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 potential comebacks that would’ve been fun to play with in video games.
Needless to say, a star player coming out of retirement is a big deal, no matter what the sport. There have been some significant comebacks in NBA history, with Michael Jordan’s returns easily being the most famous (not to mention the most successful, thanks to the second threepeat). Of course, while nostalgia leads us to reflect on some of our favourite and most memorable events, curiosity also draws us to the “What Ifs”. There’s an undeniable appeal to pondering the trades and signings that could’ve been…and also, the comebacks that we might’ve seen!
A couple of years ago I reflected on five comebacks that, had they actually happened, would’ve resulted in some fun and interesting lineups to play with in video games. When Dee and I ended up discussing Darryl Dawkins’ attempted comebacks during the 90s on the NLSC Podcast, it inspired me to revisit this topic. To that end, Dr. Dunk is the first example on this list, but there are four other noteworthy players whose returns would’ve been exciting to see in real life and on the virtual hardwood alike. Their names will certainly be quite familiar, but many fans may well have forgotten that these players attempted (or at least considered) a comeback or two.
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.
NBA 2K25 is out now, and the community hasn’t wasted any time in using it to create highlights for the NLSC Top 10 Plays! To that point, the new game makes a few appearances and has even produced the #1 play in its launch week. Retro gamers shouldn’t worry though, as the classics are still well-represented in the countdown, and will continue to be moving forward. You know what to expect by now: huge dunks, acrobatic layups, clutch plays, slick moves…everything that’ll get you fired up to hit the virtual hardwood this weekend. 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.
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.
Being a huge Michael Jordan fan, I always enjoy seeing his virtual counterpart in the NLSC Top 10 Plays. To that end, this week’s countdown features two appearances from His Airness, including a signature layup in NBA 2K16, and a dunk on the break that also showcases NBA Live 2000 PC with maxed-out textures. There are also streetball moves in NBA 2K7, tremendous arcade action in NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, and another assortment of awesome poster dunks from a variety of games. It’s time to get hyped for a weekend of basketball gaming, so 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.
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.
As is so often the case in the NLSC Top 10 Plays, a plethora of poster dunks reign supreme this week. I doubt there’ll be any complaints though, as the next best thing to throwing down a monster dunk on the virtual hardwood is seeing someone else pull off an amazing aerial display! On top of that, we’ve also got some signature moves from Hakeem Olajuwon and Manu Ginobili, and a huge clutch play in a fiercely competitive game of johnz1’s Legends On Fire Edition mod for NBA Jam: OFE. 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.
This week’s Courtside Report provides an insight into MyTEAM in NBA 2K25. There are definitely some significant changes in the mode this year, including the return of a feature that was greatly missed in NBA 2K24.
That feature is of course the Auction House, which was replaced by the Player Market last year. It’s back in NBA 2K25 however, with some enhancements to make it more user-friendly. There will also be some verification checks in place, to make sure that it isn’t being abused. 2K are warning that there will be a zero-tolerance policy in effect here.
Other key additions and improvements to NBA 2K25 MyTEAM include Breakout City and Triple Threat Park. The former is a new board-based single player mode, while the latter remasters Rivet City from NBA 2K16 to bring a park atmosphere to MyTEAM’s online modes. There will also be weekly events, and new ways to earn rewards with the MyTEAM Rep system.
Again, there’s a ton of detail in the NBA 2K25 MyTEAM Courtside Report – especially compared to the more modest preview of The W – so as always, I’d recommend giving it a read. However, I’ve also summarised the key information below, if you’d like a quick overview. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, and join in the discussion here our NBA 2K25 Forum!
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 a few thoughts on the lure of online team play.
I haven’t bothered putting any serious effort into levelling up a MyPLAYER since NBA 2K21 on PlayStation 5. As I’ve explained in detail before, I was fed up with the grind, and weary of the toxicity in The Rec and NBA 2K’s online scene in general. After revisiting some old favourites and giving other older releases a second chance, I realised just how much fun I was missing out on, and quit the grind. Changing my basketball gaming habits has been so refreshing, and it’s obviously given me new topics to discuss as well. I left online team play behind, and I haven’t looked back.
Well…sort of. Kenny, Leo, and I gave 3-v-3 Pro-Am and The Rec another try in NBA 2K23 on PlayStation 5, and for the first month, we actually had some fun sessions! Of course, by Season 2, the community had figured out the meta and the hardcore online gamers had levelled up their MyPLAYERs, at which point the lack of matchmaking kept throwing us in there with super serious, souped-up opponents. It wasn’t a tough decision to leave it all behind again, and honestly, NBA 2K23 dropped out of my rotation entirely not long afterwards. However, that brief return and fond memories of NBA 2K16 and NBA 2K17 demonstrate that there’s still a lure to online team play.
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.
You can always count on the NLSC Top 10 Plays for a good time and to get hyped for a weekend of basketball gaming, but every so often, you’ll also get a few surprises as well! For example, you normally wouldn’t expect to see a highlight from NBA Live 07 for Xbox 360 in the countdown – and rightfully so – but this week offers up an exception. On top of that, we’ve got NBA Street Showdown making its first appearance in the Top 10, an assortment of posters that you’ll want to watch again and again, and another gamewinner. 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.
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.
NBA 2K25 is obviously on a lot of basketball gamers’ minds right now, but there are plenty of great titles to play in the meantime. However, in a nod to one of the upcoming cover players, this week’s NLSC Top 10 Plays features A’ja Wilson demonstrating her brilliance in clutch. In addition to that, flashy and vicious dunks are on display as always, but Shaquille O’Neal will also dazzle you with a rather unexpected play. Seven different games are in the countdown this week, from NBA 2K12 through to NBA 2K24, so 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.
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.
When it comes to the eternal “dunks or three-pointers?” question, I still choose dunks…well, most of the time. There is one way that a trey can potentially outrank a slam in a countdown of spectacular highlights, and that’s when it wins a game as part of a miraculous finish. This week’s NLSC Top 10 Plays features a couple of highlights demonstrating that exception in the Dunks vs. Three-Pointers debate, courtesy of Dee and the NBA Live 2001 Legends! You’ll also see a devastating denial at the rim, sweet streetball moves on the blacktop, and a variety of poster dunks, from seven different games. 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.
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.
During Episode #534 of the NLSC Podcast, we teased an authentic Michael Jordan highlight from a session with the 1997 roster mod for NBA 2K10. You’ll find that spectacular dish in this week’s NLSC Top 10 Plays, but it’s not MJ’s only appearance in the countdown! Marcus Camby also threw down a dunk inspired by His Airness (with a little Dr J. in there as well), courtesy of the NBA Live 2001 Legends. Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant pulled off an impressive circus shot in NBA 2K7 for the and-one. A handful of other historical players also display some dazzling moments across eight different titles this week. 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.
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.
It’s always interesting to see which motifs emerge each week in the NLSC Top 10 Plays, and this week, it seems to be NBA 2K14! The game is well-represented in the countdown, including a play that spotlights a 2024 season update for one of the most modded games in the history of our community. Speaking of mods, the Classic Seasons project for NBA 2K19 also produced a highlight featuring the Indiana Pacers of the 90s. NBA 2K24, NBA 2K23, NBA 2K16, and NBA 2K15 were also in the rotation for gamers this week, leading to another assortment of spectacular virtual hardwood moments. 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.
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 designs in 2K Pro-Am that seemingly predicted the future.
Allowing gamers to customise the branding for their 2K Pro-Am squad has had mixed results. It’s a fantastic idea that enhances the mode, inviting creative designs. For less mature members of the community however, it’s encouraged edgy shock humour and creative workarounds of the profanity filter. When NLSC THRILLHO was active in the 2K Pro-Am scene, it was always a roll of the dice as far as the designs we’d see whenever we loaded into a road game. No, we weren’t tearfully offended, but we did roll our eyes at immature humour that rendered our screenshots and clips unusable.
Mind you, sometimes the edgelord jokes and images that bypassed the content filter were the least of our worries. Again, we’d just roll our eyes, scoff, and then get down to business. That wasn’t as easy with the messy designs that were such an eyesore that it was disorienting trying to keep up with the action, as players blended into the court and similar jersey colours made it difficult to tell teammates from opponents. To that point though, some of those designs that we encountered in 2K Pro-Am in NBA 2K16 and 2K17 predicted the future of NBA branding! Let’s take a look back…way back…
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.
Something that’s become very obvious over the years with the NLSC Top 10 Plays is that the community isn’t just about pulling off cool moves on the virtual hardwood, but also celebrating a love of basketball and the history of the NBA. Unfortunately we’ve lost some Legends over the past couple of weeks, namely Bill Walton, Chet Walker, and Jerry West. They can live on in video games of course, and indeed this week’s countdown features a couple of highlights paying tribute to Walton and West, in addition to other stars past and present putting on a show. Rest in peace, and 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.
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 buying VC for the first time in years, and how it bummed me out to do it.
The first time I spent real money on VC was in the PlayStation 4 version of NBA 2K14. Intrigued by my first look at MyTEAM, I figured I’d drop a few bucks on it and try my luck. I had one very lucky pull – a 1993 Michael Jordan card – but it was quite clear that generally speaking, it’d be a poor investment. I also splurged on some VC in NBA 2K16, 2K17, and 2K18 in order to upgrade my MyPLAYER to be ready for the online scene sooner. Beginning with NBA 2K19 however, I began adhering to a strict No Money Spent policy. I found great satisfaction in not giving in to the pressure.
I continued that approach in future games, while encouraging my fellow gamers to do the same. That hasn’t changed: I despise the pushiness of microtransactions in NBA 2K, and how the quality of the on-court experience suffers if you want to take the long road. However, I must admit that as far as buying VC myself, after abstaining for several years, I gave in. While it isn’t one of the most embarrassing things I’ve ever done in my life – I’ll keep those stories to myself, thank you very much! – I certainly wasn’t pleased that I did it. There was a reason for it, but even so, I do regret my lack of patience, and participation in a practice that continues to ruin the NBA 2K series.
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.
When promoting a feature such as the NLSC Top 10 Plays, I don’t want to fall victim to the overuse of superlatives. I mean, if you call every countdown the best one ever, it quickly loses its meaning. With that being said, this week’s selection truly is a treat! Posters that show off contact dunk animations with oomph, a perfectly-timed putback, a gamewinner, some of the biggest names in the history of basketball doing their thing…tell me that isn’t exciting! With five different games on display from NBA 2K14 to NBA 2K24, as always, you’ll want to pick up a controller after watching these highlights. 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.
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