Tag Archives: Triple-Double

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 habits that I can’t break when I play MyCAREER.

Without a doubt, I’m a creature of habit. If I’m comfortable and there’s no need to switch things up, I’m not going to change for change’s sake. I have my go-to orders at my favourite fast food restaurants, as well as my preferred dishes if I’m eating at a more upscale establishment. I enjoy having a routine, and while I am open to new interests and experiences, I also know what I like, and what I can reliably stick with. This carries over into my gaming, basketball or otherwise. I’ve established preferences and habits that work for me in the games that I regularly play.

Needless to say, once I developed a taste for MyCAREER, I soon developed habits that are now extremely difficult to break. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as those habits have allowed me to enjoy MyCAREER in a number of games; as well they should, seeing as how they’re formed by my preferences and the experiences I want out of the virtual hardwood! However, some of those habits come from how I play other genres of video games. Being a creature of habit can also have its drawbacks, eschewing change and variety in favour of the familiar. With that being said, here are five MyCAREER habits that I can’t – or at least, very seldom – manage to break.

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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 a recap of Year 4 in my MyCAREER in the PlayStation 4 version of NBA 2K14.

Can you believe that I’ve played through four full seasons of MyCAREER within the past twelve months or so? It’s true! This is what happens when you’re not forcing yourself to grind to level up a player as quickly as possible in the latest game, all the while knowing that your progress will be reset to zero in a year’s time. Given my lack of enthusiasm for either version of NBA 2K21 and NBA 2K22, I’ve greatly enjoyed NBA 2K14 PS4 providing me with a basketball gaming experience that’s been so engaging. It’s unquestionably picked up the slack.

With NBA 2K23 looming and its previews inspiring some cautious optimism, I did want to wrap up Year 4 in NBA 2K14 MyCAREER before the release of this year’s game. I have no doubt that I’ll pick it up again to play through Year 5 – I still have one more Hall of Fame Milestone to achieve for 100% completion in that regard – but I do want to spend time with NBA 2K23 and give it a fair chance to impress. Even with the deadline of NBA 2K23’s release however, I still took the time to enjoy the journey in Year 4 of my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER. As I prepare to take a break from NBA 2K14 in the near future, here’s a look back at how the 2017 campaign went down.

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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 a recap of Year 3 in my ongoing NBA 2K14 MyCAREER.

How enthusiastic was I to dive into Year 3 of my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER game? Well, it was only at the end of March that I was recapping Year 2, and noting how the adventure continues in the mode. By mid May, I’d played through another 82 games, and tipped off my third postseason. I found myself under the weather with a couple of illnesses and ailments this past month, and playing MyCAREER served as “comfort food”. I was already keenly playing through the third season from the time I posted my last recap, but that did allow the journey to move along even swifter.

Entering Year 3 of NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, I had a few goals. I wanted to beat the previous year’s record of 72-10, establishing a new mark for excellence in the regular season. Obviously, I wanted to win a third consecutive championship, and take home another MVP trophy. While I’d already averaged a triple-double in Year 2, ticking off that familiar goal, it was still my aim to post big numbers once again. However, I also had some – shall we say – less selfish goals. I also wanted to get Carmelo Anthony more involved in the offense, and to help Terry Hanson win the Rookie of the Year award. So, how did Year 3 of my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER ultimately turn out?

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We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Start your week here at the NLSC with a feature that’s dedicated to opinions, commentary, and other fun stuff related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games. This week, I’m tipping things off with the story how I came to love assists, and why I still enjoy dropping dimes on the virtual hardwood.

Even though they’re frequently a point of contention, statistics are an important aspect of basketball. Fans love citing them, and many of the sport’s biggest stars have been enthusiastic about accumulating them. Traditionally, it’s been about putting up points. Scoring is what gets attention, and ultimately, racking up more points than the other team is how you win games. Players have also sought other statistical feats, such as triple-doubles. With stats being such an inextricable part of hoops, it’s only natural that our enthusiasm for numbers carries over to video games as well.

It’s fun to achieve eye-popping numbers on the virtual hardwood, but over the years, it’s also become a necessity. After all, big games are what earn us the most VC and XP in MyCAREER and its connected modes. As such, they’re an unavoidable part of the grind in career and online team play. It’s a logical approach, though unfortunately it does contribute to toxicity by encouraging a Player One mindset. However, there is a stat that’s usually (but not always) racked up with less selfishness: assists. Having played MyCAREER and its connected modes in several different games now, I’ve grown extremely fond of accumulating assists in both online and offline play.

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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 reflecting on playing through a full MyCAREER season in NBA 2K14 for PlayStation 4, during a recent retro kick.

In newer games, I’m more or less done with MyCAREER; at least as my primary mode of play. I’ve made a lot of fond memories with MyCAREER and the connected experiences, but it has become a grind, with elements that have very little to do with basketball. I’ll still dabble with those modes, but a combination of satisfaction and burnout has made it easier to move on. That’s why it may surprise you, much as it did me, that I was drawn into NBA 2K14’s MyCAREER upon revisiting the game. I was so taken that I ended up playing through an entire rookie season!

The fact of the matter is that once I’d played enough games to write my retrospective on the first MyCAREER story, I felt compelled to keep going. I was enjoying it too much to stop, and as I played deeper and deeper into the season, I knew that I’d have to see it through to the end. While there will be some overlap with the aforementioned article, this time I’m focusing on my personal experiences playing through the mode, and comparing it to my other memorable MyCAREER games. Join me as I reflect on a retro gaming experience that went back…way back…

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We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Start your week here at the NLSC with a feature that’s dedicated to opinions, commentary, and other fun stuff related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games. This week, I’m tipping things off with a thank you to the Rec quitters that left Kenny and I to play 2-on-5 in a game last Saturday.

Because The Rec can be very hit and miss when it comes to having fun and playing a good game of virtual basketball, I’ve played much less of it this year. It’s a bit more enjoyable when you head there with a friend or two, but with three fifths of our regular NLSC squad understandably skipping NBA 2K20 after being disappointed with NBA 2K19, most of the times I’ve ventured into The Rec, I’ve gone there solo. Kenny and I have hopped on for a few sessions together though, and while there’s been frustration, we’ve at least been able to work (and commiserate) together.

That’s what we did last Saturday. Both of us were having a quiet evening at home – kind of the way it goes with the current pandemic, after all – so I hit him up about jumping on for a game or two. The first game was a frustrating overtime loss that we really shouldn’t have been in a position to win, yet could’ve if not for poor decision-making and clock management by our teammates. Thanks to some mic trouble, we also weren’t able to chat during that contest. After resolving that issue, we decided to play one more game, in which our three teammates all quit in the first quarter after we fell behind 15-5. As I said, I’d like to send out a thank you to those Rec quitters.

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