round out the bench with some more 90s players.

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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 countdown of the Top 5 Legends that need to be added in future NBA 2K games.

There’s no denying that the NBA 2K series has done some incredible things with its historical content over the past eight years. Beginning with the Jordan Challenge and NBA’s Greatest, and continuing with the addition of several more historical squads including the 1992 Dream Team, we’ve had the opportunity to indulge our nostalgia, as well as play out so many Past vs. Present scenarios on the virtual hardwood. The presence of so many Legends has also unquestionably benefitted MyTEAM, allowing us to put together some amazing fantasy squads that are a lot of fun to play with.

Of course, it’s difficult for Visual Concepts to achieve complete accuracy when it comes to the historical content in NBA 2K. Unlike current players, who are all covered by the licensing agreement with the NBA Players Association, Legends are not automatically licensed to be included in video games. Several Legends – or in the case of Legends who have passed away, their estate – have retained the rights to their likenesses, and for one reason or another, have declined to appear in the games. Obviously that’s a legal barrier that needs to be cleared, but assuming it’s possible, here are the Top 5 Legends that need to be added to NBA 2K’s historical teams.

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On the heels of Patch 1.07’s release, Patch 1.08 has been pushed through for NBA 2K18. There aren’t any patch notes as yet, but it can be assumed that the update is a hotfix for a couple of issues caused by 1.07. The update is currently only available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and should come through automatically as long as your console is connected to the Internet. If you encounter any issues, try restarting. As of this post, the PC and Switch are still awaiting Patches 1.07 and 1.08.

UPDATE: The latest patch is now available for the PC version as well.

In other news, the latest roster update has added a few new players to the historical teams. Rashard Lewis joins the All-Time Thunder (owing to his tenure with the Seattle SuperSonics), as well as the All-Time Magic. Kevin Martin is now available on the All-Time Kings, while Donyell Marshall has been added to the 2007 Cleveland Cavaliers. Further details on the ratings changes in the latest roster can be found here over on Operation Sports, courtesy of Mike Stauffer.

I’ll be sure to post a bulletin if any further information on Patch 1.08 is released, as well as any updates on the PC patches. In the meantime, you can check out an update history for NBA 2K18 here in our Wiki. Feel free to add your thoughts on the latest update in the comments below, as well as in this topic in the NBA 2K18 section of the NLSC Forum.