Tag Archives: NBA Draft

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 interesting facts about Wilt Chamberlain.

Today would’ve been Wilt Chamberlain’s 90th birthday. As an Elder Millennial, Wilt was obviously before my time. However, as a newly-minted basketball fan some 30 years ago, he was unsurprisingly one of the first Legends that I learned about. When you score 100 points in a game, average 50.4 ppg, and play an “impossible” 48.5 mpg – all in the same season, no less – future generations of hoop heads will know your name! I was fascinated to hear about those records and his legendary rivalry with Bill Russell, not to mention tales of his incredible athletic feats.

Growing up as a basketball fan in the 90s, Wilt Chamberlain was to me what Michael Jordan is to younger fans nowadays. In fact, from the way that older fans insisted that he was better than MJ to remarks on the subject from Wilt himself, the discourse and debates involving LeBron James nowadays feel very familiar! It’s why I understand where younger fans are coming from, though I do feel that there used to be far more reverence for NBA history. In any case, I enjoyed learning about Wilt Chamberlain back in the day, and I’ve been delighted to learn even more since then. With that being said, here are five interesting Wilt Chamberlain facts that you may or may not know.

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #621 of the NLSC Podcast!

At this point, it’s undeniable that tanking has become a huge problem in the NBA, with Commissioner Adam Silver openly pledging to fix the issue. Naturally we have our own thoughts on the matter, so this week we join the community in discussing our opinions of tanking and the impact that it’s had on the NBA, as well as some possible solutions that might at least curb it. We also react to some of the ideas that the league and pundits have proposed. From changing the approach to the lottery to removing pick protections to penalising teams that are clearly losing on purpose long before the regular season’s final weeks, there are several ways that this practice could feasibly be discouraged.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 44:35 — 31.0MB)

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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 #571 of the NLSC Podcast!

What are some of the biggest What Ifs in the history of the NBA? This week, we join the community in reflecting on what might have been, from the tragedy of Len Bias to the various injuries, trades, and Draft picks that shaped the fortunes of teams and players alike. This includes some of the NBA Finals matchups and results that could’ve come to pass if not for a couple of plays going another way, or indeed, a certain all-time great retiring in 1993! We also discuss a couple of other interesting notes about the 1986 Draft, and some of the international players who could’ve had a better run in the NBA if the opportunity was there for them when they were in their prime.

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!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 59:57 — 41.5MB)

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This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m taking a look back at the NBA Live 08 Draft Camp and Summer Camp.

With NBA Live’s struggles over the past decade, it’s easy to forget – or indeed, not be aware of – just how popular the brand once was. Although NBA 2K received positive reviews since its inception, NBA Live remained the best-selling NBA sim up until the 2009 season, when NBA 2K9 edged out NBA Live 09 in sales. Even then, NBA Live remained competitive and popular among basketball gamers, until the cancellation of NBA Elite 11 changed the course of the series. As such, these days it’s NBA 2K that’s prominent in pop culture and the cool brand among NBA players and gamers alike.

Around the time of NBA Live 08 however, it was EA Sports that was touting their relationship with NBA players, and bringing them in for events. In fact, during the development of NBA Live 08, EA held two events that served as mo-cap sessions and a source of promotional materials: the Draft Camp, and the Summer Camp. A quick Google search reveals that there isn’t much in the way of information about or media from those events, so I thought it’d be fun to chronicle them for Wayback Wednesday. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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Episode #289 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! This week, Kenny and I catch up on the conclusion of the 2019 NBA Finals, talk about basketball gaming during the offseason, and look ahead to this year’s preview season for NBA Live and NBA 2K.

A new NBA champion has been crowned! We reflect on Games 5 and 6 of the NBA Finals, discuss what’s next for the champion Toronto Raptors and injury-riddled Golden State Warriors, and offer up some thoughts on the Draft and free agency. The beginning of the offseason also raises questions about our basketball gaming habits. Are we done with the 2019 season games, or is there life in them yet? We outline some of our plans for both titles. As the preview season for NBA Live 20 and NBA 2K20 looms in the distance, we also discuss our expectations for the games, and how we’d like EA Sports and 2K Sports to handle the previews. Will we ever see another historical challenge mode? What role will the WNBA play in both games? We’ll know come July…or August…or maybe September…

Tune in below!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:28:22 — 60.8MB)

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How do your basketball gaming habits change during the offseason? What are your expectations for this year’s preview season? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as suggestions for topics that you’d like to hear us discuss in future episodes. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.

Episode #210 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! We’re coming at you a little later this week as we wanted to talk about the results of the 2017 NBA Draft, as well as the most recent NBA Live 18 gameplay videos, and a couple of other recent news stories.

On this week’s show…

• EA Play attendees have released new gameplay videos of NBA Live 18, while offering up further hands-on impressions. We share our thoughts on what we’ve been shown, from the animations to the new Shot Meter.
• Oddly, NBA 2K18 Legend Edition cover player Shaquille O’Neal was photographed wearing an NBA Live 18 barber’s smock. Probably not the promotion that Visual Concepts wanted.
• Our Week in Basketball Gaming included a somewhat backwards session of 2K Pro-Am, a very brief trip to MyPARK, and some great card pulls in NBA Playgrounds.
• We wrap up Episode #210 of the NLSC Podcast with some thoughts on the 2017 NBA Draft, and a couple of big trades. #FireGarPax

Click Play to listen to the show!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:16:03 — 52.3MB)

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Have some thoughts on the latest episode? Sound off in the comments below, or here in the Forum. Also, if there’s a topic you’d like us to discuss on the next episode of the NLSC Podcast, feel free to hit us up in this thread.