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 13 in an ongoing series looking at players who only appeared on certain teams in video games.

We’ve reached the unlucky thirteenth instalment in this series about phantom stints! Mind you, I’ve actually been rather lucky when it comes to this second run of articles all about players who only appeared on certain teams in games. As I’ve said, I thought that I’d exhausted all of the worthwhile examples after the first seven instalments. It turns out that I’d overlooked some prominent names and lesser-known players alike, but fortunately David L has been doing some research of his own, and passed along that information so that I could cover those omissions.

To that point, Part 12 covered Mike Miller, as well as four more obscure players that are likely only remembered by the most hardcore basketball fans and gamers. No judgement or gatekeeping here, of course. Even if you do recall them, I can attest to it being easy to forget that they’re examples of players who only appeared on certain teams in games! This instalment features some more familiar names, but at the same time, their phantom stints can still fly under the radar; especially when they only appear in a certain version of a game, or official roster updates have erased the stint. All the more reason to compile these lists, so that we can reflect on some fun trivia!

1. Andre Iguodala (Memphis Grizzlies, NBA 2K20)

Let’s tip things off with one of the most recent examples covered in this series. After three championships in five seasons, and six years with the team, Andre Iguodala parted ways with the Golden State Warriors when they traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies in 2019. The one-time All-Star and 2015 NBA Finals MVP never suited up for the Grizzlies though, as neither he nor the team saw a role for him in a rebuilding season. Rather than immediately buy out his contract however, the Grizzlies and Iggy agreed that he could take an indefinite leave of absence while they explored trade options. Ironically, Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks saw this as a disrespectful move!

Nevertheless, Iguodala remained on the Grizzles as the season tipped off. As such, that’s where you’d find him in the default rosters of NBA 2K20, and indeed all of the official rosters leading up to his trade to the Miami Heat in February 2020. Following two seasons in Miami, Iggy returned to the Golden State Warriors for what turned out to be an extended retirement tour, and of course a fourth championship in 2022. On top of the recency, Iguodala obviously stands out from many of the other players who only appeared on certain teams in games. He’s one of the more prominent names – certainly the only Finals MVP – and had more control over his destiny than others.

2. Darius Miles (Boston Celtics, NBA 2K9 & NBA Live 09)

From a player who never played for the Memphis Grizzlies, to one who ended his career with them! Before Darius Miles called it a day after playing 34 games for the Grizzlies in 2009, he was briefly on the Boston Celtics’ roster. As you may know of course, Miles’ status as an active player around that time was rather controversial. He’d missed the entire 2007 and 2008 seasons following knee surgery, and his team – the Portland Trail Blazers – sought to shed the remainder of his contract, if his injury was deemed career-ending. An independent doctor ruled that it was, and Miles was waived by the Blazers, though not barred from attempting a comeback elsewhere.

However, if Miles did return and play at least ten games, the salary cap relief Portland had been granted would be terminated. Mind you, Miles also had to sit out ten games due to a substance-related suspension. The defending champion Celtics gave him a shot, which accounts for his appearance on their roster in NBA 2K9 and NBA Live 09. They released him after six preseason games, and Memphis picked him up for two games in December. Though the Blazers threatened to sue any team that signed him thereafter – earning the ire of the player’s union and NBA – the Grizzlies brought him back on a ten day contract, and then locked him in for the rest of the 2009 season.

3. Danny Ferry (Indiana Pacers, NBA Live 2004)

Seeing as how NBA Live 2004 is one of my all-time favourite games and I spent countless hours with it all those years ago, you’d think I’d be quite familiar with its rosters, and recall Danny Ferry’s phantom stint with the Indiana Pacers. Here’s the thing: not only was that a long time ago, but I played both the PC and PlayStation 2 versions of NBA Live 2004, and there are a few differences in their rosters. I did a lot of work with the rosters on PC, but on PS2, I was playing a Dynasty with the Bulls. I was therefore focusing on my own lineup, thus Ferry being on the Pacers’ injured reserve escaped my notice. He’s a free agent on PC, as that version came out later.

That explains the discrepancy between lineups on PC and PlayStation 2, but how did Ferry come to be an Indiana Pacer in the latter release? In 2003, Ferry won a title as a member of the San Antonio Spurs, whom he had joined in 2000 after ten years with the Cleveland Cavaliers. That offseason, he was part of the three team trade that sent Brad Miller to Sacramento, Ron Mercer and Hedo Turkoglu to San Antonio, and Scot Pollard to Indiana. While Pollard played the next three seasons for the Pacers, Ferry opted to retire, hence why he’s a free agent in NBA Live 2004 PC. He hadn’t called it a day when the PS2 version went gold however, resulting in his phantom Pacers stint.

4. Caron Butler (Phoenix Suns, NBA 2K14)

A two-time All-Star and a champion in 2011, Caron Butler ended up playing for nine teams during his NBA career. Most of us probably recall his stint with the Wizards, where he garnered those All-Star appearances, or perhaps his time with the Mavericks that earned him a championship ring. Hardcore hoop heads may also remember that he debuted with the Miami Heat, and played a year for the Los Angeles Lakers after being a part of the Shaquille O’Neal trade. His later stints with the Clippers, Pistons, Bucks, Kings, and Thunder weren’t as memorable, even as he remained a key player in the rotation. Similarly, his phantom stint with the Phoenix Suns is easily forgotten.

It came between his run with the Lob City Clippers, and a season split between the Bucks and Thunder. Butler was traded to Phoenix along with Eric Bledsoe in the multi-team deal that also sent J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley to the Clippers. The Bucks were also involved in that deal, receiving picks from the Clippers and Suns. They would then acquire Butler in a separate deal about six weeks later. The prior gen version of NBA 2K14 was released in the interim, while Butler was still on the Suns’ roster. The official roster updates soon took care of that – and later his move to OKC – but that phantom stint is preserved in the original default rosters of NBA 2K14.

5. Mark Blount (Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA 2K10 & NBA Live 10)

I’ve actually covered this phantom stint before, albeit from a different perspective; namely, a return that was over before it began. Since Mark Blount did actually play for the Timberwolves before he appeared on their roster in NBA 2K10 and NBA Live 10, he’s not strictly an example. As I’ve said before, it’s why in hindsight, I should’ve called this series “Phantom Stints” rather than “Players Who Only Appeared on Certain Teams in Games”! With that being said, I’ve used Rick Fox’s return to the Celtics in 2004 and Mark Jackson’s return to the Nuggets in 2002 in a previous list, since those stints were in games but didn’t result in any official on-court appearances.

Therefore, I’ll include Mark Blount in this series as well. In fact, Blount came much closer to completing that return and turning a phantom stint into a tangible one. The Minnesota Timberwolves had traded him to the Miami Heat in 2007, where he spent the next two seasons. Miami then traded him back to Minnesota in August 2009, which as noted above, placed him on the Timberwolves’ roster in NBA Live 10 and NBA 2K10. He didn’t play a single game this time around though, and was cut in March, bringing his NBA career to a close. Again, a bit of an unusual example, but technically his second Timberwolves stint only led to action on the virtual hardwood.

Thus ends another list of players who only appeared on certain teams in games! Do you remember these players and their phantom stints? Are there any other examples that you can recall that I haven’t covered yet? Let me know in the comments, and as always, feel free to take the discussion to the NLSC Forum! There are a few more instalments on the way, but that’s all for this week, so thanks for checking in, have a great weekend, and please join me again next Friday for another Five.