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 evolution of roster mods in our community.
As technological improvements have led to the development of bigger and better basketball video games, our expectations have changed. What were once cutting-edge graphics are no longer impressive. What was once a deep and engaging mode now seems shallow compared to what’s available in a newer game…usually! This isn’t to say that old games are bad and not worth playing. I wouldn’t be diving into basketball gaming history, or advocating for retro gaming, if I didn’t see value in older titles! Still, we always want to see the genre make advancements, so the bar does get raised.
The same goes for modding over the years. While we made some fantastic roster mods for the early NBA Live games on PC, there were limitations to what we could change and include. As it became easier to modify textures and models in addition to player and team data, there was an expectation that roster mods would become more comprehensive. This led to a golden age of NBA Live modding that has since been continued with the NBA 2K series, but in some ways, it’s also been detrimental to the hobby. Let’s take a look back…way back…
From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #519 of the NLSC Podcast!
We’re tipping things off this week with a strange (but not altogether surprising) incident on Twitter/X. Indeed, the quality of discourse on social media is on our minds this week, as we feel compelled to respond to the latest ridiculous narrative being pushed about Michael Jordan and NBA history. We also check in with Troydan’s quest to pull a 100 Overall card in NBA 2K24 MyTEAM, and discuss the new mobile game, NBA Infinite. In this week’s mailbag/featured discussion, we join the community in reminiscing about the basketball video game modes that have kept us hooked over the years, and the titles that we played them in.
Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:25:28 — 59.0MB)
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 #517 of the NLSC Podcast!
The community has really been cooking with their submissions for the NLSC Top 10 Plays as of late. Indeed, we’re still excited about last week’s countdown! To that end, we recap what was a diverse array of spectacular virtual hardwood moments from a variety of titles, and also provide advice for both recording and submitting your highlights for future Top 10s. We also note some recent improvements to PlayStation 2 emulation (particularly in regards to NBA Street), discuss the ongoing saga with MyTEAM greed hitting an all-time high, and join the community in reminiscing about the introduction of Freestyle Control in this week’s mailbag.
Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:06:08 — 45.8MB)
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 Part 21 in an ongoing series looking at players who only appeared on certain teams in video games.
Remember when I said this series was done with Part 20? I lied! Well, to be fair, I did say that it was done “for now”. Part 20 was the last instalment that I had planned coming into 2024, as it’s been my intention to move on to other topics here in The Friday Five. However, I did leave the door open for a Part 21 at least, as thanks to David L’s help and my own research/serendipitous discoveries, there are some more examples to discuss. Even though I would like to explore some other topics, there’s no sense in delaying this postscript instalment.
Unlike Part 20, I don’t have a consistent theme for this group of players who only appeared on certain teams in games. As it stands, I was lucky that I still had five players whose phantom stints could all be found in NBA Live 2000 in order to give Part 20 an added motif. At this point, I’ve also covered the biggest names and most prominent examples of players who only appeared on certain teams in games. Of course, the more obscure names are still worth talking about, especially as they can jog the memories of long-time fans who haven’t thought about those players in years. With that being said, let’s take a look at five more phantom stints…for now…honest!
If you haven’t been keeping track of PatTheHead’s topic in the NBA 2K13 modding section, you’re missing out on some fantastic roster projects! His latest release adds rosters from the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, complete with courts, jerseys, and faces. Even Pope Johannes XXIII replaces Barack Obama and the post-championship visit to the White House!
While that’s the latest release, the project also contains ABL, BAA, NBL, ABA, and decades of retro NBA season rosters. NBA 2K13 is a game that still holds up today, and while NBA 2K14 has seen more mods over the years, there are still many great updates available for its predecessor. PatTheHead’s roster pack is definitely an example of that, and I highly recommend checking it out.
The project is available to download here. More details on the 1960 Olympic Roster can be found in this post. For more previews and information on Pat’s other rosters, be sure to check out his release and support topic here. Hats off to Pat and everyone who is keeping old favourites alive, especially with so many people expressing frustration with NBA 2K24! With that being said, we welcome mods for all basketball games in our Downloads section, whether you host them here or add them as an external link. A reminder that if you have a big project like Pat’s that you’d like us to spotlight here on the front page, just send me a message and I’ll arrange a bulletin ASAP!
From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #510 of the NLSC Podcast!
Are the NBA 2K League competitors actually the best NBA 2K gamers in the world? Both we and the community have some thoughts on that, as well as a ridiculous comparison to real NBA players. Meanwhile, a session with Street Hoops by Black Ops Entertainment has revealed it to be a hidden gem, as we had an absolute blast with it! We also discuss the importance of the unwritten rules of sportsmanship in basketball, and thanks to the NBA Live 2001 Legends, reflect on the real and virtual accomplishments of Keith Van Horn. Finally, since we shared our basketball gaming resolutions last week, this week we open up the mailbag to find out what the community has planned for 2024.
Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:16:01 — 52.6MB)
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 #509 of the NLSC Podcast!
Happy New Year basketball gamers, and welcome to the first episode of the NLSC Podcast for 2024! We’re in the mood to make some basketball gaming resolutions for the new year, as well as reflect on some of our favourite content from 2023. We also join the community in discussing the basketball games that we spent the most time with last year, as well as the modes we were playing and other activities we enjoyed, including modding. Additionally, we share our thoughts on the new NBA Playgrounds game that’s been released on Roblox, and how it feels like a fall from grace for a once-promising series of arcade basketball video games.
Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:33:18 — 64.4MB)
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 my thoughts on a lack of true role-playing opportunities with your MyPLAYER in MyCAREER.
It’s been interesting to see the birth and subsequent evolution of career modes in basketball video games. Putting aside the story-driven campaign in Sony’s NBA series, or the single season experience in the PlayStation 2 version of NBA Live 09, the first true career mode came with NBA 2K10’s My Player. That name eventually morphed into MyPLAYER and was given to our avatars, while the mode itself was re-branded as MyCAREER. NBA 2K14 brought a more cinematic approach to the mode, and since then, MyCAREER has essentially become a basketball MMORPG.
While the core concept of MyCAREER remains the same – you’re an NBA rookie with an opportunity to play through a career in the league – these changes have obviously impacted the on-court and off-court experience. Ironically, as the mode has become more and more RPG-based, there’s actually been less opportunity to role-play with your MyPLAYER! Where we were once left to use our imaginations and project a personality onto our avatars, we’re saddled with a character that’s following a script. Whether it’s by limiting our choices, or putting the story on rails via cutscenes, there are undoubtedly times when our MyPLAYER doesn’t feel like it’s our player.
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 some famous jersey numbers that were worn by players who weren’t so famous, and the video games where you’ll find them.
There was a commemorative magazine published not long after the Chicago Bulls won their fifth NBA championship. As an avid fan, I read it cover to cover until it was no longer pristine. On top of recapping the championship season, the magazine delved into the history of the Bulls. I was fascinated to learn that although Michael Jordan became the last and most famous Bull to wear number 23, he was the seventh player in club history to don it. You have to remember that in 1997, such information wasn’t readily available and accessible in less than a minute!
That tidbit of Bulls and MJ trivia has stuck with me. The longer I’ve been a basketball fan, and the more players that I’ve seen come and go, the more I’ve seen other stars end up sharing their number with far less distinguished NBA alumni. Like so much other historical trivia, these examples frequently present themselves whenever I’m revisiting an old video game, and see players in the rosters that I haven’t thought about in years. While they may not have reached the same level of fame and success as the stars who donned those jerseys, there’s still that connection to their famous peers and their iconic numbers. Let’s take a look back…way back…
From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #504 of the NLSC Podcast!
If you can believe it, last Wednesday marked a decade since NBA 2K14’s release on PlayStation 4! As such, this week we’re celebrating the tenth anniversary of a truly iconic game, and a personal favourite. That includes looking back to our first impressions of both versions of NBA 2K14, reminiscing about the countless hours we’ve spent with them right through to today, and reflecting on the PC modding scene. We also read out some memories of NBA 2K14 that the community shared with us. Additionally, we have some fantastic basketball gaming sessions from the past week to catch up on, including a game of NBA Live 16 that makes us wistful about yet another missed opportunity for EA Sports.
Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:27:40 — 60.6MB)
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 Dee4Three! 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, or hit up Dee on Twitter.
The top spot in this week’s NLSC Top 10 Plays was taken by a most unlikely highlight – unless you’re familiar with MyTEAM shenanigans, of course – but that’s often what makes basketball gaming so fun! Variety is another thing that makes the virtual hardwood incredibly enjoyable, and once again we have plenty of that, with eight different games on display. Wild shots, unlikely putbacks, poster dunks, and historical players doing their thing…this stuff never gets old, especially when the community keeps coming through with such fantastic plays. 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.
Dee and I continue to upload highlights from our individual and co-op basketball gaming sessions to the NLSC YouTube channel! Some of the recent uploads include new entries in the NBA 2K14 Retro Series, an All-Star Game in NBA Live 10, a classic teams showdown in NCAA Basketball 09, an epic game of NBA Jam: On Fire Edition using johnz1’s mod, a fantasy game in NBA 2K17, and a 2005 matchup in NBA 2K13.
I’ve picked up my NBA 2K14 Retro Series again after a long hiatus, featuring original classic teams and makeshift ones created using the limited in-game roster editing in the PlayStation 4 version of the game. For the uninitiated, the series is a celebration of NBA history with retro matchups and re-creations of memorable games, with post-production effects and era-appropriate commercials intended to invoke a feeling of discovering an old VHS or DVD, and watching it on a then-contemporary TV. Recent uploads include games between the 1995 Bulls and Magic, 2003 Wizards and Jazz, and 2008 Nuggets and Magic.
The NCAA Basketball 09 game features the 1982 North Carolina Tar Heels and 1983 Houston Cougars, with real names added to the roster. The NBA 2K13 game is being played using the URB 2005 season roster, featuring Steve Francis’ Magic going up against Stephon Marbury’s Knicks. Dee’s Ultimate Classic Teams Roster is on display in the NBA 2K17 game, as the 2002 Kings take on the 2006 Lakers. The NBA Live 10 All-Star Game features multiple candidates for the NLSC Top 10 Plays of the Week, while the NBA Jam: On Fire Edition game showcases 2023 rosters with an incredible finish.
Check out all of these videos below! Be sure to subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel for more basketball gaming content, and as always, feel free to hit us up with any suggestions of games that you’d like to see us play.
From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #503 of the NLSC Podcast!
We’re all about good vibes and enhancing everyone’s basketball gaming, from recommendations about an Android emulator that allows you to play mobile games on your PC, to advocating for freely available mods! Fortunately, we do still have people releasing some great projects free of charge, including wiscard_rush who has just completed a great 2009 season roster for NBA Live 10 PS3. This leads us to join the community in speculating on why we’re not seeing anywhere near as many mods for NBA 2K24 as we have for previous games. We also ask the community which console they’d choose if they could only have one for life, and what they consider to be the turning points for NBA Live and NBA 2K.
Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:17:51 — 53.8MB)
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 habits that I can’t break when I play MyCAREER.
Without a doubt, I’m a creature of habit. If I’m comfortable and there’s no need to switch things up, I’m not going to change for change’s sake. I have my go-to orders at my favourite fast food restaurants, as well as my preferred dishes if I’m eating at a more upscale establishment. I enjoy having a routine, and while I am open to new interests and experiences, I also know what I like, and what I can reliably stick with. This carries over into my gaming, basketball or otherwise. I’ve established preferences and habits that work for me in the games that I regularly play.
Needless to say, once I developed a taste for MyCAREER, I soon developed habits that are now extremely difficult to break. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as those habits have allowed me to enjoy MyCAREER in a number of games; as well they should, seeing as how they’re formed by my preferences and the experiences I want out of the virtual hardwood! However, some of those habits come from how I play other genres of video games. Being a creature of habit can also have its drawbacks, eschewing change and variety in favour of the familiar. With that being said, here are five MyCAREER habits that I can’t – or at least, very seldom – manage to break.
From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #500 of the NLSC Podcast!
We’re celebrating a huge milestone this week, as it’s the 500th episode of the NLSC Podcast! To mark the occasion, we’re dipping into the archives to find some classic clips from over eleven years of shows, from the original test pilot in 2010 to interviews with a couple of fantastic guests. We’ve had a ton of fun over the years, and we promise that we’re not done yet! We also recap a couple of sessions with NBA 2K10 PC that we played with the recently-released fixed official roster, and reflect once again on how the game is often overlooked due to the brilliance of NBA 2K11 the very next year.
Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:37:31 — 67.3MB)
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!