Tag Archives: NBA 2K13

Welcome to another edition of The Friday Five! Every Friday I cover a topic related to basketball gaming, either as a list of five items, or a Top 5 countdown. The topics for these lists and countdowns include everything from fun facts and recollections to commentary and critique. This week’s Five is a list of five things that I disliked about NBA 2K18 MyCAREER.

Following last week’s Early Access launch of NBA 2K27, its MyCAREER has been divisive. In addition to the usual issues with low starting ratings and a long grind that are intended to “encourage” gamers to buy VC for faster upgrades, there’s the hassle of having to start over if you want to take your player into the new Eras portion of the mode. Moreover, this year’s story – “Fire & Concrete” – isn’t to everyone’s liking. In particular, gamers are frustrated with the prominence of Trace Miller – the fictional teammate used for co-op play – and the inability to escape his presence.

I haven’t played MyCAREER in NBA 2K27 as yet, but those criticisms do remind me of aspects of NBA 2K18’s mode that I disliked. Obviously not every game is going to delight everyone in general, and with a mode like MyCAREER, the desire to change things up – admittedly not always where it counts – means that the developers will take some chances that may miss the mark. Nevertheless, it’s absolutely valid to feel disappointed when a mode you’ve had a blast with goes in a bad direction, or just isn’t as much fun as it was the previous year. Here are five reasons why I disliked NBA 2K18 MyCAREER, and why I can relate to gamers’ disappointment in NBA 2K27.

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The latest mod releases for NBA 2K13 include a new version (V1.2) of Sayantifico’s Mega Draft Class Project. Check it out at the link below!

Sayantifico
Sayantifico Mega Draft Class Project (Updated to V1.2)

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 #643 of the NLSC Podcast!

After an unexpected week off, we’re back to discuss skill gaps in basketball video games, specifically what that truly means. In response to Mike Wang’s post on X polling the community for feedback regarding shooting percentages when Badges are involved, we note the detrimental effects of such artificial boosts, and how they and other mechanics often run contrary to the idea of encouraging more skilful play. We also once again discuss how concepts designed around the online scene end up negatively impacting the sim gameplay for offline gamers. On a happier note, we also recap a couple of fun co-op sessions with NBA 2K14 and NBA Live 18, played using Parsec and the Xbox App.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:16:04 — 52.6MB)

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 reflections on how we ignored the red flags of the original MyGM in NBA 2K14.

These are controversial times for gaming. The Steam Machine underwhelmed with its specs, and has had gamers understandably balking at its price. Sony has announced that the end of physical releases of PlayStation games is coming in January 2028, which has led to more backlash than they were anticipating. And, most recently, EA Sports were forced to walk back their attempts to gouge College Football 27 gamers at every turn. Needless to say, their attempts to implement microtransactions in single player modes had not been warmly received!

Of course, this is what companies like Electronic Arts and Take-Two have been striving for over the past couple of generations: ramping up microtransactions, and the pressure to spend. There has been plenty of criticism of modes like MyTEAM and Ultimate Team, and the grind-or-pay aspect of MyCAREER, and rightfully so. When I read about the attempts to monetise Dynasty in College Football 27 though, I was reminded of the original MyGM in NBA 2K14. Although the replacement for The Association was innovative and included some nifty attention to detail, it also brought Virtual Currency to the mode. In hindsight, we overlooked some glaring red flags.

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A couple of weeks ago, PatTheHead added a 1948 Olympic mod to his massive roster pack for NBA 2K13. That has now been joined by a 1948 Olympic roster, which means that NBA 2K13 gamers can replay the basketball tournaments from every single Olympic Games from 1936 through to today!

Of course, that’s not all you’ll find in the pack. In addition to the Olympic roster mods for NBA 2K13, PatTheHead’s project includes decades of retro NBA rosters. You’ll also find roster mods for the ABA, BAA, NBL, ABL, and PBLA. Additionally, if you’d like to bring NBA 2K13 up to date, there’s also a 2026 season mod. I know that I say this in every bulletin about the project, but it truly is a love letter to basketball, one that continues to do a fantastic job of breathing new life into NBA 2K13.

You can find all of the download links for the project here in the Forum. Additional previews and further information on the mod and future updates can also be found in that topic. As always, shout out to PatTheHead and all of the contributors that have made the project possible! In a time where more and more modders are paywalling their releases or otherwise forcing gamers to jump through hoops to get them, we really appreciate that such an awesome roster project is being made freely and readily available to one and all.

Welcome to another edition of The Friday Five! Every Friday I cover a topic related to basketball gaming, either as a list of five items, or a Top 5 countdown. The topics for these lists and countdowns include everything from fun facts and recollections to commentary and critique. This week’s Five is a list of five things that I loved about my NBA Live 2004 Dynasty.

Back in May, I reflected on five things that I loved about my MyCAREER game with the Denver Nuggets in NBA 2K13. That was a fun trip down memory lane, so today I’m doing the same for my NBA Live 2004 Dynasty with the Chicago Bulls! Like my NBA 2K13 MyCAREER, my NBA Live 2004 Dynasty remains one of my all-time favourite basketball gaming memories and experiences. I’ve reminisced about both of them for Wayback Wednesday, but I wanted to revisit some of the key reasons that they were so memorable, and indeed more successful than a few of my other games.

After all, in theory it might seem like a good idea to take cues from games that turned out so well. It’s certainly worth keeping them in mind and having an approach that you know will generally work for you, but some of the things that make a franchise or career mode game so special just can’t be replicated. From the excitement of having a brand new experience to specific scenarios and circumstances, a certain amount of uniqueness goes a long way in those games becoming treasured memories. My NBA Live 2004 Dynasty was a combination of many things that make franchise modes an exciting journey, and these five were major factors in keeping me hooked for hours.

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For those who are unfamiliar with it, PatTheHead’s fantastic current and retro roster project for NBA 2K13 also features several Olympic mods. A new one has just been added, as the pack now contains a roster for the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland. As usual, the release is accompanied by a write-up about the 1952 Olympic basketball tournament and the leadup to it, which you can read here.

In addition to the Olympic mods, PatTheHead’s NBA 2K13 roster pack also includes a final 2026 season update, decades of retro NBA roster mods going right back to the 1950s, and rosters for the ABA, BAA, NBL, PBLA, and ABL. Once again, it’s truly a love letter to the history of basketball, as you can see from the attention to detail in all of the mods and in Pat’s write-ups.

Check out the release topic here in the Forum for the download links, as well as further previews and more information on the mod and future updates! Shout out as always to PatTheHead and all of the contributors to the project for doing such a wonderful job, and making it freely available to everyone. We really appreciate all the efforts to keep a classic game fresh and updated.

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 PlayStation 2 version of NBA 2K6.

Some 20 years ago, I picked up the PlayStation 2 version of NBA 2K6. Although I was a long-time NBA Live fan who was extremely satisfied with the PC version of NBA Live 06, I’d heard many good things about the NBA 2K series. Of course, for some reason, back then the PAL versions of NBA 2K were being released months after their North American launch. As such, on top of NBA Live being my brand of choice and preferring to play on PC besides, a midseason release didn’t offer much incentive to give NBA 2K a chance to win me over.

Nevertheless, while browsing at a game store sometime after the PAL release of NBA 2K6 in March 2006, the PlayStation 2 version caught my eye. I decided to try it, just to see what all the fuss was about. To be completely honest, I didn’t enjoy the game. It felt and looked too different from what I was used to, and the controls didn’t impress me. To that end, I very quickly returned it. Since then however, the Xbox 360 version of NBA 2K6 has become one of my favourite games, so I was interested to see if the PlayStation 2 release would finally win me over. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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It’s always great to see new mod releases for a classic like NBA 2K13 after all this time! To that end, Sayantifico has recently uploaded a massive Draft Class project, featuring 165 unique fictional players. Check it out at the link below!

Sayantifico
Sayantifico Mega Draft Class Project

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.

As you may know, in addition to containing several retro season mods, PatTheHead’s massive pack of rosters for NBA 2K13 contains an update for the 2026 season. That roster has received significant updates since the last release.

The ratings for all players have been updated to reflect their 2026 season performance. Plenty of new cyberfaces have been added, along with updated Draft Class and Playoff files. It’s definitely worth checking out if you want to update NBA 2K13 with 2026 rosters! Additionally, updated Eurobasket jerseys have been added to the 2025 FIBA Eurobasket mod.

For those who are unaware, PatTheHead’s project contains decades worth of historical NBA rosters. Not only that, but there are comprehensive roster mods for the ABA, BAA, NBL, ABL, PBLA, and NBPL. You’ll also find rosters for Olympic and other international tournaments, going right back to the early days of basketball. As I’ve said before, the project is undoubtedly a love letter to hoops!

Download the latest version of the roster here in our Downloads database. For more information on the project and previews of what’s to come, be sure to check out the release and support topic here in the Forum. Once again, a huge thanks to PatTheHead for his hard work on the 2026 update and other rosters for NBA 2K13, and everyone else who contributes to the project! It’s wonderful to see an old favourite being kept alive with a mod that’s freely available to everyone in the community.

Welcome to another edition of The Friday Five! Every Friday I cover a topic related to basketball gaming, either as a list of five items, or a Top 5 countdown. The topics for these lists and countdowns include everything from fun facts and recollections to commentary and critique. This week’s Five is a list of five things that I loved about my NBA 2K13 MyCAREER with the Denver Nuggets.

NBA 2K13 is one of the games that I’d love to bring back into my rotation this year. Not only was it a fantastic release that was enjoyed by gamers who were already fans of NBA 2K, but it was the title that got me – a long-time NBA Live fanboy – into the series. The right stick controls provided familiarity, and enhanced the gameplay in an area that I’d argue was still a weakness for NBA 2K, even as it became the premiere NBA sim. It was well-balanced, a blast on the sticks, and offered deep modes that we could enthusiastically spend hundreds and indeed thousands of hours in.

Despite traditionally being a franchise gamer, MyCAREER was my mode of choice in NBA 2K13, rather than The Association. It turned out to be one of my all-time favourite basketball gaming experiences, so I’d say it was a good decision! Although I intend to spend some more time with the rest of what NBA 2K13 has to offer as I look to make it a part of my retro basketball gaming rotation, I definitely won’t rule out revisiting that MyCAREER save every now and again. With that in mind, I’d like to reflect on five things that I loved about my NBA 2K13 MyCAREER, all of which were undoubtedly key factors in me taking such a long detour from franchise gaming.

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #630 of the NLSC Podcast!

Entering 2026, we had some plans and goals for the virtual hardwood. Since we’re rapidly approaching the middle of the year – no, don’t ask us where the time went – we decided to check in on how those plans are going! To that end, this week we’re joining the community in discussing our basketball gaming habits so far in 2026, from the selection of titles that we’re playing to the modes that have kept us hooked. We also recap a fun Parsec session with the Snes9x Super Nintendo emulator featuring a five-player co-op game of NBA Live 95 that was an absolute blast, and an intense four-player head-to-head showdown in NBA Hangtime that was ultimately decided in overtime.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 52:14 — 36.2MB)

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!

Get ready for more fantastic highlights from the basketball gaming community in the NLSC Top 10 Plays of the Week, curated by Dee! New and old games alike are featured in this celebration of spectacular moments on the virtual hardwood. To submit your clips, post them in this topic, send Dee a message, or hit him up on X.

As is often the case, this week’s NLSC Top 10 Plays is a fantastic mix of the old and the new. Not only are nine different games on display from NBA Live 10 through to the upcoming NBA The Run, but we’ve got updated rosters in older games, and all-time greats doing their thing in modern releases. It’s the Legends that ultimately have bragging rights this time around though, as Wizards Michael Jordan and Larry Bird demonstrate why they’re two of the best to ever step onto the hardwood, real or virtual. Let’s get to the action!

What was your favourite highlight this week? Sound off in the comments below, and once again, get in on the fun by sending us your best plays! Remember, as long as it’s a basketball game, it’s eligible for the countdown. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to us on YouTube for more basketball gaming videos.

It’s always great to see new modding tools being released in the community, especially when they’re free of charge! To that end, SexCurryBeats has released 2KVenueLab, a comprehensive utility that includes tools for NBA 2K11 right through to NBA 2K26.

As per the description, the key features of 2KVenueLab are as follows:

• IFF viewer/exporter
• POD/mobile file support
• Archive tools
• Package staging/restore
• OBJ export
• Browser previews
• Roster editor tools
• For NBA 2K11-2K26

Pick it up here in our Downloads section! Shout out to SexCurryBeats for providing this modding resource, and several other mods and contributions throughout the years.

Also, thanks as always 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 #628 of the NLSC Podcast!

While it’s certainly exciting to be on the cutting edge of gaming technology, we’re not always in a rush to upgrade our hardware and play the (supposedly) most advanced versions of basketball video games. This week, we’re taking a look at why many basketball gamers often opt to stick with last gen hoops titles – ourselves included – and some of the benefits of delaying a jump to the next generation. We also touch on next gen elitism and gatekeeping – in particular, the “you’re broke” crowd – and the community shares their experiences in sticking with last gen basketball video games. Suffice it to say that it’s been a more common practice over the years than some people may think!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:02:02 — 43.0MB)

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!