Tag Archives: Online Team Play

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #633 of the NLSC Podcast!

No matter the genre, online gaming undoubtedly has its ups and downs, depending on what you’re playing and who you’re playing with! To that point, this week we reflect on two very different online basketball gaming experiences. The first is the recent open beta for NBA The Run, while the second is our latest four and five-player Parsec sessions with NBA Live 96 for Super Nintendo and NBA Live 10 for PlayStation 3. We also have some further impressions of NBA The Run to share ahead of its release next week. We’ve still got our concerns about the game, but we’re keeping our minds open and fingers crossed for a successful launch, and are hoping for some fun times on the virtual blacktop.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 35:15 — 24.6MB)

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!

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!

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 revisiting games in which I mostly played MyCAREER, and enjoying some fresh experiences.

When it comes to our impressions of basketball games with an array of modes, what we play is a significant factor. After all, while the underlying gameplay mechanics are obviously the same, their suitability and our tolerance for any issues can vary from mode to mode. There have definitely been games that were more enjoyable in certain modes, depending on the tuning and whether or not we could alter it. As such, if you mostly stick to one mode, you may not be aware of some of a game’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s why we can remember the same games very differently.

After really getting into MyCAREER in NBA 2K13, it became my mode of choice for the next seven years or so. That’s not to say that it was the only mode I played, but when it comes to NBA 2K on PlayStation 4 and PC, many of my fondest memories are of MyCAREER and its connected experiences. I don’t regret that, as it represents hours of fun on the virtual hardwood. At the same time, it does mean that there were modes and content I wasn’t able to truly enjoy, since levelling up a MyPLAYER and playing through an NBA season is a huge commitment. To that end, revisiting some of those games and playing something other than MyCAREER has been refreshing.

Read More »

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 suggestions on how to fix the connected experiences in MyCAREER.

This is far from the first time that I’ve discussed criticisms of the competitive scene in NBA 2K, specifically the online team play experiences connected to MyCAREER. To that point, I’m going to be treading some familiar ground here today, from grinding to proper matchmaking functionality. That’s because the same issues continue to hold back the connected experiences in MyCAREER, and improvements are well overdue. As popular as the online scene in NBA 2K may be, the quality of the experience lags behind other games, and is nowhere near where it needs to be.

You can see the frustration everywhere. It’s been mentioned in our Forum, over on Operation Sports, on social media, and in numerous threads in the official NBA 2K subreddit. So many gamers see the issues, and apart from the ones who want to shout down all criticism – usually thanks to selfish zero-sum thinking – people want to see the scene improve. The concepts of the connected modes in MyCAREER have the potential to be so much better than they are, and I speak from my own experience when I say that they’ve shown flashes of that brilliance. Until these improvements are made however, the connected experiences in MyCAREER will continue to suffer.

Read More »

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 at long last returning to my roots as a franchise gamer, following a very long detour.

It’s been a long time coming, but I’m finally an active franchise gamer once again! Dig into the archives, and you’ll find that I was eyeing a return to franchise modes way back in October 2017. I was all set to ration my time between MyCAREER, 2K Pro-Am, MyTEAM, and MyLEAGUE. Franchise was also an option in NBA Live 18, but I wasn’t completely sold on the “streamlined” approach. In the end of course, it didn’t matter. I soured on NBA 2K18, preferred Ultimate Team in NBA Live 18, and committed to making it to the Hall of Fame in MyCAREER come NBA 2K19.

And then, I got hooked on NBA 2K14 MyCAREER! That remains in my rotation as I’m still having a blast with that career seven seasons in. However, I grew up playing old school season modes and then franchise modes, so they’ve been responsible for so many of my all-time favourite basketball gaming experiences. Indeed, this is why I’ve often considered myself a franchise gamer who has been taking a detour, but at this point, there’s no denying that I’m a career and card collecting mode gamer as well! My love of franchise gaming never truly went away though, and now that I’m back into it, I expect it’s going to be a significant part of my time on the virtual hardwood.

Read More »

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 what it would take to get me to play online again.

From NBA 2K16 through to NBA 2K20, I was invested in playing the connected experiences in MyCAREER. I wasn’t exclusively an online gamer of course, as I got great enjoyment out of playing the NBA side of MyCAREER too, including making it to the Hall of Fame in NBA 2K19. However, one of the reasons that I kept returning to the mode every year was to level up a MyPLAYER so that I could join the rest of NLSC THRILLHO for some online games. As the grind became more of a chore and the rest of the crew’s enthusiasm waned, I too lost interest in MyCAREER.

Long gone are the days when I’d consider jumping into The Rec every night of the week, just to see what it was like! Indeed, outside of playing through the story in NBA 2K21 and occasionally jumping online, and a very brief return in NBA 2K23, I’ve stuck to the offline MyCAREER experience in NBA 2K14. Of course, it’s not just disinterest in the online scene that’s turned me off MyCAREER in recent years. From gameplay gripes to frustration with grinding and quests, I’m weary of the NBA side of the mode as well. Considering my willingness to change up my basketball gaming habits though, as we enter 2025, could anything persuade me to play online again?

Read More »

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #555 of the NLSC Podcast!

Player Lock is arguably one of the most underrated gameplay features outside of its use in career and online team play modes, but picking a suitable role is paramount whichever mode you’re playing. To that end, this week we join the community in choosing the players that we’d most prefer to lock on, from a shortlist of notable names from the 2000s and today. We also reflect on the excitement of making a new video game purchase – especially when physical media is involved – and share some more advice for capturing highlights on the virtual hardwood, whether you’re playing on PC or console.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 41:25 — 28.8MB)

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!

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 One in NBA Live 18.

There’s a simple reason that I’ve had far more to say about the career modes in NBA 2K than their counterparts in NBA Live. While I’ve played MyCAREER in several NBA 2K games – in some cases finishing multiple seasons – I’ve yet to play through a single NBA campaign in Rising Star or The One. I’ve tried them out so that I can at least offer up some informed impressions, but I wasn’t hooked by them. Granted, the gameplay in the eighth generation NBA Live titles was a major factor here! When I did spend time with NBA Live 15 and NBA Live 18, it was in Ultimate Team.

However, since revisiting eighth gen NBA Lives with fresh eyes and an open mind, I have developed more of an appreciation for them. That’s not to say that I completely disagree with my previous criticisms or consider them classics, but I’ve noticed some of their strengths. This goes for modes as well as gameplay, as I’ve made a point of giving both a chance to make a new impression. I found myself revisiting The One in NBA Live 18, and while the mode does have some issues and weaknesses compared to MyCAREER, I actually had a good time with it. Let’s take a look back…way back…

Read More »

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 ideas that were abruptly abandoned.

As with other genres of video games, basketball titles have come a long way since their early predecessors, thanks to a combination of technological advancements and inspired innovations. Of course, not all ideas are good ones. In the best case scenario, an unsuccessful idea can be retooled into something that achieves the intended result. If there’s no salvaging an idea, then it’s better to simply scrap it, never to return. The willingness to pivot or outright abandon a concept that just isn’t working has been to the benefit of developing better basketball video games.

Of course, an idea isn’t necessarily a failure just because it was abruptly abandoned. Indeed, there have been several features, modes, and mechanics that were quickly nixed, despite their merit and popularity. It isn’t always clear why a seemingly good idea was abruptly abandoned, but it can usually be chalked up to technical challenges, or the adoption of a supposedly superior solution. Mind you, even if there is a sensible explanation – or we can make an educated guess – it isn’t any less frustrating when we lose something that we like. As we prepare to dive into NBA 2K25 and check out its new features, here are some memorable ideas from past games that didn’t stick.

Read More »

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 Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version of NBA 2K8.

The tagline of NBA 2K8 was “It’s like that”. I find it extremely appropriate, though I guarantee it isn’t for the reasons that the marketing department at Take-Two intended. Instead, “it’s like that” are the frustrated words that run through my mind whenever I give NBA 2K8 a chance, and it disappoints me once again. Not to spoil the entire retrospective before I get into it, but if NBA 2K6 or NBA 2K7 had been the games to get me into the NBA 2K series – and they may well might’ve been, had I given them a fair chance back in the day – NBA 2K8 could’ve turned me off of it again.

Indeed, I’m prepared to call it one of the most overrated games in the entire series. The only reason I hesitate is because after looking at some contemporary reviews, it seems that the criticisms and unfavourable comparisons to its predecessors were being made back then, too. GameTrailers’ review even went so far as to call it a serious step backwards, and I’m inclined to agree. It’s unfortunate because the game does have a lot of good bones and enticing features, but for me, it’s been a major retro basketball gaming disappointment. Let’s take a look back…way back…

Read More »

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.

Read More »

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #536 of the NLSC Podcast!

The NBA 2K League has been put on hiatus until 2025, an announcement that came as a surprise to both league players and everyone else involved. This week, we join the community in discussing how and why the NBA 2K League failed to meet some incredibly lofty expectations, despite the backing of the NBA. We also recap a game of NBA Live 10 in which we took on Argentina with Team USA, as well as an NBA 2K10 session in which we ran back a showdown between the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz using the fantastic 1997 season mod. There’s also some fun trivia to share, along with a PSA to grab the digital version of NCAA Basketball 09: March Madness Edition from the Xbox Live Marketplace while you still can.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 50:42 — 35.2MB)

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!

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 ups and downs of NBA Live on the seventh gen consoles, i.e. PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

As of writing, I’m not confident that NBA Live will ever return. I scoffed at rumours that NBA Live 20 would be cancelled, especially after NBA Live 18 and 19 garnered a more positive reception, leading to a loyal following that continues to this day. The game was indeed canned though, and despite assurances that the developers and EA Sports brass were pleased with the progress and intended for the series to return, that has yet to materialise. Frankly, I’ll be ecstatic if I’m proven wrong and these words age like milk in the near future, but I’m not getting my hopes up.

Of course, NBA Live’s downfall began long before those PlayStation 4 and Xbox One releases. The series struggled mightily during the era of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 -aka the seventh console generation – culminating with the cancellation of NBA Elite 11 that caused lasting damage. These events are well-known to long-time basketball gamers, though I’d suggest there are some misconceptions; specifically, that the series was never good, that there was nothing good about the seventh gen NBA Live games, and that the series failed because it was too “arcade-y”. In the interest of a clearer picture of NBA Live’s seventh gen collapse, let’s take a look back…way back…

Read More »

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 the issue of “black plates” in NBA 2K24, and how complaints about those gamers are missing the big picture.

After several years of grinding to level up a MyPLAYER so that I could partake in MyCAREER’s connected online modes, I gave up shortly into the life cycle of NBA 2K21. It’s simply not fun to repeat that journey every year, especially as the mode has become pushier and pushier with its recurrent revenue mechanics, and the scene has only grown increasingly toxic. With that being said, I do keep tabs on what’s going on with NBA 2K’s online scene, paying attention to what my fellow basketball gamers are saying about it on social media and Reddit.

Sadly, from the sounds of things, not much has changed. Well, it might’ve grown even worse if anything, but it certainly hasn’t improved! It seems that one of the biggest issues in NBA 2K24 – at least according to discussions over on the official NBA 2K subreddit – has been the matter of “black plates”. For those who are unaware, this is referring to a rep system in MyCAREER’s connected modes, which displays different colours behind a MyPLAYER’s overall depending on their online performance. As the players with the lowest rep, “black plates” are generally avoided. While this is understandable, it exemplifies an ongoing issue with the design of 2K’s online modes.

Read More »

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 features that unfortunately seem highly unlikely to return.

There are reasons that certain features from older basketball video games have fallen by the wayside. As I’ve discussed before, even though some of the annual games may seem like mere roster updates, the code still has to be rewritten every year. If there’s a feature or function that doesn’t work properly with the new code, and if it isn’t a particularly popular or necessary part of the game, it may end up on the chopping block. Additionally, some features evolve into new concepts, or a technological advance or design change elsewhere will render them redundant.

This is how we lose some of the features that we really like. It’s not something that’s done out of spite, though when microtransactions are involved, there may certainly be a lack of goodwill. Mind you, a reasonable explanation for the absence of a beloved feature doesn’t remove the sting for gamers who were passionate about it. Sometimes we’re lucky and a mode or feature is brought back, though not always exactly how we wanted it. However, other features are seemingly gone for good, much to our dismay. We all have our own examples here, and to that end, here are five features that I wish basketball video games still had, but sadly doubt that we’ll ever see brought back.

Read More »