Tag Archives: Screenshots

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #641 of the NLSC Podcast!

The NBA 2K27 preview season is now officially underway following the reveal of the cover players for the Standard, Deluxe, and Ultra Editions of the game, as well as their pre-order bonuses and a handful of first-look screenshots. To that end, this week we join the community in reacting to our first glimpse of NBA 2K27, as well as the prices and pre-order bonuses for all three editions. We also draw some comparisons to the pre-order bonuses for NBA 2K17 ten years ago, discuss the drawbacks of digital-only premium editions, and touch on the controversy surrounding the cover art for the Standard Edition of NBA 2K27, which was seemingly taken from a proposed design on social media.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 49:30 — 34.4MB)

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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!

The NBA 2K27 preview season is officially underway, as the covers were revealed this week, along with some first-look screenshots and pre-order details. This year’s cover players are Victor Wembanyama, Caitlin Clark, and Derrick Rose. Furthermore, we have confirmation that NBA 2K27 will not be available for Gen 8 consoles (i.e. PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch). It will be coming out on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch 2 on September 4th, 2026.

Victor Wembanyama appears on the cover of the Standard Edition of NBA 2K27, which will have a physical release. Caitlin Clark and Derrick Rose appear on the covers of the Deluxe and Ultra Editions of NBA 2K27 respectively, though both are digital-only releases. The Deluxe and Ultra Editions aren’t available in some regions, as they contain pre-order bonuses related to the game’s recurrent revenue and gambling mechanics.

NBA 2K27 is already available to pre-order. As for the pre-order bonuses, it’s the usual assortment of VC, MyTEAM cards, and boosts for MyCAREER; at least in the two more expensive editions. The Standard Edition only includes 10,000 VC, not counting any bonuses that may be offered by local retailers. Up to seven days of Early Access is available when pre-ordering the Deluxe and Ultra Editions of NBA 2K27. Additional bonuses for both NBA 2K26 and NBA 2K27 are available if you pre-order the premium editions of the latter before August 17th.

The first-look screenshots show off the three cover players, as well as Cooper Flagg. We’ve also gotten a glimpse of the “2K Mart”, an in-game shop. No other details are available at this time, but we’ll soon be getting a roadmap for the rest of the NBA 2K27 preview season. Based on previous years, I’d expect weekly developer insights through August, a gameplay trailer, and a few other snippets here and there. As always, we’ll be aggregating the news and previews, while highlighting the key information.

In the meantime, you can check out the artwork for the NBA2K27 covers below, along with the first-look screenshots and a breakdown of the pre-order bonuses. Got any thoughts? Feel free to share them in the comments below, as well as join in the discussion in the newly-launched NBA 2K27 section in our Forum! I’ll also be adding a portal for NBA 2K27 here on the main site shortly, so stay tuned for that and more details on the game as they’re released.

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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 basketball gaming activities that may sound weird, but I definitely have fun partaking in.

Gaming is meant to be fun. That may sound like I’m stating the extremely obvious, but there are times when people seemingly forget that; or perhaps more accurately, refuse to recognise that there are different ways of enjoying gaming, and that they’re all equally valid ways of having fun. To that end, it would be hypocritical of me to say that anyone who enjoys a tedious grind or wants every game to be a brutal test of your stick skills isn’t entitled to their preference. However, it tends to be those gamers who attempt to shame others for not sharing their idea of what makes gaming fun.

Indeed, I sometimes wonder if we’ve come to take gaming too seriously. That is to say, if you’re not playing competitively, levelling and ranking up, or progressing to some kind of goal, it’s considered a waste of time. Now, I certainly enjoy having goals with my basketball gaming – it’s why I aim to play entire seasons – and I’ve also had fun dipping my toe into the competitive scene. With that being said, I also enjoy just messing around and finding other ways to enjoy basketball video games. While that may not seem odd on the surface, I acknowledge that some of my basketball gaming activities are a bit weird! Without any further ado, here are five examples of that.

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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 the challenges we face while trying to capture historical screenshots.

Between the topics I cover in various articles and my retro gaming habits involving classic teams and matchups, I’m often capturing screenshots of historical scenarios. Needless to say, there are some challenges when it comes to trying to snap the ideal shot. Obviously, many of them apply to virtual hardwood photography in general. From technical limitations to the available content to difficulty in staging everything the way you see it in your mind, the final result may not be exactly what you want. Of course, other times the results can be extremely satisfying.

To that end, I really enjoy firing up a game, tinkering with the rosters as necessary, and finding ways to stage historical scenarios for some great screenshots! Indeed, on top of using historical screenshots to illustrate the facts and trivia that I’m writing about, the theme of a number of my features in recent years has basically revolved around virtual pictures speaking their proverbial thousand words. Not only has this allowed me to indulge my nostalgia and love of NBA history, but it’s been fun trying my hand at some more visually creative content. Once again though, these historical screenshots come with several challenges, though tackling them has been rewarding.

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The preview season for NBA 2K26 is officially underway! Although we’re likely at least a few weeks away from in-depth previews and developer insights, we do have some early information on NBA 2K26 from the cover players and pre-order bonuses for all of the editions, to the release date and information about features such as crossplay, cross-gen progression, and so on. A few First Look screenshots have also been released, along with an announce trailer.

First of all, NBA 2K26 will be released globally on September 5th, 2025. Four editions are available: the Standard Edition featuring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the cover, the Superstar Edition with Carmelo Anthony on the cover, the WNBA Edition featuring Angel Reese on the cover, and the Leave No Doubt Edition featuring all three NBA 2K26 cover players together. All four editions are already available to pre-order.

Obviously, there are still many details that will be revealed during the course of the preview season. However, the Steam Store page includes a preliminary features list that mentions ProPLAY, an all-new MyCAREER journey in a streamlined City, collecting past and present players in MyTEAM, a deep franchise experience in MyNBA, and unique storylines in MyGM. It’s fairly generic as you’d expect, but it confirms the presence of staple modes and features.

Interestingly, the pre-order bonuses aren’t as generous as previous years, with the Standard Edition and WNBA Edition only offering 10,000 VC if you pre-order. The game will be available on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, the Nintendo Switch, and the Nintendo Switch 2. The ninth gen consoles will have cross-play, MyTEAM will have cross-gen progression once again, and as usual the VC wallet will be shared between consoles in the same family.

A summary of what we know so far can be found below. Check it out, along with the First Look screenshots, cover art, and announce trailer for NBA 2K26! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, as well as join in the discussion in our newly-opened NBA 2K26 Forum. I’ve also created a page for NBA 2K26 here in our Wiki, and as always, any help in keeping it up to date would be most appreciated. Stay tuned for more news and previews in the coming weeks!

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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 reflecting on some throwback stints, as portrayed by the Xbox 360 version of NBA Live 06.

Tinkering with the rosters to set up fun scenarios and minimalist modding projects has become a staple of my retro basketball gaming. I enjoy the challenge of seeing what can be done with the assets I have at my disposal, and it’s gratifying whenever I’m able to cobble together something that I can at least get a game or two out of. Some attempts are more successful than others as far as creating playable scenarios, but if nothing else, I’ll get some interesting screenshots out of my endeavours. That’s what happened while I was on my extended retro kick with NBA Live 06 for Xbox 360.

While exploring the idea of a makeshift classic teams roster – something that fell apart thanks to a roster editing glitch that can happen way too easily – I ended up placing a number of players on their former teams, and taking some screenshots. I wasn’t sure what I’d do with those screens, but I didn’t want my efforts to go to waste, and figured that they’d come in handy for an article somewhere down the line. I may find further use for them yet, but for now, here are some throwback stints that I set up in the Xbox 360 version of NBA Live 06. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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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 players in the default rosters of NBA 2K14 PS4/X1 who are still active as of 2023.

Can you believe that NBA 2K14 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One is coming up on ten years old? As I’ve discussed in previous articles and on the NLSC Podcast, it took me a while, but I’ve certainly warmed up to the landmark release! However, while the game itself still holds up extraordinarily well, the snapshot of the NBA that it captures is naturally now quite outdated. A recent perusal of the default rosters made it clear just how much turnover there is in the league over the span of a decade. In fact, some sweeping changes occurred not too long after NBA 2K14’s release!

How many players from the default rosters of NBA 2K14 PS4/X1 are still active as of 2023? Just 73 as of writing, though others were still active as of last season, and may still find a spot in the NBA. When I made a similar comparison with NBA Live 10 back in 2021, only 44 players from the 2010 campaign were still in the league. On top of that, less than 20 players had stints that spanned from the launch of the PS4 and X1 through to the arrival of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Indeed, including a couple that I forgot, only five players are still with the same team a decade later. As we prepare to tip off another NBA campaign, let’s also take a look back…way back…

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As you may have seen, the official NBA 2K Twitter/X account – and yes, that branding change is still taking some getting used to! – posted a trailer and some screenshots of The Neighborhood in the Current Gen/PC version of NBA 2K24. After two years on a cruise ship, this year’s iteration of MyCAREER on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One will be keeping the theme of basketball in paradise, albeit in a coastal location.

From the screenshots and trailer, there will be courts right down on the beach, The Rec will be located in a castle, and it seems like 2K Pro-Am will be played in an airship! A personal MyCOURT will still be available, which The City on Next Gen has notably lacked since NBA 2K21. Indeed, the new coastal Neighborhood in NBA 2K24 seems to resemble a scaled down version of The City, rather than the block, town square, or indeed cruise ship from previous games.

You can check out the trailer below, as well as the screenshots that 2K has shared so far. Got any thoughts? Feel free to post them in the comments, as well as join in the discussion in our NBA 2K24 Forum!

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In the wake of the cover reveal, 2K has also released some first look screenshots of Kobe Bryant in NBA 2K24; one of young “Frobe”, and one of prime Mamba from the 2000s. You can check out both screenshots below, as well as in the Screenshots section of our newly-launched NBA 2K24 hub!

As a number of people have noticed, the older Kobe is wearing an NBA Finals patch on his jersey. The NBA 2K Leaks & Intel Twitter account – which has been extremely reliable in recent years – has stated that there will be a Mamba Moments mode in NBA 2K24, which will basically be a Kobe Bryant version of The Jordan Challenge. The NBA Finals patch certainly seems to back that up, and suggests the possibility of at least one new classic team.

The Intel account also mentioned a new Next Gen feature called ProPLAY. This tech will reportedly directly translate NBA footage into gameplay to deliver authentic animations and movement. Combined with their leak of a blurb about MyCAREER in Current Gen/Old Gen, this seems to confirm that the PC version will be identical to the PlayStation 4/Xbox One version once again. The Neighborhood will be returning in that version, along with streamlined quests. Keep in mind that this hasn’t been officially announced, but the account’s track record for accuracy has been exceptional.

There’s also a tidbit about a new salary cap mode in MyTEAM, revamped controls and roster authenticity, and the continued inclusion of WNBA content. The release date is September 8th 2023, as also confirmed by ESPN. The ESPN article also mentions crossplay, though no further details are available at this time.

That’s the NBA 2K24 info that’s currently circulating, along with the first look Kobe screenshots. What are your thoughts? Share them in the comments below, as well as join in the discussion in the new NBA 2K24 section of the Forum! Once again, I’ll be aggregating news throughout the preview season, and Dee and I will be breaking it down with our commentary on the NLSC Podcast.

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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 taking great screenshots of basketball video games; or, if you prefer, virtual hardwood photography.

When it comes my original content related to basketball video games, I’ve been drawn to writing over more visual mediums. This goes back to what I was passionate about (and generally good at) in school. I enjoyed creative writing far more than arts and crafts, which I wasn’t particularly skilled at. I’ve enjoyed dabbling with some video content over the years, and that will continue, especially as I can combine it with writing through video essays and the like. However, outside of modding, my content has largely consisted of articles.

With that being said, feature articles have a visual aspect to them as well. Besides neatly formatting the text, images are essential as they provide aesthetically-pleasing breaks, and further illustrate the topic being discussed. To that point, I not only take pride in my writing and self-editing to the best of my ability, but also including relevant and appealing screenshots. If I’ve prepared a topic then I’ll go out of my way to get relevant screenshots, but the screenshots and gameplay videos that I’ve captured for posterity have also provided me with a handy media library spanning my entire collection of games. Either way, I take pride in my virtual hardwood photography.

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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 NBA Finals series that can be portrayed by NBA 2K14 on PlayStation 4.

The time I’ve spent with the PlayStation 4 version of NBA 2K14 is one of the longest retro basketball gaming kicks I’ve ever been on. It’s been extremely rewarding to play through four full seasons in MyCAREER, leaving me with a save file jam packed with memories that I can pick up again whenever the mood strikes. I also played a number of exhibition games with retro teams and then-current 2014 rosters alike. In short, I was making up for not spending that much time with NBA 2K14 when it was released almost ten years ago.

Much like my extended NBA Live 10 kick in 2021, I’ve felt inspired to continue to explore NBA 2K14 through some Wayback Wednesday features. Today, it’s a look at all of the NBA Finals series that can be portrayed through NBA 2K14 screenshots. As with my features looking back at the players in NBA Live 10 whose rookie jerseys were included as retros, as well as the makeshift classic teams that could be created and using it to reflect on “What If” scenarios, it was an interesting challenge to see just how many NBA Finals series I could represent using NBA 2K14. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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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 encountering a familiar image in a meme, and other moments of recognition.

It’s good advice to be careful about what you put out there on the internet. We’re not always as anonymous as we think, and poor behaviour can come back to haunt us. In general, it’s prudent to exercise caution in sharing personal information and even photos, as it can compromise one’s safety. It’s something to keep in mind when you’re a content creator, even in a niche community. Someone with an axe to grind may be petty enough to use it to directly harass you, or talk trash about you elsewhere online. I’ve encountered both during my time running the NLSC.

On a lighter note, when it comes to the content you create for one and all to see, you never know where it will end up. It’s both exciting and humbling when something gains traction, as my article on the Rising Cost of MyCAREER did last year, or when your work is referenced, as a WhatCulture video did with a post about NBA Elite 11. On the other hand, it’s funny when parts of your content end up being recycled, or shared outside of the original context. In particular, I’ve seen some of my screenshots show up in other articles, or on social media. And, speaking of the latter, there’s one familiar screenshot that has been used in a meme shared by several accounts.

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Although NBA 2K22 news is still at a trickle, ratings reveals have begun via the official NBA 2K Twitter. The ratings accompany the First Look screenshots of various NBA and WNBA players.

It appears as though the maximum Overall Rating for active NBA players at launch will be 96 Overall. Four players will hold that distinction, namely Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Steph Curry. Additionally, Curry will boast the highest three-point rating among active players at 99, while Zion Williamson is the top dunker with a rating of 97 in that category.

Please see below for a full list of NBA 2K22 ratings reveals so far, along with the new screenshots. Presumably, detailed previews of modes and gameplay are not far away, though it has certainly been an abbreviated preview season. In any case, feel free to add your thoughts in the comments, as well as take the discussion to our NBA 2K22 Forum!

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Although news is running slightly behind schedule, the official NBA 2K Twitter account has been posting some NBA 2K22 screenshots. The latest screens spotlight some of the recent offseason moves.

Specifically, you’ll find Russell Westbrook wearing his new Los Angeles Lakers jersey. DeMar DeRozan and Lonzo Ball can be seen wearing Chicago Bulls garb, while Kemba Walker is sporting the New York Knicks’ uniform. A screenshot of Kyle Lowry in his new Miami Heat jersey has also been shared.

Additionally, 2K has posted another screenshot of cover player Luka Doncic, which also shows off the new Wilson basketball. Check out all of the screenshots below, and feel free to add your thoughts in the comments! You can also join in the conversation taking place in our NBA 2K22 Forum.

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A freshly posted developer blog and a handful of Tweets from the official NBA 2K Twitter have given us our first look at NBA 2K22! In addition to screenshots of cover players Luka Doncic, Dirk Nowitzki, and Candace Parker, we’ve been given some early information about the game.

In addition to outling some of the offensive and defensive gameplay improvements we can expect to see in NBA 2K22, the first look has also dropped some tidbits about modes. Seasons will be returning in MyTEAM, and have now been added to MyCAREER and The W. The Draft will also be returning to MyTEAM, and as previously noted, there will be cross-gen progression.

Both The City and The Neighborhood have been re-designed. There’s a new Quest system in The City, which will be more closely integrated with the MyCAREER experience. Online matchmaking has also been added in Next Gen, which is something that I’ve long been pushing for. MyNBA and MyWNBA gamers can expect some new features as well. A Game Informer preview has also confirmed that Rookieville has been dropped, and Next Gen MyCAREER will take a different approach with storytelling.

As always, I encourage you to check out the blog in full. I’ve recapped it in further detail below however, where you can also find the first look NBA 2K22 screenshots. What are your thoughts? Have your say in the comments, and join in the discussion here in the Forum!

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