Tag Archives: Michael Jordan

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 1996 Chicago Bulls, and their impact on my early basketball fandom.

30 years ago yesterday, the Chicago Bulls wrapped up the 1996 NBA Championship with an 87-75 victory over the Seattle Supersonics. It’s overwhelming to think that three decades have passed since the end of that iconic 1996 season, which saw the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan ascend to the top of the basketball world once more. To put it into perspective, at this point the Bulls’ fourth title is closer to the Boston Celtics’ eleventh title than it is to today. In other words, Michael Jordan is to young basketball fans nowadays what Bill Russell was to me back in 1996.

Allow me to pause for a moment to deal with the existential dread of realising that! With that being said, 2026 marking the 30th anniversary of anything that happened in 1996 has had me feeling warmly nostalgic for that time. After all, 1996 was the year that my casual interest in basketball became fully-fledged fandom – some might even say an obsession – and the Chicago Bulls winning the championship was undoubtedly a huge part of that. And so, this week I’m reflecting on both my basketball fandom, and one of the greatest teams in NBA history. Let’s take a look back…way back…

Read More »

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 pondering another historical NBA What If, specifically what if Isiah Thomas was traded to the Knicks in 1994?

Let it be known that I’m not a big fan of Isiah Thomas! I certainly respect his skill and accomplishments, and I’d even go so far as to say that like too many players of his era, he’s now become somewhat underrated. However, I’ve never respected his decision to lead the walk-off after the Chicago Bulls finally topped the Detroit Pistons in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, and consider it a stain on his character. Also, many of his comments regarding Michael Jordan in recent years have been incredibly petty, and laughably inaccurate. I’d suggest that some of the harsh truths in The Last Dance hurt!

With that being said, he’s undoubtedly one of the all-time greats. On top of being a two-champion and 12-time All-Star, Isiah Thomas remains the Detroit Pistons’ all-time leader in points, assists, steals, and minutes, having spent his entire NBA career with the club. However, there was briefly a possibility that Zeke might end his career with the New York Knicks – a team that he’d later come to be associated with – and one more NBA Finals run. It’s an interesting What If, and with the Knicks back in the NBA Finals, it feels like a good time to revisit it! Let’s take a look back…way back…

Read More »

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 Stretch and the rest of the OG NBA Street ballers.

With a spiritual successor in NBA The Run set to launch next month, NBA Street has definitely been on our minds as of late. As it happens, next month also marks 25 years since the original NBA Street was released. For basketball gamers of a certain age, that first NBA Street was the arcade basketball video game, held in higher regard than any of the NBA Jam titles. It certainly makes sense as it was a tremendous game that still holds up. Furthermore, by the early 2000s, the NBA Jam name had sadly come to be associated with some subpar releases.

I’ll be diving deeper into that with a retrospective next month. For now though, I’m reminiscing about Stretch and the other OG NBA Street ballers. In addition to placing NBA players on the blacktop, NBA Street introduced us to some memorable original characters. These ballers were basically the bosses of the City Circuit, standing in between us and the next location. Once we beat them, we could benefit from their streetball skill as they joined our squad. Stretch and the rest of the OG NBA Street ballers are undoubtedly legends, so let’s take a look back…way back…

Read More »

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 time that Stephen Curry was briefly rated 99 Overall in NBA 2K16.

Sunday marked ten years since Stephen Curry was named the first unanimous Most Valuable Player in NBA history. We can certainly debate as to whether he should’ve been the first, as there’s been some questionable MVP voting over the years; even when the “correct” player won the award. However, I’d suggest that even if Curry shouldn’t have been the first, he was nevertheless absolutely deserving of the honour. He had a tremendous season, with both he and the Golden State Warriors breaking records. Of course, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers spoiled the ending!

A month before the Cavaliers’ 3-1 comeback became the story that defined the 2016 season however, Curry and the Warriors were obviously the talk of the league. Their impressive campaign and Curry’s individual brilliance naturally inspired debate about ratings and rankings, which also carried over to the virtual hardwood. In the wake of taking home a second-straight MVP and in unanimous fashion, Stephen Curry was boosted to 99 Overall in the official rosters for NBA 2K16, in an update that came through ten years ago yesterday. Let’s take a look back…way back…

Read More »

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #623 of the NLSC Podcast!

The Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo now owns the second-highest mark for scoring in a single NBA game with 83 points. It’s a performance that has certainly drawn mixed reactions from fans and pundits alike, with some people seeing it as great accomplishment while others are less impressed given the context of how it was achieved. This week, we join the community in giving our thoughts on Bam’s 83-point game, and discuss what we believe separates legitimate records and other statistical feats from manufactured accomplishments. To that end, we make some historical comparisons, and react to a few of the more passionate comments both praising and criticising Bam’s big night.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 57:20 — 39.7MB)

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!

More Legends faces from Nba2kfadeaway can be found in today’s NBA 2K16 mod releases, specifically updates for Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Rasheed Wallace. Download them at the links below!

Nba2kfadeaway
Rasheed Wallace Face
Michael Jordan Face (1996 Angry)
Kobe Bryant Face

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.

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #619 of the NLSC Podcast!

It’s Michael Jordan’s 63rd Birthday, so we’re taking the opportunity to have an in-depth discussion about His Airness! This includes listing some of his biggest accomplishments, and recalling our favourite memories of watching him with both the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards. We also discuss MJ’s interesting history in video games, as despite a common reputation of never appearing on the virtual hardwood, he was in fact a fixture of early releases. Of course, we also have to touch on modding him into so many later titles! We also read out some of the community’s favourite real life and video game memories of Michael Jordan, and unsurprisingly, there are some familiar stories!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:02:48 — 43.5MB)

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!

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 inaccuracies regarding the All-Stars in various basketball video games.

Another All-Star Game will be upon us next week. I admit that I highly doubt I’ll be watching it. What was once a spectacular exhibition of the best players in the NBA competing in the ultimate pick-up game has turned into a boring display that we can’t even call basketball. From the lack of effort by a spoiled generation of players to ridiculous formats under the tournament-obsessed Adam Silver, the All-Star Game absolutely stinks now. It’s a damn shame, as its spits on the legacy of all the great players who paved the way for today’s “stars” to get paid $40 million to load-manage.

Whoops, I went full Grumpy Old Man there! It is tough not to grumble though, as the All-Star Game used to be something I really enjoyed. Sadly, over the past decade or so, it’s completely lost its appeal and competitive spirit. I still have fond memories of what the event used to be of course, and that also carries over to the virtual hardwood. Over the years, it’s been a blast to play with the All-Star teams in games, as well as the Rookie Challenge/Rising Stars squads when they’re available. As with many other aspects of basketball video game rosters though, the virtual All-Star teams have had some rather weird and interesting inaccuracies. Here are five that I’ve encountered!

Read More »

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 it being 30 years since I bought the PC version of NBA Jam Tournament Edition, aka NBA Jam TE.

These days, I have a sizeable collection of basketball video games – I’m overdue to take a new photo with the additions that I’ve made since 2022 – but it all had to start somewhere! As it happens, I purchased my very first basketball video game 30 years ago yesterday. That game was of course NBA Jam Tournament Edition, or NBA Jam TE as it’s also commonly known. A minor technical issue prevented me from playing it on January 27th 1996, but a day later that was all sorted, so today marks 30 years since I hit the virtual hardwood in NBA Jam Tournament Edition for the first time.

Needless to say, as one of the earliest titles that turned my interest in basketball and basketball gaming into full-blown fandom – some might say obsession – NBA Jam Tournament Edition is an all-time nostalgic favourite. It certainly helps that just like the original NBA Jam, it still holds up superbly three decades later. Of course, even if I wasn’t able to enjoy it today, it’d still be a special part of my history with the virtual hardwood and real hoops alike. As such, I’ll never pass up the opportunity to reflect on it, especially on a milestone anniversary! Let’s take a look back…way back…

Read More »

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #616 of the NLSC Podcast!

Do you remember where you were and what you were doing when you witnessed some of the biggest moments in the history of basketball? This week, we join the community in recalling how we personally experienced memorable events in hoops, NBA or otherwise. These range from exciting plays, favourite highlights, and incredible outcomes, to league-changing trades and announcements, to truly shocking and saddening news. In short, there have been plenty of moments during our time watching basketball that have stuck with us for one reason or another! As we discuss, these memories are often intertwined with other aspects of our lives, making them all the more vivid even decades later.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 50:17 — 34.9MB)

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!

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 Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game, ahead of its 20th anniversary.

Tomorrow marks 20 years since Kobe Bryant torched the Toronto Raptors with an 81-point outburst, setting a new mark for the second-highest points scored in an NBA game. It always sounds cliché when we talk about how the years seem to fly by after we’ve taken a few more trips around the sun, but it’s absolutely true! Our perception of time undoubtedly changes. When Kobe dropped 81 on January 22nd 2006, I was only 21, so 20 years felt like a long time to me; basically a lifetime, in fact! Things that happened 20 years before that – or 20 years before I was even born – felt ancient.

For example, 20 years before Kobe had his 81-point game, Larry Bird and the Celtics were the 1986 Champions. To me, that felt like something from another time. And yet, because I remember it, Kobe’s 81-point game feels contemporary despite it being as old today as the Celtics’ 1986 title was in 2006! Again, it doesn’t feel like it’s been 20 years; or perhaps more accurately, 20 years doesn’t feel the same. It doesn’t feel like eight years since I last reflected on Kobe’s big game, or indeed, six since his tragic passing. As that game is turning 20 though, let’s take a look back…way back…

Read More »

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #615 of the NLSC Podcast!

On a recent episode of the No Fouls Given Podcast, Paul Pierce and Danny Green opined that Michael Jordan had a “limited bag”; a notion that The Truth’s former teammate Kevin Garnett vehemently disagreed with! We’re with KG when it comes to one of the most commonly used buzzwords in basketball discourse these days, and to that end, this week we join the community in discussing what we think having a bag means and looks like. Is it just dribbling moves and ballhandling flair, or does it comprise a player’s entire offensive arsenal? We also provide examples of the players past and present that we believe boast some of the deepest bags in basketball history.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 48:27 — 33.6MB)

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 how challenging it can be to accurately rate a fading star in basketball video games.

Since they became a visible part of basketball video games, player ratings have been a contentious issue. We’ve rarely been completely happy with the ratings in the official rosters, sometimes for very good reasons; particularly when it comes to the historical players! Developers have also shared stories about players arguing about their ratings when they come in for motion capture or face scans. On a lighter note, when Hassan Whiteside returned to the NBA for the 2015 season and began turning in some good performances for the Heat, he joked about doing it to get his NBA 2K ratings up.

As someone who used to maintain current roster updates for NBA Live on PC, there were certainly ratings in the default rosters that I disagreed with. At the same time, I also sympathised with the producers who were responsible for those official rosters, because it’s impossible to please everyone. We all have different views on how certain players should be rated – with bias often being a factor – as well as how player ratings should be handled across the board. All roster makers end up settling on a system of some kind, me included. Even so, some players have proved particularly challenging to rate over the years, and a fading star will generally be among the most difficult.

Read More »

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 nostalgia is something special that we’re lucky to have, rather than being sad and pitiable.

Nostalgia has been getting a bad rap for quite a while now. Oh sure, there’s plenty of nostalgic communities and content online, as many of us love to reminisce. However, there has undoubtedly been a noticeable backlash to nostalgia as online demographics have shifted over the past decade or so. Beyond tired arguments about what was better – then or now – the discourse has been polluted by smug armchair psychoanalysis. If you’re nostalgic, or prefer to stick with something older, you must be hung up on the past, miserably chasing a moment in time that you’ll never get back.

Now, I can’t say that that doesn’t hold true for some people, though I’ll say it with far more sympathy and understanding than those who want to dump on the past to prop up the present! For many of us though, continuing to enjoy the classics – or at least looking back on them fondly – is neither depressing, nor preventing us from having new experiences. And so, the idea that nostalgia is a sad, delusional cry for help is infuriatingly condescending. Frankly, if we’ve made fond memories with our interests and passions that we can enthusiastically recall, then we’re extremely fortunate. If those things can still bring us joy, we’re even luckier. There’s nothing sad about that.

Read More »

With my current preference for retro basketball gaming, one of my modding goals for 2026 is to release some new and fixed updates for old favourites. Late last year, I mentioned that I was dabbling with enhancing an old Michael Jordan face for NBA Live 99 PC, in part so that I’d have a suitable update to spruce up my 2002 season rosters.

I’m happy to say that I’ve finished work on that MJ update, and it’s now available to download! The new pack includes the original Michael Jordan face and his red and black leg sleeve that was created by Kit Dizon way back in 1999. I’ve added an updated blue and black version of the sleeve that’s suitable for MJ’s Wizards stint, and replaced Kit’s custom portrait with the one from NBA Live 2001 which has proper transparency. I’ve also included the custom play-by-play and arena speech update created by two of our founders, Tim and Brien. The Bulls and Wizards versions of MJ are using different filenames, so they can be installed simultaneously and used by different rosters as necessary.

Unfortunately, the portrait files in NBA Live 99 are a bit finnicky. To that end, thus far I haven’t had any luck importing a headshot of Michael Jordan from his Wizards tenure with a transparent background. As such, both versions of MJ are currently using the NBA Live 2001 portrait in which he’s sporting a Bulls jersey. If I can solve that issue or I discover any other ways to enhance the mod, I’ll release a further update as necessary.

For now though, you can download the enhanced Michael Jordan update for NBA Live 99 here. Instructions on how to use the files with a custom roster are included. Shout out and full credit to Kit, Tim, and Brien for the work they did way back in the 90s! Stay tuned for some more retro releases, including an end-of-season update for my aforementioned 2002 roster with player faces and other improvements. If you need help getting NBA Live 99 to run on modern Windows, check out this guide over on Matt’s Classic PC Gaming!