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 swansong of the original Roster Player concept in 1999 season releases.
It’s New Year’s Eve, so I’m sure that many of us are ready to party like it’s 1999…or at least, those of us who are old enough to get that reference are, anyway! Ham-fisted pop culture references aside, while I wouldn’t say that 1999 has been on my mind all throughout 2025, it has come up a couple of times in Wayback Wednesday features in the form of NBA Live 99. Granted, the game was actually released in 1998 and only the PC version featured updated rosters via an official patch, but it remains a 1999 season release, albeit one that had to launch with final 1998 rosters due to the lockout.
This meant that NBA Live 99 still included a Roster Player on the Chicago Bulls in place of Michael Jordan, who officially retired in early 1999 as the lockout drew to a close. To that end, while the 1998 season was MJ’s last until his comeback with the Washington Wizards, his Roster Player remained active on the virtual hardwood in 1999 season releases. It marked the final use of a Roster Player, at least as the concept was originally devised. As we prepare to leave 2025 behind, let’s take a look back – way back – at an overlooked milestone in basketball gaming.
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 Kobe Bryant broke the all-time scoring record?
Even before he became a star, many people had correctly predicted that Kobe Bryant would go down as one of the all-time greats. There’s a reason that he was tapped to be the cover player and namesake of the NBA Courtside series, and also appeared on the cover of NBA Action 98 – a forerunner of NBA 2K – while still a bench player in his second season. Robert Horry certainly believed in his young teammate back then. I recall a magazine article published during the 1998 season that quoted Big Shot Bob’s claim that Kobe Bryant would be the one to finally break the all-time scoring record.
While that prediction didn’t come true, it wasn’t too far off the mark! Kobe ended up joining the 30,000 point club, finishing his career third on the all-time scoring leaders after surpassing Michael Jordan. Throw in his countless incredible performances and career accomplishments including five rings, and it’s no wonder that a lot of fans felt that Bleacher Report ranking him as the 11th best player in history was insulting. That raises an interesting question: would Kobe Bryant have a different legacy if he had in fact broken the all-time scoring record? Let’s take a look back…way back…
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 basketball games that you may not be aware that we can mod.
When we were founded as the NBA Live Series Center all the way back in 1996, the focus of our modding community was naturally the NBA Live releases on PC. When NBA Live went console-only and NBA 2K came to PC, we turned our focus to that series. Basically, we’ve primarily focused on the brand leader that’s releasing on PC, but we’ve long been open to supporting mods for other games as well. There haven’t been as many of those releases – at least not around these parts – but modders have branched out into other titles, such as johnz1’s efforts for NBA Jam: On Fire Edition.
To that point though, there have been some other hoops titles over the years that can be modded. A focus on NBA Live and NBA 2K, and the general lack of popularity of these games, are the main reasons we haven’t seen fit to mod them. Nevertheless, they can be tinkered with to some extent, even if it’s simply renaming players. With more and more enthusiasm for retro basketball gaming and modding nowadays, there might be niche interest in furnishing them with a simple mod or two. Even if there isn’t quite enough interest to warrant any major public releases, the knowledge that we can mod these overlooked games could always spice up our retro basketball gaming sessions!
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 basketball video games that I wish we could mod.
It’s important that we don’t dismiss modding ideas too readily, such as the possibility of tinkering with specific games. We wouldn’t have all of the amazing projects that our community has created if we gave up too easily! At the same time, we do need to be realistic. If nothing else, it’s fine to acknowledge that something isn’t possible by any means that we currently know of, and that figuring out how to mod a particular game is proving to be exceptionally difficult. Some ideas are pipe dreams, and it’s far less likely that we’ll be able to mod certain games.
Of course, as unlikely as it may be, we can still dream! Whether it’s a great game that could be made even better with mods, or a mediocre release that might be a bit more fun with some custom content, there are titles that I wish we could mess around with. Indeed, there’s a part of me holding out hope that someone might develop ways to mod the games that I’ll be discussing here today; especially the ones that are all-time favourites. Considering what johnz1 has done with the PlayStation 3 version of NBA Jam: On Fire Edition, we shouldn’t completely rule out mods for a couple of these games. For now though, I wish we could mod these games more in-depth, or at all.
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 midseason rosters in Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside.
Now that roster updates are common and viable on all platforms, we’re accustomed to midseason moves being officially represented in video games. In the 90s and into the early 2000s however, we generally had to make our own roster updates, even on PC. As such, there have been many brief stints and short-lived lineups that don’t appear in any official rosters due to occurring midseason, and being over by the time the next game is released. Outside of those rare official updates, the only way we’d see games reflect midseason rosters would be revised and re-released editions, and late launches.
That brings us to Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside, a Nintendo 64 exclusive released in 1998. Indeed, that is the key factor that sets it apart from other 1998 season titles such as NBA Live 98 and NBA Action 98/NBA Fastbreak ’98. Whereas those games were released in late 1997 ahead of or around the beginning of the season, NBA Courtside came out after the calendar rolled over to 1998, and thus features midseason rosters. To that end, it captures a unique snapshot of the 1998 season, with some stints and lineups that you won’t find in any other games. Let’s take a look back…way back…
From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #518 of the NLSC Podcast!
While we have our concerns about future releases, we’re arguably in a golden age for retro gaming! To that end, we note the further improvements to PCSX2 and Windows 11’s ability to run NBA Action 98 without issues, and recap our recent sessions with ESPN NBA Basketball (aka NBA 2K4) and NBA 2K18 for PlayStation 3. The latter was a game we played by request, and it surprised us with its quality! Revisiting a game from the end of a generation also leads us to reflect on whether NBA 2K24 will be the final prior gen release. We also react to the news of massive layoffs at EA, and join the community in speculating what it might mean – if anything – for the future of the NBA Live series.
Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:05:30 — 45.3MB)
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!
From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #488 of the NLSC Podcast!
In an exciting development, NBA Live 09 now works with the PlayStation 3 emulator! We recap a fun session with the game – which will now be part of our rotation – and compare it to NBA Live 10. In other news, 2K has revealed a roadmap for the NBA 2K24 preview season. This sets us thinking about what to expect come August 14th, as well as how to fairly evaluate the game when it’s released. With a slightly clearer picture of what ProPLAY might entail, we also join the community in discussing the historical players we’d love to see it used to capture animations from. Finally, in this week’s mailbag, we quiz the community on Overall Performance Ratings in NBA Action 98.
Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 59:44 — 41.4MB)
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!
As we discussed in Episode #487 of the NLSC Podcast, over the weekend Dee and I connected on Parsec to play a couple of games of NBA Action 98, with Dee compiling and uploading the highlights. In case you haven’t seen them yet…here they are!
The game was a re-creation of the epic 1998 Eastern Conference Finals showdown between the Chicago Bulls and the Indiana Pacers. As was the case at the time, Michael Jordan is absent, but in his place is #98, 1 Guard. As you’ll see, 1 Guard shares MJ’s legendary talents, pouring in the points in a variety of ways as we picked up the victory. You’ll also see Dennis Rodman sporting his colourful hair, Scottie Pippen doing his thing, and Virtual Hardwood Legend, Scott Burrell. On the other side, Reggie Miller, Rik Smits, Mark Jackson, Chris Mullin, and Dale Davis were doing everything they could to stand in the way of the win. Check it out!
NBA Action 98 is just one of many games that we’ve posted highlights from over on the NLSC YouTube channel, so be sure to subscribe for more basketball gaming content! Once again, Dee and I both have extensive basketball video game collections, so 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 #487 of the NLSC Podcast!
We’re taking a look back at NBA Action 98 – the forerunner to NBA 2K on PC on Sega Saturn – after connecting to play a couple of games over Parsec. Naturally we compare it to NBA Live 98, as well as the PlayStation version, which was released as NBA Fastbreak ’98. We’ve also been drawn back to Ultimate Team in NBA Live 18, and reflect on the fun we’ve been having with our Legends squads. We also discuss a surprising teaser regarding MyCAREER in NBA 2K24, and our first virtual NBA Championships. In this week’s mailbag, we challenge the community to match Overall Ratings to the players in the default rosters of NBA 2K13.
Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 59:04 — 40.9MB)
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 whether it’s possible to enjoy bad basketball games.
On the surface, the idea of enjoying bad video games of any kind seems like an oxymoron. Of course, “bad” may be a matter of personal preference, and it’s not as though we don’t enjoy other media that’s judged to be subpar. We may like a “bad” song because it’s still catchy, even if it’s lacking in artistic merit. The same goes for TV shows and films. No one’s claiming that they’re great art, but they’re fun despite their flaws (or sometimes because of them). They’re the proverbial guilty pleasures: entertainment products that we know aren’t good, but we enjoy them all the same.
As many people have observed throughout the years, it’s harder to accomplish this with video games, given that they’re an interactive medium. Hammy acting is one thing, because it’s either intentionally or ironically humorous. Conversely, broken controls and poor game design are more difficult to enjoy than terrible scripts, or laughably amateur or outdated special effects. And yet, it is possible to enjoy bad video games…sometimes. There’s a limit on how flawed they can be, and you won’t want to have paid full price for them after anticipating their release, but there are ways to enjoy both “bad” and truly bad basketball video games. I know that I have.
From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #472 of the NLSC Podcast!
NBA Action ’95 for the Sega Genesis was a game ahead of its time, yet it’s often overlooked compared to other 90s hoops titles. As such, we’re making it the subject of a deep dive this week, from its gameplay to its historical content to the interesting history of the NBA Action series. A listener question also prompts us to compare the NBA Playgrounds games to NBA Jam: On Fire Edition; do Saber’s games hold a candle to EA Sports’ second (and to date, final) NBA Jam release? We also catch up on the latest from Year 5 in NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, and some other fun happenings around the community, including the 100th edition of the Top 10.
Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:16:16 — 52.7MB)
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 90s classics that needed the official updates that today’s basketball games receive.
Official updates for basketball video games are something we’re both wary of, and take for granted. After all, they can break aspects of a game while trying to fix others, and leave a title in a worse state than it was before. On the bright side, over the years we’ve seen official updates make fixes that would’ve once had to wait until the next game came out. For all the controversy that comes with day one patches, they have had their benefits. This wasn’t possible before consoles had hard drives, and even PC patches were rare and small back in the day. Many 90s classics stand as proof of this.
The fact that I’m referring to these basketball games as 90s classics should indicate that I still think very highly of them. Even without official updates, these were some of the best hoops titles of the decade, and still have replay value today. However, whether it’s a quality-of-life fix, a gameplay tweak, or updated rosters, these games definitely would’ve benefited from the official updates that are now commonplace. Obviously, the modding community was able to step up in some cases, but there are some fixes that only the developers can make. Again, it’s not my intention to dump on these 90s classics, but as far as receiving useful fixes, they sadly came along too early.
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 Virtual Stadium Technology in the early NBA Live games.
In our desire to see games and gaming technology constantly improve, we obsess over specifications. This isn’t a new phenomenon, of course. One only needs to look back at the console wars of the 90s, where the number of bits and jargon such as Sega’s “blast processing” were thrown back and forth in the eternal fanboy debates. These days, we’re also aware of the most popular game engines, and the use of technology that we hold in high esteem is often celebrated. We also speculate on how it could help the games we’re interested in. “If only NBA Live had used Frostbite!”
It’s interesting to see how the engines and tech of different basketball games have been hyped through the years. Eco-Motion may not have lasted, but it was definitely well-received in NBA 2K14 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Conversely, although EA Sports’ IGNITE engine worked out well for other titles, it didn’t make NBA Live better than its predecessors. The Playmaker Engine in NBA Live 13 sounded good on paper, but the game shaped up so poorly that it was cancelled. And then, there’s NBA Live’s Virtual Stadium Technology. What did that entail? Let’s take a look back…way back…
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 8 in an ongoing series listing players that appeared in more video games than actual NBA games.
It’s time for more player-based video game trivia! Browsing the rosters in various titles has yielded some interesting examples of players who became familiar faces in strange and familiar places, stints that are exclusive to video games, and comebacks that were over before they began. Another topic that I’ve been able to get quite a bit of mileage out of – obviously, since this is Part 8 – is players that have appeared in more video games than actual NBA games. It’s an unusual situation as one might normally expect them to be absent from the virtual hardwood, yet you’ll find them in games.
Researching the stories behind their appearances, what they went on to do, and other aspects of their professional basketball careers, has been an enjoyable endeavour. I’ve tried to focus on the most interesting stories, and wherever possible, players that at least some gamers will remember from real life or the virtual hardwood. Of course, it also invites the inclusion of some obscure names! On top of their personal journeys, the players that I’m profiling in this instalment also allow me to touch on some trivia related to the games they’re featured in, and in some cases, how it facilitated their inclusion. As always, I hope that you’ll find this trivia as interesting as I do!
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 lost mods of NBA Inside Drive 2000.
While I was brainstorming ideas for The Friday Five, I came up with the topic of five games that could’ve benefited from mods. As I always do when I’m planning a Friday Five topic, I didn’t commit to it until I could devise five viable examples. One of the games that I had marked down on a preliminary list was NBA Inside Drive 2000, the only game in the Inside Drive series to be released on PC. Before I committed to that list however, I needed to do some research. Had there actually been a modding scene for NBA Inside Drive 2000 that our community here at the NLSC hadn’t partaken in?
As it turns out, there was! A quick Google search brought up a thread in the Operation Sports forums, reflecting on editing the game and downloading mods for it. I removed NBA Inside Drive 2000 from that Friday Five list, and instead decided to dedicate a Wayback Wednesday to looking into its apparently long-lost mods. Let’s take a look back…way back…
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