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 reasons why I have no intention of putting a stop to my retro basketball gaming habits.

One of the best things that I’ve done to enhance my enjoyment of basketball gaming in recent years is to avoid the annual grind in MyCAREER, freeing up time to play some old favourites. Dee has obviously been a great influence in that regard, as we’ve connected to play a variety of classics over Parsec. It’s reminded me of how I used to enjoy going back to older games or sticking with one for more than a year, especially when I was disappointed with the latest release. Of course, my enthusiasm for retro basketball gaming has now made it tougher to spend time with newer games.

I have no regrets, though. I still gave NBA 2K23 and NBA 2K24 ample opportunity to impress, knowing that they might not, and that I had other options if they didn’t. To dust off a very old but nevertheless wise saying, I’ve learned to not put all of my eggs in one basket. I don’t feel defeated or robbed of a good time if the latest NBA 2K isn’t entirely to my liking. Beyond my interest in other genres, I have a huge collection of basketball games to fall back on if I’m itching to hit the virtual hardwood. While I do obviously have an interest in the future of basketball gaming, I’m finding plenty of reasons to return to old favourites, as well as seek out some new ones. Here are five!

1. Old Favourites Often Hold Up

It’s difficult to say this without sounding snobby myself, but I kind of feel sorry for anyone that’s so put off by outdated graphics that they can’t enjoy gameplay in an older title, regardless of genre. The popularity of the 16-bit aesthetic in indie games stands as proof that breathtaking visuals are not an essential ingredient to have fun. With that being said, sports games that attempt to have realistic graphics do end up showing their age as they’re surpassed by superior tech. Even if you do look past their graphics, some of their mechanics are likewise dated. What may have been a great innovation at the time can absolutely feel clunky and unenjoyable many years later.

On the other hand, some games do stand the test of time! I’ve seen many of my fellow basketball gamers express a preference for the simpler approach of older titles, or at least they still enjoy them even if they are playing the newest release as well. If my pity for people who can’t appreciate a game because of the visuals sounds snobby, it’s responding in kind to those who scornfully ask “Why are you still playing that? How can you still enjoy that?” I enjoy retro basketball gaming because I know what I’m getting. I’ve accepted those games with their strengths and weaknesses, and the on-court experience appeals to me. Whether they’ve been surpassed is frankly immaterial.

2. The Fun NBA Roster Trivia I Discover

So, this is influenced by being a content creator who has decided to dedicate a weekly feature to discussing and celebrating the history of basketball gaming. Revisiting old basketball games reveals fun facts about them, and the history of the NBA, that I’ve either forgotten or was unaware of. When I first got into basketball in the mid 90s, I couldn’t get enough of learning about NBA history and all of the current players alike. Retro basketball gaming not only indulges my nostalgia for things that I do know and remember, but also encourages me to expand my knowledge. Something that catches my eye in the rosters will lead me down a rabbit hole of interesting facts and stories.

There’s a reason that I’ve dedicated multiple Friday Five articles to phantom stints and the tales behind them. There’s novelty in seeing familiar faces in strange places, or back in familiar places. I know I’ve mentioned them often, but I love how Michael Redd almost leaving Milwaukee for Dallas and the cancelled trade involving Robert Horry and Sean Elliott have been preserved by “mistakes” in the rosters of video games. The classic teams in NBA 2K are fun and nostalgic in their own right, but the interactive almanac aspect of old games – that authentic snapshot of NBA history – encourages research and trips down memory lane in a way that retro content doesn’t.

3. It’s A Viable Alternative With No Competition

Competition and choice is vital, and unfortunately we haven’t had it in the basketball gaming space since the second collapse of NBA Live. It could be worse. For all my criticisms in recent years, NBA 2K has still maintained a high level of quality. I don’t want a virtual monopoly in the genre, but since we do have one, the right game did “win”, so to speak. Still, regardless of how much I may or may not enjoy the latest NBA 2K game, sometimes you want a break. Even when NBA Live was king, I’d alternate between my NBA Live game of choice and an arcade release, such as NBA Jam TE or NBA Hangtime. We don’t have the luxury of such alternatives anymore.

Well…we do, as long as we’re willing to look to retro basketball gaming to fill the void! I’ve previously discussed how revisiting old favourites can potentially provide a palate cleanser in between sessions with the latest NBA 2K, and I’m seeing more and more of my fellow basketball gamers doing just that. Whether you’re unsatisfied with the newest NBA 2K release or just need a change of pace, an older title that you still enjoy might be just what you’re looking for. Personally, I do tend to get hooked on a basketball game when it’s just the kind of experience that I’m currently craving, but I like having the option of switching things up whenever I need to. And, to that point…

4. I Didn’t Build My Collection Not To Play It

For some people, video game collecting is an investment, or a hobby unto itself. The game is in tracking down titles and making deals to complete collections, possibly with an eye to selling for a profit down the road. Obviously, you never know what the future is going to hold, and many years ago I would sell some of my games when I was done with them. However, I like having a large collection of basketball video games at my disposal. Yes, it’s naturally helped with content creation, but if it was only about Wayback Wednesday retrospectives and other features, I could just get whatever I need from games, and then sell them to another collector or retro gamer.

However, that’s not what I want to do! I want to periodically revisit the basketball games in my collection, even the ones that aren’t so good. There are some that I’m more inclined to regularly break out than others – and some are almost guaranteed to be longer kicks – but I’m open to revisiting all of them, at least from time to time. It’s why I haven’t been too bothered about collecting complete-in-box, especially when that’s been more expensive. Sure, it’s great if I can get a good deal, but since I’m collecting to play rather than display on a shelf – or for that matter, re-sell – I’ve been satisfied to get my hands on working discs and cartridges to finally play those games.

5. I’m Frequently Seeing Games In A New Light

Revisiting a game with fresh eyes and an open mind can make a world of difference! Just as I’ve discovered that old favourites are still a blast even when they’re more than a decade old, I’ve come to change my mind about games that I’ve long held a lower opinion of. Sometimes, a game made a poor first impression, but its stronger points become apparent if I push through that and dig a little deeper on a second look. A game might not have met my expectations when it came out, but now that it’s no longer the latest release, there’s no pressure and I can enjoy it for what it is. Perhaps I was just stubborn and close-minded, and didn’t give a game a chance to impress.

No, I’m not going to change my mind about every game. Not every title that I revisit will become a regular part of my retro basketball gaming rotation. Some releases are as flawed as I’ve always thought, and while I may be able to appreciate certain aspects of theirs more upon revisiting them, it’s not a complete change of heart. It’s always a delight when I do find a game that was better than expected, or discover a game that I overlooked because I was hooked on another one when they both came out. With the amount of fun I’ve had and am sure to keep having with old favourites and new old favourites alike, I don’t see myself stopping retro basketball gaming anytime soon!

Are you interested in retro basketball gaming content? Is retro basketball gaming something that you’d like to get into yourself? Let me know in the comments, and as always, feel free to take the discussion to the NLSC Forum! 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.