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 saluting former NBA player Gary Grant, who celebrated his 61st birthday yesterday.
One telltale sign of a long-time hardcore NBA fan is the ability to recall some of the most obscure players from decades ago. Obviously it’s easy to remember the all-time greats that younger fans who weren’t even born yet have still heard of, and many of the other prominent players from yesteryear also stick in our minds. However, when you grow up obsessed with hoops – watching games, playing video games, collecting trading cards, reading magazines – you also remember the journeymen, deep bench reserves, and that one player who had a six-game stint with your favourite team!
That brings me to Gary Grant. Although I remember dozens of players from the 90s, I’m not inclined to profile all of them in Wayback Wednesday. To that end, Grant is definitely a special case! In addition to popping up in games I watched and becoming a very familiar face in packs of trading cards, he’s also been involved in some of my fondest basketball gaming memories. He also stuck around for more than a decade, which is no minor feat. It’s time to give Gary Grant his due on the real and virtual hardwood alike, so let’s take a look back…way back…
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 once again revisiting NBA Live 95 for the Super Nintendo, in order to demonstrate how Dominique Wilkins can break the game.
There are several reasons why I enjoy revisiting classic basketball video games. So many titles remain a blast to this day, so I love hitting the virtual hardwood in them. Also, there’s always the possibility of discovering something new, whether it’s a cool feature or mechanic that I overlooked, an explanation for a design choice or technical issue, or a fun bit of roster trivia. And of course, if you mess around with a game, you might stumble across something truly weird! That’s what happened when I reversed the Dominique Wilkins for Danny Manning trade in the Super Nintendo version of NBA Live 95. Here’s a video breaking down a rather unexpected sim engine outcome!
I hope you enjoyed this exploration of a weird phenomenon that we can create in NBA Live 95’s Season mode! I’ll have to mess around a little more and see if I can find any other players that are capable of having the same impact as Dominique Wilkins when traded. In the meantime, let me know if you’ve encountered any sim engine oddities like this one, and also be sure to subscribe to the NLSC’s YouTube channel! In addition to in-depth game retrospectives, essays, and features like this, you’ll also find plenty of gameplay highlight reels, the weekly NLSC Top 10 Plays curated by Dee, episodes of the NLSC Podcast, and more basketball gaming videos.
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 random and interesting NBA player stories that I’ve encountered.
Writing articles for the NLSC for all these years has been a rewarding experience. Obviously, it’s creatively satisfying for someone who has always enjoyed writing and is passionate about basketball and basketball video games, but to that point, it’s also catered to my enthusiasm for history and trivia. Covering NBA history and roster trivia through the lens of basketball video games not only conveniently avoids the need to use copyrighted images, but has also led me to discover some fascinating facts and stories about the hardwood, real and virtual.
To that end, I’ve recounted these tales in previous articles, but I wanted to revisit some of the most interesting NBA player stories that I’ve encountered while producing content for the NLSC. We all know the stories and many basic facts and figures about the all-time greats, but we so often overlook the interesting journeys of lesser-known names; stories such as the promising player who never quite made it to the NBA, the player whose journey to the NBA could inspire MyCAREER stories, players whose careers are What Ifs, and some interesting records. You may have heard these five NBA player stories before – from me or someone else – but they’re worth telling again.
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 another list of five stints that never officially appeared in basketball video games.
It’s Part 3 in what is becoming an ongoing series recalling stints that never officially appeared in video games! I’m always wary of spending too long on certain topics, but since I ended up going to Part 21 in my series about players who only appeared on certain teams in games, a third article definitely isn’t that crazy. Besides, as long as there are interesting examples to talk about and stories to revisit, I’d rather not leave them on the table. Considering that all five players this time around were All-Stars, they’re undoubtedly too important not to discuss!
When it comes to stints that don’t officially appear in any video games, it’s usually because it was a very brief tenure, and generally the result of a midseason signing or trade. Alternatively, the move may have happened quite early in the year or even in the offseason, but missed the roster cut-off date for the game, and no official roster update ever accounted for it (in many cases because the game predates such updates becoming commonplace). This list contains examples of both, as well as a rather unique example that’s…well, there’s no question that it belongs on a list of stints with no official representation, but at the same time, it sort of was included. Let’s begin!
Modders are still enthusiastically working on NBA 2K14 to this day, and to that end, we have some new mod releases to spotlight! Pep has released 2024 season jersey updates for the Los Angeles Clippers, while Sastre Matulin has released an updated WNBA logo pack. Check them both out at the links below!
Thanks to everyone who continues to contribute to our Downloads database! If you need help uploading files, be sure to check out this video tutorial. For more information about downloads, the modding community, and Mod Releases bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.
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 alternate venues that appeared in the Season modes of early NBA Live games.
Whenever I revisit old games, whether it’s to produce a Wayback Wednesday feature or just for my own enjoyment, it’s always a delight to discover – or recall – a detail that I didn’t expect to see. After all, it’s easy enough to forget how long certain features have been around, or the lengths that games went to for authenticity even before the deep modes we now have were feasible. They’re great examples of how those classic titles were the products of developers pushing technology to the limit, while trying to make the best possible basketball game for enthusiastic hoop heads.
As far as the early NBA Live games are concerned, those details demonstrate why EA Sports’ series became the brand leader in the genre, and that being an authentic sim was absolutely the goal. There are numerous examples of this, many of which I’ve discussed in previous retrospectives, but a cool one that flies under the radar is the use of alternate venues in the Season modes of early NBA Live games. It wasn’t necessary to reflect this aspect of the NBA season on the virtual hardwood – especially as it’s easy to miss – so it’s awesome that the games did. Let’s take a look back…way back…
Although I’m past my huge NBA Live 10 kick from a few years ago, I still enjoy firing up the game and sharing the highlights whenever I do! With Blake Griffin recently announcing his retirement after 13 NBA seasons, I felt inspired to stage a showdown of cover players with the face of NCAA Basketball 09 taking on Dwight Howard in his own game.
While Griffin ultimately missed what should have been his rookie season, we can obviously still put him on the floor in NBA Live 10 to create some high-flying highlights. Lob City may have been a few years away, but the tandem of Griffin and Blake Davis is also quite capable of connecting on alley-oops. I managed to do just that – no mean feat in NBA Live 10, as many of you are no doubt aware – as well as frequently find Griffin on the fast break for some vicious finishes. Davis was also a lot of fun with his signature dribbling package, while Howard and Mickael Pietrus led the way for Orlando in a game that was tightly-contested until the fourth quarter. Check it out!
NBA Live 10 is still a blast to dust off over a decade later, so I hope that you enjoyed these highlights! Be sure to subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel for more basketball gaming content, and as always, feel free to hit Dee and I up with suggestions of games that you’d like to see us play.
Following on from his video earlier this week, Dee has uploaded even more NBA Live 15 highlights to our YouTube channel! This time, he’s assumed control of the Lob City Los Angeles Clippers featuring Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, and DeAndre Jordan, in order to take on the CPU-controlled Sacramento Kings featuring DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay.
The real life Lob City Clippers may not have lived up to their potential given the talent on their roster, but one thing’s for sure: they’re a ton of fun to play with in basketball video games! Dee demonstrates this with some devastating dunks, and other spectacular plays. These NBA Live 15 highlights also show that when the game is being played by someone who knows basketball and basketball video games alike, it looks a lot better than it’s often given credit for. See for yourself below!
As I mentioned when I posted Dee’s previous highlight reel, he and I discussed NBA Live 15 and its tendency to be underrated back in Episode #480 of the NLSC Podcast. Be sure to give that a listen, as well as subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel for more basketball gaming highlights. As always, also feel free to hit us up with any suggestions of games that you’d like to see us play!
Whenever I’m playing an older game, I can’t help messing around with some minimalist roster modding! As you may have seen, I recently took the 70+ players in NBA 2K14 PS4 that are still active, and placed them on their current teams. Noticing that four teams could field a full starting five, I decided to play a couple of makeshift 2024 showdowns using a game that still holds up superbly after ten years.
In my latest game of NBA 2K14 PS4 with minimalist 2024 season rosters, I took control of the Los Angeles Clippers with Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George, and faced James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers. With everything that’s gone down, it remains to be seen whether Harden will ever suit up for the 76ers again, but he certainly came to play in this virtual hardwood matchup! The game went down to the wire thanks to some big plays…but also a couple of major blunders on my part. Enjoy the highlights!
I previously played a game between the 2024 Bucks and Warriors, which I posted in a recent YouTube roundup bulletin. My tinkering with the rosters has also allowed me to play some historical matchups with makeshift classic teams, so stay tuned for new entries in my NBA 2K14 Retro Series! In the meantime, be sure to subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel for more basketball gaming content, and feel free to hit Dee and I up with any suggestions of games that you’d like to see us play.
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 teams that were fun to use in video games, despite being unsuccessful in real life.
Unless you’re a diehard fan of them – or looking for a challenge – you’re probably not going to choose to play with a bad team in a video game. Mediocre teams can be more enjoyable as long as they have some talent at their disposal, but they’re generally not our first choice either. We tend to gravitate towards the teams with the top stars and talent, with whom we can win games and make spectacular plays. They’re far more appealing choices in franchise modes as well, since their deeper lineups facilitate a wider variety of trades, without having to completely gut the rotation.
Of course, many unsuccessful teams throughout the years have been much better on paper. Injuries may have derailed their season, or their players might’ve been a poor fit with no chemistry. Some years the competition is particularly tough, or they’re a young team that’s still developing. Whatever the case, these teams are actually fun and interesting to play with in video games, despite their lack of success in real life. In the hands of gamers, they can overachieve well beyond the most optimistic predictions. Here are five unsuccessful teams – which for the purposes of this list, means missing the Playoffs – that were exciting and intriguing options to play with in video games.
In case you missed it, a new video has gone up on our YouTube channel! Dee has posted highlights from our game of NBA Live 15, in which he took control of Carmelo Anthony’s New York Knicks, and I used the Lob City Los Angeles Clippers. The game was made possible not only due to Parsec, but also the new beta version of the Xbox app that allows games to be streamed to a Windows PC.
Although NBA Live 15 was a rough release in many respects, we had a good time revisiting it, and were able to produce a number of highlights! From Melo’s scoring outburst during a fourth quarter battle, to Blake Griffin emphatically finishing lobs, there were some genuinely exciting moments. There were also a number of defensive plays that felt satisfying and organic, despite some of the quirks with player movement and animations. Unfortunately NBA Live 15 doesn’t support co-op play, but it turned into a great competitive contest down the stretch. Check out the reel!
We also took a deep dive into NBA Live 15 in Episode #480 of the NLSC Podcast, which you can tune into here. As always, please subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel for more basketball gaming content! Dee and I are also open to suggestions for games that you’d like to see us play, so feel free to hit us up.
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 some famous NBA What Ifs, and portraying them in NBA Live 10.
What Ifs can be fun to ponder, whether they concern the NBA or video games. There are trades and signings that, if they’d happened, would’ve changed the course of NBA history. Likewise, we can point to game-changing moments in the history of the virtual hardwood. Indeed, NBA Live 10 is an example of such a turning point. If EA Sports had elected to continue building on the base it established rather than trying to reboot the series with the ill-fated NBA Elite 11, the basketball gaming landscape would undoubtedly be very different today.
As far as NBA What Ifs are concerned though, they’re something that we can play out in video games. It’s a great concept for a roster, and while that’s not what I’m doing today, I’ve decided to mix a couple of ideas together by reflecting on some of the biggest NBA What Ifs and portraying them using NBA Live 10; a game that has an air of What If about it. Obviously there are some other historical NBA What Ifs that I won’t be touching on here because the players aren’t in NBA Live 10, but feel free to discuss those in the comments as well. Let’s wonder what might have been as we take a look back…way back…
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 times that various basketball video games featured incorrect jerseys.
In sim basketball titles, accuracy down to the last detail is the name of the game. An arcade title usually has more wiggle room for inaccurate, exaggerated, and stylised details, but we still expect a certain degree of faithfulness in NBA-licensed products. Some inaccuracies are admittedly only apparent to the most eagle-eyed gamers who are particularly attuned to minute details on jerseys, courts, and shoes. However, other inaccuracies are blatantly obvious to everyone, leaving one to wonder just what the developers and artists were thinking (or what sources they were working from).
Case in point: the five incorrect jerseys that I’ll be spotlighting today. Now, I’ve decided not to include any jerseys with incorrect colour palettes, such as the Chicago Bulls jerseys that were more pink than red for so many years. My reason is that they tend to be well-known examples too numerous to mention, and we can assume that they’re the result of developers working from official colour palettes that didn’t yield the proper results in-game. Instead, I’m focusing on jerseys that were incorrect due to weird mistakes in their design, or some other oddity. Some of these incorrect jerseys are noticeable right away, while others do require being something of a uniform buff.
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 going bug hunting in NBA Live 96 PC.
It’s strange how certain memories will randomly pop into your head. Last year, I whipped up a video illustrating a tall tale that I heard about Michael Jordan many years ago. It’s something I hadn’t thought about in years, but something jogged my memory, and I felt like reflecting on that ridiculous story. The same thing happens with basketball video games. I’ll randomly remember a feature or something that I once experienced, and it strikes me as a good idea for a Wayback Wednesday feature. It’s as good of an excuse as any to revisit some old favourites, too.
Of course, our memories aren’t always reliable. I’ve discussed the phenomenon of having false memories of basketball video games in The Friday Five, and indeed, I had enough examples for second column. It pays to double-check, and there are Wayback Wednesday features I’ve had to amend (and in one case, re-write completely) when I haven’t done my due diligence. With that in mind, on this occasion I’m making the research itself into the feature! There’s an error that I vaguely recalled encountering in the PC version of NBA Live 96, so this week, I’m going bug hunting. Let’s take a look back…way back…
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 NBA predictions that ended up being way off.
Here it is, the first Friday Five of 2020! It’s been a while since I’ve covered a topic related to the real NBA rather than the virtual hardwood, so I thought that I’d tip off the year (and decade) with a change of pace. Don’t worry, I’ve still got plenty of topics related to basketball video games that I’ll be covering in my features, but this week, I’d like to talk about NBA predictions. After all, we’re rapidly approaching the midway point of the 2020 season, and we’re starting to get a clearer picture of the top teams and how they stack up against one another.
It’s as good a time as any to start throwing out some midseason predictions, but keep in mind that there’s a lot of basketball left to play. A lot can change very quickly in the NBA, and while we can make educated guesses in our picks, a seemingly likely outcome can be denied by a twist of fate. At the same time, some people – including supposed expert analysts – will make wild predictions. Some may be trying to get ahead of the curve by expecting the unexpected, while others are relying on sources that are less than reliable. Whatever the case may be, we’ve seen some bold and crazy predictions over the years, with these five examples turning out to be quite wrong.
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