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 sharing some screenshots of players in NBA Live 10 that are still active as of 2021, in their current teams’ jerseys.

Since NBA Live 10 has been my retro jam as of late, and I’ve already engaged in the fun exercise of taking some screenshots of 2010 players in their rookie season retro jerseys, this week I’m going in the other direction. Working on current roster updates for NBA 2K11 has emphasised how many players from around 2010 are no longer in the league, and combing through the rosters of NBA Live 10 yields further examples. With only 50 slots for created players, there’s no way that you could make a detailed current roster update for NBA Live 10 on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.

While NBA Live 10 will turn twelve years old in a few months, players these days tend to enjoy longer careers. Many players who were quite young in NBA Live 10 are still active today, and not all of them are over the hill! Almost all of them are now playing for different teams, but a couple of them are wearing familiar uniforms, albeit newer designs. To that end, I thought it’d be fun to make a few edits to the NBA Live 10 rosters, placing players who are still active as of 2021 on their new teams. Let’s take a look back…way back…

As of 2021, there are 44* active players who were included in the rosters way back in NBA Live 10. Several other players in NBA Live 10 were still active as of 2019 or 2020, meaning they stuck around for at least another decade. I’m only going to focus on the players that are still active as of the current season though, to keep this list both manageable and relevant. Obviously, the jerseys and faces are outdated now, but I’m sure that you get the gist of the exercise. In some cases, I’ve used an alternate or retro jersey for greater resemblance to a current uniform. Since we do have a few active players that are still on the same team as in NBA Live 10, let’s begin with them!

* Actually 51; see the 2024 Addendum below!

Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry

It’s amazing to think that in the default rosters of NBA Live 10, Stephen Curry was rated 67 Overall and coming off the bench for the Golden State Warriors. Hindsight is 20/20 of course, but it’s a humble beginning on the virtual hardwood for a player that is now widely regarded as the best shooter of all-time, and a future Hall of Famer. Curry is still playing for the Warriors, and while I’ve seen some fans suggest that he should look to move on to chase more rings, I see him remaining in the Bay Area. Their jerseys have changed and he’s no longer the baby-faced assassin that’s pictured above, but I expect Curry will remain with the team he debuted with in NBA Live 10.

Miami Heat: Udonis Haslem, Andre Iguodala, Goran Dragic, Trevor Ariza

The Miami Heat’s jerseys haven’t changed too much since 2010, but they have added Andre Iguodala. Iggy was a 76er in NBA Live 10, and has also played for the Nuggets and Warriors, the latter of whom he won three championships with, picking up Finals MVP honours in 2015. Trevor Ariza has also joined them this year. And then, there’s Udonis Haslem. A mainstay in Miami and the only player to play for the team in each of their NBA Finals appearances, he’s now the league’s oldest player. As for Goran Dragic, he became an All-Star; sadly, he had a generic face back in NBA Live 10.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Anderson Varejao, Kevin Love

Did you notice that Anderson Varejao had a stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers this year? After leaving the NBA back in 2017 to play in his native Brazil, Varejao made a rather surprising return to the Cavs late in the 2021 season, with the team using a hardship exception to sign him to two 10-day contracts in May. As he was playing for Cleveland in 2010, that’s where he can be found in NBA Live 10. Kevin Love, on the other hand, was still with the Minnesota Timberwolves back then. Love of course has previously teamed with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving on the Cavaliers, leading to a championship in 2016. He’s now the last player from that trio still left in Cleveland.

Brooklyn Nets: Kevin Durant, James Harden, Blake Griffin, Jeff Green, DeAndre Jordan

Not only do the Brooklyn Nets have five players that were active in NBA Live 10, but the players in question can field a viable starting lineup. Kevin Durant was a rising star back then, and now leads Brooklyn as a two-time champion. James Harden was his teammate in Oklahoma City, coming off the bench as a promising rookie; a lot has changed there! Blake Griffin, the top pick in 2009, missed the 2010 season due to surgery, but still became one of the league’s top dunkers. DeAndre Jordan grew as a member of the Lob City Clippers, and Jeff Green has had a solid career. Here they are on the Nets in NBA Live 10, wearing retros similar to ones they’re sporting in 2021.

Philadelphia 76ers: Dwight Howard, Anthony Tolliver, George Hill, Danny Green

Dwight Howard was the cover player of NBA Live 10, and though he’s been rather nomadic as his career has progressed, he’s still one of the active players as of 2021. He’s also a champion, coming off his second stint with the Lakers. Danny Green was also part of that team, and although his face in NBA Live 10 was generic, he’s carved out a solid career as a 3&D player. George Hill and Anthony Tolliver round out the group of active players from NBA Live 10 that are now playing for the Philadelphia 76ers in 2021, which leaves the team just one player short of a complete lineup. All four of these players have had long journeys between 2010 and now to become 76ers.

San Antonio Spurs: Patty Mills, DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay

Patty Mills and DeMar DeRozan were both rookies when NBA Live 10 was released, so it’s not surprising that both players are still active. Neither began their career in San Antonio, as DeRozan was a lottery pick for the Toronto Raptors, while Mills was a second round selection by the Portland Trail Blazers. Since then, Mills – who had a downright awful generic face at launch with pale skin and grey hair – has been one of the longest-tenured Spurs, while DeRozan came to San Antonio in the Kawhi Leonard trade. Rudy Gay’s Grizzlies tenure ran through NBA Live 10 and lasted until 2013, and he also played for the Raptors and Kings before heading to the Spurs in 2017.

Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron James, Jared Dudley, Marc Gasol

LeBron James has gone on a fantastic journey since NBA Live 10, to use the name of a game mode in the prior gen version of NBA 2K14. By taking his talents to South Beach, back to Cleveland, and now to Los Angeles, he’s won four championships and set many records over the past twelve years. Jared Dudley, a Sun back in 2010, joined LeBron in LA for his most recent championship. Marc Gasol also now plays for the team that originally drafted him. It’s interesting that we used screenshots from NBA Live 10 to predict LeBron’s free agency in the summer of 2010, and here I am again, using it to represent the latest stop in his storied career. The more things change…

Los Angeles Clippers: Rajon Rondo, Nicolas Batum

Rondo was named an All-Star for the first time in 2010, and also made his second Finals appearance with the Celtics that year, losing to the Lakers. He’s since won a championship with the Lakers, being a part of the 2020 squad with LeBron. Like former teammate Dwight Howard, he’s also been nomadic, playing for five other teams before landing back in LA with the Clippers. Nicolas Batum, a fellow young gun when NBA Live 10 came out, joins him as another seasoned veteran on the Clippers after several years in Portland and Charlotte. I don’t know about anyone else, but it makes me feel old to think about how both players are now in their early 30s.

New York Knicks: Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson

So much has happened since Derrick Rose was the young star of the Chicago Bulls in NBA Live 10, with Taj Gibson coming off the bench. They were part of a resurgence that saw the team make their first Conference Finals since 1998, only for a seemingly bright future to go down the drain following Rose’s first knee injury in 2012. He was eventually traded to New York, while Gibson was sent to Minnesota. Rose has since reunited with Gibson and head coach Tom Thibodeau twice, first in Minnesota and then again this year when Rose began his second stint in the Big Apple. Representing their current stints in NBA Live 10 only serves to remind me what could have been.

Detroit Pistons: Wayne Ellington

Let’s take a break from some noteworthy names to recognise a role player that was a rookie in NBA Live 10, and is still active today: Wayne Ellington. In a league where the average career lasts four seasons and a lot of solid but replaceable players can’t find a roster spot after a few years, Ellington deserves a lot of credit for lasting twelve seasons in the NBA. He’s been a double digit scorer a few times since leaving the Timberwolves, where you’ll find him in the default rosters of NBA Live 10. Now in his second stint with the Pistons, he’s been a reliable scorer for them. Of all the 2009 Draftees who are still active, only Danny Green and Patty Mills were picked lower.

Denver Nuggets: Paul Millsap, JaVale McGee

An up-and-coming player back in 2010, you’ll find Paul Millsap backing up Carlos Boozer on the Utah Jazz in NBA Live 10’s rosters. Boozer’s move to the Bulls that offseason allowed Millsap to flourish, but it wasn’t until he went to Atlanta that he became an All-Star. He’s on the downside of his career in Denver, though he’s still contributing. JaVale McGee began his career in Washington, and despite being Shaq’s favourite target on “Shaqtin’ a Fool” for years, he’s now a three-time champion. He’s on the Wizards in NBA Live 10, but is now in Denver where he played from 2012-2014. I remember that stint quite well, thanks to my NBA 2K13 MyCAREER.

Atlanta Hawks: Danilo Gallinari, Lou Williams

It’s easy to forget just how long Lou Williams has been in the league. He went from a seldom-used reserve playing with Allen Iverson in Philadelphia (as seen in NBA Live 06) to a three-time winner of the Sixth Man of the Year award. Along the way he’s been a teammate of Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul, and is now in his second stint with the Atlanta Hawks. Danilo Gallinari also joins him in Atlanta, though back in NBA Live 10, he was a New York Knick. To that point, he’s probably best remembered as being a part of the trade that sent Carmelo Anthony to New York, but it allowed Gallo to spend six solid years in Denver. Despite being veterans, both are still quite young.

Milwaukee Bucks: Jrue Holiday, Jeff Teague, Brook Lopez

Both point guards with one All-Star appearance apiece, Jrue Holiday and Jeff Teague are now teammates in Milwaukee. Both were rookies in NBA Live 10, though only Holiday – taken two picks before Teague – has a proper face. At the time, Holiday was in Philadelphia, while Teague played for Atlanta. Both players made their lone All-Star appearance while playing for their original teams, though Holiday has spent most of his career with New Orleans while Teague has bounced around a little more. Brook Lopez is also a Buck now after spending the first nine years of his career with the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets, with a one year run with the Lakers coming in between.

Washington Wizards: Russell Westbrook, Robin Lopez

Brook’s twin brother Robin Lopez has had much shorter tenures with the teams that he’s played for, beginning with the Phoenix Suns in 2010. He’s even spent a year with his sibling in Milwaukee. As one of the players in NBA Live 10 still active as of 2021 however, he’s now in Washington. Teammate Russell Westbrook has had quite the career since NBA Live 10 was released, a game in which he was a second year player with Oklahoma City. It seemed he’d be Mr. Thunder after the departure of Kevin Durant, but he’s since played for the Rockets and Wizards. He’s also just finished his fourth season averaging a triple-double. I don’t think anyone saw that coming in 2010!

Utah Jazz: Mike Conley, Ersan Ilyasova

Mike Conley was a third year player with the Memphis Grizzlies in NBA Live 10, and ended up spending the next decade with the team, where he was a part of their “Grit and Grind” era. As the team was broken up, he was traded to the Utah Jazz, where he’s continued to be solid at the point as he approaches his mid 30s. Ersan Ilyasova is the same age, and has had an interesting NBA career. He was drafted by the Bucks in 2005, didn’t debut until 2006, played the next two years in Spain, and returned to the Bucks in 2009. After playing for the 76ers (twice), Pistons, Magic, Thunder, and Hawks, he played two more years in Milwaukee before going to Utah.

Chicago Bulls: Thaddeus Young

Several players that were on the Chicago Bulls in NBA Live 10 have remained active through most of the past decade, and indeed this list contains a few former Bulls. The team also still has one player that was active in NBA Live 10 – Thaddeus Young – though he played for the Philadelphia 76ers at the time. Appropriately enough, Young entered the league at 19, which means he’s now a spry 32 year old veteran in his 14th season. Although he’s never been an All-Star, Young has been a starter for most of his career, and hasn’t averaged less than ten points per game since his rookie year. I have to admit that since I took a break from roster updates, I hadn’t noticed that until now.

Dallas Mavericks: J.J. Redick

If you said that you didn’t realise J.J. Redick was in his 15th season, I wouldn’t blame you. It’s easy to forget that by the time NBA Live 10 was released, he was already in his fourth season with the Orlando Magic. The three-point revolution has obviously agreed with the sharpshooting Redick, who also spent four years as a key player on the Lob City Clippers. His playing time has dwindled this season, so you’d also be forgiven for losing track of where he’s been. He began the 2021 season with the Pelicans, but was traded by New Orleans to the Dallas Mavericks back in March. Of all the Mavs players, he’s the only one that was active at the time of NBA Live 10.

Portland Trail Blazers: Carmelo Anthony

It’s funny to think that a lot of fans believed Carmelo Anthony was done just a couple of years ago. To be fair, he failed to latch on anywhere after a subpar stint in Houston, and his year in Oklahoma City had also been underwhelming. Even in his final year in New York, in which he was an All-Star, he wasn’t quite the player he’d been with the Nuggets when he was a 25 year old in NBA Live 10. His tenure with the Blazers has been a career revival, and he’s adjusted to a role coming off the bench. There’s a lot of history that isn’t covered by immediately placing him in Portland in NBA Live 10, but in any event, that’s where he is as one of the last 44 active players from that game.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Al Horford

Here’s another one to file under “this makes me feel old”! I was actually in attendance when Al Horford was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in 2007, as part of the community event for NBA Live 08. Horford went on to spend most of his career with the Hawks, making four of his five All-Star appearances while in Atlanta. In fact, his first All-Star nod came in the 2010 season, which is obviously represented by NBA Live 10. After nine years in Atlanta, he signed with Boston. After nine years in Atlanta he signed with Boston, spending two years with the Celtics, one with the 76ers, and is now in Oklahoma City. He sat out most of 2021 to free up time for his younger teammates, but he’s still one of the active players from NBA Live 10.

Houston Rockets: Eric Gordon

Thanks to his five seasons in New Orleans and the last five in Houston, Eric Gordon’s early tenure with the Los Angeles Clippers feels like a distant memory. It can be seen in NBA Live 10 though, where he was a second year player with the Clippers. He’s still quite young, so like many other players on this list, it’s not altogether surprising that he’s still active twelve years after the release of NBA Live 10. I do sometimes forget that he’s been around that long though, probably because those Clippers years saw him playing in relative obscurity. The last two seasons haven’t been his healthiest, though he did drop a career high 50 points against the Jazz on January 27th, 2020.

Phoenix Suns: Chris Paul

At long last, we’re at the end of the list of players from NBA Live 10 that are still active as of the 2021 season. If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! I’m finishing up with Chris Paul because frankly, there was a case for him being MVP this year. Everywhere he’s gone, CP3 has provided steady leadership; his teams have qualified for the Playoffs in 12 of his 16 seasons. It’s odd to look back and think that by NBA Live 10, his time in New Orleans was almost over. After he went to the Clippers, they became relevant for the first time…well, ever! Following good years with the Rockets and Thunder, CP3 helped guide the Suns to the league’s second best record in 2021.

Phew! That’s all 44 players from NBA Live 10 that are still active as of the current season. As I noted, there are a couple of other noteworthy players from NBA Live 10 such as Joakim Noah, Tyson Chandler, J.R. Smith, and Jamal Crawford, who were active up until 2020. We’ve seen some long careers, but obviously there’s been a lot of turnover as well. At this point in my NBA fandom, I’d say that I’ve seen at least two, possibly three generations of players come and go (depending on how you divide them up). Sometimes, it’s not until you look back at a previous video game – and not always one as old as NBA Live 10 is now – that you realise how times have changed.

2024 Addendum

I’m checking in from the future to make a few corrections! Somehow, I overlooked seven players in NBA Live 10 who were active during the 2021 season; something I discovered when revisiting the game to make a similar comparison for 2024. As such, the number of players in NBA Live 10 who remained in the league as of 2021 is 51 rather than 44. Since three years have passed, it’s a little late to produce a complete redux of this article, but I wanted to issue these corrections as a postscript. After all, two of the players are multi-time All-Stars, making them glaring oversights. Even with the lesser-known players, accuracy is my aim, so here are the seven I missed!

Toronto Raptors: Kyle Lowry

I have no idea how I overlooked Kyle Lowry when I originally posted this article, but as someone who has been in the league since 2006, he’s definitely in NBA Live 10! 2021 marked Lowry’s final year with the Toronto Raptors, his longest NBA stint and one that produced a championship in 2019. Of course, while Lowry found his place in Toronto and made six All-Star teams, in NBA Live 10 he was still in Houston and battling Aaron Brooks for minutes. Their career trajectories flipped come 2011, but again, it wasn’t until Lowry landed in Toronto that he really blossomed as a player. Brooks meanwhile was out of the league by 2018, and retired after a year in the NBL.

Los Angeles Clippers: Serge Ibaka

One of Kyle Lowry’s teammates on the 2019 NBA Champion Toronto Raptors was Serge Ibaka. As another player from NBA Live 10 who was active during the 2021 campaign – and indeed, still in the NBA as recently as 2023 – I definitely should’ve covered him originally! Ibaka was a low-rated rookie in NBA Live 10, so with all of the roster customisation I was doing to set up screenshots, it’s possible that he was at the end of the rotation or lost in the Free Agents Pool, leading to an oversight. In any event, Ibaka joined the Clippers ahead of the 2021 season, and had his last noteworthy year in the league. Over the next two years, his playing time would drastically drop.

New Orleans Pelicans: James Johnson

Although he’s consistently found a place on a number of teams since debuting in 2010 – and is still active as of 2024 – James Johnson is admittedly easier to overlook than some of the other players. He’s bounced around a bit and although his numbers have been solid given his limited playing time, it does result in him flying under the radar. With that being said, Johnson began the 2021 season with the Mavericks, but was then traded to the Pelicans. While they remain the Hornets in NBA Live 10, we can still put Johnson in a New Orleans jersey for a screenshot! In case you’ve forgotten – and it has been a while – he was a rookie with the Bulls in the game’s default roster.

Houston Rockets: D.J. Augustin

Besides his four year stints with Charlotte and Orlando, D.J. Augustin has been quite the NBA journeyman. His 11 NBA teams ranks as the third-most in league history, so it’s certainly no surprise to see him in a variety of jerseys. Unlike Serge Ibaka, D.J. was a reasonably high-rated sophomore in NBA Live 10, so I can’t really endeavour to explain how I overlooked him. Augustin began the 2021 season with Milwaukee but finished the year in Houston as a teammate of the aforementioned Eric Gordon, a fellow Class of 2008 alumnus actually taken two spots ahead of him. He hasn’t played in the NBA since 2022, though he did sign on with the Rockets again in March 2023.

Chicago Bulls: Garrett Temple

An undrafted rookie in NBA Live 10, Garrett Temple played for the Rockets, Kings, and Spurs in his first season alone. That gave him a head start on tying Jim Jackson, Chucky Brown, and Joe Smith for the second-most NBA teams played for with 12, though he did have a four year stint with the Wizards. Come 2021 however, Temple was playing for the Chicago Bulls. This makes my oversight a rather embarrassing gaffe, as they are my favourite team! Notably, Temple was involved in the sign-and-trade deal that brought Lonzo Ball to Chicago, and cost the Bulls a draft pick due to an investigation determining that they violated league rules in solidifying the swap.

Los Angeles Lakers: Wesley Matthews

Speaking of undrafted rookies in NBA Live 10 that I neglected to mention, Wesley Matthews is another one who was still active in 2021. I’m not sure whether I skimmed over him in the game, or the 2021 season roster listings I was referring to, but either way I overlooked him. A second-generation player whose father Wesley Sr. won a couple of titles as a reserve with the Showtime Lakers, Matthews joined his old man’s former team following their most recent championship. His best days in Portland and Dallas were behind him at that point, and the Lakers wouldn’t go on to repeat, but Wesley Jr. remained a key bench player as he entered his mid 30s and twelfth season.

Brooklyn Nets: LaMarcus Aldridge

Finally, here’s one that I can explain! LaMarcus Aldridge began the 2021 season with the Spurs, reached a buyout in March, and then joined the Brooklyn Nets. However, he abruptly retired on April 15th due to concerns over an irregular heartbeat. Since I published this article in June 2021, Aldridge technically wasn’t active at the time. He did receive clearance to return to basketball in 2022, rejoining the Nets and playing 47 games. He officially retired again in March 2023. While I wasn’t completely mistaken in originally omitting Aldridge owing to him no longer being on an NBA roster, I probably still should’ve mentioned him, so I’m including him in this 2024 addendum.

So, there you go! I’ll probably make further mention of these errors in a future Friday Five where I make corrections to previous articles, but I was also compelled to come back and add that missing information to the original feature. After three years, it felt too late to whip up a redux article as I did when I covered players whose rookie year jerseys are available as retro uniforms in NBA Live 10, but an addendum before the 2024 season article came out seemed only appropriate. Once again, it goes to show that when you’re acting as your own editor and fact checker, care and dedication can’t guarantee oversights won’t occur. When they do, you can only admit it, and fix them!