NLSC Your source for basketball video games.
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 another ten players that became familiar faces back in familiar places.
Since there are a number of players who became familiar faces back in familiar places at some point in their career, its time for the sixth instalment of this series! For those who are unfamiliar with the topic, I’m taking a look back at players who returned to teams that they’re usually most closely associated with, after stints elsewhere. While many big names never had a proper reunion with their former clubs until after they retired, others did don the same jersey once again (or an updated version of it). The same goes for players who weren’t stars, but still noteworthy names that we recall.
Of course, sometimes we forget about their return stints, especially if they were brief and towards the end of their career, and there was no hoopla of an “official” farewell tour. As I’ve said before, one way to recall these familiar faces being back in familiar places is to fire up an old video game, and see them there in the rosters. It’s why I’m looking at these examples through the lens of basketball video games, on top of them being what we’re all about here at the NLSC. Let’s take a look back…way back…
Tony Massenburg: Vancouver Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs (2000-2001, 2004-2005)
Let’s tip things off with a record holder. Tony Massenburg played for 12 teams during his NBA career, a record that he currently shares with Jim Jackson, Chucky Brown, Joe Smith, and as of 2022, Ish Smith. Indeed, if Ish signs with a new team next year, he’ll be in the record books alone! Despite being an NBA nomad, Massenburg only returned to a former club twice. After playing for the then-Vancouver Grizzlies from 1997-1999, he rejoined them for the 2001 season. You’ll see that stint in NBA Live 2001. He also played his final season with the Spurs, with whom he began his career. He was part of their 2005 title squad, seen in NBA Live 2005 and ESPN NBA 2K5.
Juwan Howard: Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets (2007-2008, 2008)
The aforementioned Tony Massenburg and Juwan Howard actually have something in common. Both appear on teams in games that they never played for in real life, due to moving on after the games came out, but before the season began. For Howard, it was the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2008 season games. Roster updates for those titles added him to the Dallas Mavericks, where he’d also spent half of the 2002 season. He played the rest of the 2002 season for the Nuggets, a team he rejoined for three games in 2008-09. This placed Howard in Denver in NBA Live 09 and NBA 2K9 at launch. It’s a weird parallel for the former Fab Five member, and two-time NBA champion.
Steve Kerr: San Antonio Spurs (2002-2003)
Suggesting that Steve Kerr only won all of his rings because he was in the right place at the right time – both as a player and a coach – would be selling his contributions short. However, it’s not unfair to say that the proverbial stars aligned on top of Kerr making some smart career choices. He’s the only Bull from The Last Dance that won a fourth straight title, by virtue of joining the Spurs in 1999. His next couple of years in San Antonio didn’t end as well, and he moved on to Portland for a year in 2001. He returned to the Spurs in 2002 though, winning one more ring. Kerr’s final season as a familiar face back in San Antonio can be seen in NBA Live 2003 and NBA 2K3.
Bimbo Coles: Miami Heat (2003-2004)
This was actually an interesting discovery for me during a screenshot session in NBA Live 2004. When I saw Bimbo Coles on the Heat, I originally assumed I’d discovered an example of an NBA return that ended before it could begin, as I couldn’t recall him ever having a second stint in Miami. He was there for the entire 2004 season though, but did only appear in 22 games. Honestly, I didn’t remember him sticking around for that long, which could also place him on the list of stints that lasted longer than I had recalled. To that point, while I do remember Bimbo Coles from the 90s and that he played for Miami, I’d completely forgotten he was later a teammate of Dwyane Wade.
Ricky Pierce: Milwaukee Bucks (1997-1998)
Don’t go looking for this one in NBA Live 98, even though we’re talking about the 1998 season. Ricky Pierce’s return to the Bucks for his final season occurred too late to be included in NBA Live 98, but it is in Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside, as well as the original final 1998 season rosters found in NBA Live 99 at launch. As I previously noted, this also happened with Dale Ellis and his return to the Seattle SuperSonics. Funnily enough, Ellis and Pierce were traded for each other in 1991. The Bucks had originally acquired Pierce via trade, along with Terry Cummings who’d also returned to the team in 1995. Notably, all three players were excellent scorers in their prime.
Hersey Hawkins: Charlotte Hornets (2000-2001)
One season after he became a familiar face in a strange place – namely the Bulls – Hersey Hawkins was back in more familiar surroundings. No, it wasn’t Seattle or Philadelphia; it was Charlotte, where Hawkins spent two extremely consistent years in the mid 90s. His second tenure with the Hornets wasn’t as noteworthy, as he came off the bench fulltime for the first time in his career. As such, it was hardly a triumphant farewell tour. Then again, after playing for the post-champion Bulls in 2000, simply getting to participate in the Playoffs again – even in limited minutes – was a good note to go out on. As you can see in NBA Live 2001, he also got to wear his #33 again.
Stephen Jackson: San Antonio Spurs (2012-2013)
It’s understandable if you most associate Stephen Jackson with the “We Believe” Warriors of 2007, as he was a key player on that memorable underdog team. No doubt it was his championship experience that made him so valuable, as Jackson had started for the Spurs during their 2003 title run. Jackson never went back to the Warriors after he left in 2009, but returned to San Antonio for a second run in 2012 via a midseason trade that was included in updates for NBA 2K12. He played a smaller role this time around, and though he remained a Spur through the 2013 regular season, he was cut just before the Playoffs. It just goes to show that not all reunions have happy endings.
Metta World Peace: Los Angeles Lakers (2015-2017)
If I asked you which team Metta World Peace spent most of his career with, would you correctly answer the Lakers? If not, I’d understand. The former Ron Artest never spent more than four consecutive years with the same team. Furthermore, it’s easy to forget that after a year in New York in 2014 and stints in China and Italy after that, Metta returned to the Lakers for two more seasons. NBA Live 16, and NBA 2K16 and NBA 2K17, are the games where you’ll see him back in LA on the virtual hardwood. This stint coincided with Kobe Bryant’s farewell tour, though Metta only appeared in 35 games that season, and didn’t play in Kobe’s final game against the Utah Jazz.
Andrew Bogut: Golden State Warriors (2019)
After the Warriors traded Andrew Bogut to clear cap space for Kevin Durant in 2016, he had some stints that placed him among players who were familiar faces in strange places. Thanks to his return to the Bay Area in 2019, he’s on the list of familiar faces back in familiar places, too! He joined the team towards the end of the year, after the NBL season here in Australia had concluded; a return seen in NBA 2K19 and NBA Live 19. As a side note, Bogut was assigned to the G League’s Stockton Kings in NBA 2K20 in the default roster. It may have been a mistake, but I’d like to think it was a joke based on him going back to the NBL to play for the Sydney Kings in 2020.
Jeff Teague: Atlanta Hawks (2020)
I’m going to finish up with an example that isn’t exactly Wayback, but it is significant. Jeff Teague played his first seven seasons for the Atlanta Hawks, where he was an All-Star in 2015. Following stints with the Pacers and Timberwolves, he landed back in Atlanta in 2020, playing a much smaller role than before. It’s a move reflected in roster updates for NBA 2K20, but it’s actually NBA 2K21 that makes this a notable return. Because NBA 2K21 Next Gen launched with 2020 season rosters owing to the shutdown, Teague was still in Atlanta. Technically, this made him one of a handful of players to be on the same team at the start of the eighth and ninth console generations.
Spoilers for future Wayback Wednesdays: this isn’t the final list that I’ve prepared! There are some more examples of familiar faces back in familiar places that I’ll be getting to at some point. For now though, feel free to reminisce and hit me up with any suggestions for names that I haven’t covered in my six articles so far. I may have to edit the next list if there are some names that are more interesting than the ones I’ve already come up with! My only rule is that I prefer to stick with players whose stints were officially included in games, as it acknowledges the interactive almanac aspect I enjoy. Hopefully, trivia like this still resonates with you as much as it does for me!
