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Wayback Wednesday: Tom Gugliotta & Basketball Video Games

Wayback Wednesday: Tom Gugliotta & 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 Tom Gugliotta and some interesting trivia regarding his career and appearances in video games.

There are some well-known examples of players whose history with basketball video games is interesting and unusual. It seems such a weird and unfathomable situation nowadays, but back in the 90s, Roster Players were frequently a necessity due to the absence of Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley, owing to them retaining the rights to their likenesses. Shaquille O’Neal was also briefly exclusive to NBA Live, and even David Robinson once required a stand-in. Of course, I also enjoy delving into virtual hardwood trivia concerning far more obscure players, such as Junior Harrington.

Now, on the scale of obscurity to all-time fame, Tom Gugliotta is probably closer to the likes of MJ, Chuck, Shaq, and The Admiral than he is to Harrington. That is to say, if you were to ask long-time basketball fans and history buffs, they’d be far more likely to recall Googs than Junior. With that being said, like so many players of yesteryear that were very good but not all-time greats, Gugliotta doesn’t get talked about enough. That’s unfortunate from a basketball standpoint, but his career also resulted in some fun NBA video game trivia. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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Fixed Final Official NBA 2K10 Roster Released

Fixed Final Official NBA 2K10 Roster Released

After hinting at it in Episode #497 of the NLSC Podcast, I’ve finally released my fixed version of the final official roster for NBA 2K10 PC! It’s taken longer than I would’ve liked thanks to juggling other projects and our regularly scheduled content, but at long last, V1.0 of the roster is done!

The roster adds missing Legends to the All-Decade teams, including Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and John Stockton. All players have proper faces, sourced from old roster projects. On top of that, I’ve gone through all of the original Legends and fixed their ratings and tendencies, a majority of which were copy-and-paste, or in the case of the tendencies, flat out missing/not properly assigned. All of the lineups and rotations for the All-Decade teams have been updated to accommodate the new Legends. I’ve also cleared all of the injuries, and fixed a couple of ratings for the current players. Full release notes can be found below.

Download the fixed final official NBA 2K10 roster here! You can also find a release/support topic here in the Forum. This project is intended to enhance NBA 2K10 for retro gamers who like to dust off old favourites, as well as potentially facilitate some new retro modding projects by serving as a base. All I ask is that you give credit for the roster, as well as leave the credits for the included faces intact. I hope that you enjoy this fixed roster for one of the earliest NBA 2K releases on PC!

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Wayback Wednesday: The Original All-Time Teams in NBA 2K

Wayback Wednesday: The Original All-Time Teams in NBA 2K

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 the original All-Time Teams that were featured in early NBA 2K titles.

The concept of All-Time Teams is naturally a staple of sports discussion. Which franchise could field the best lineup with all the players that have ever worn their uniform? Who can boast the best all-time starting lineup? Who would prevail in a showdown of stars, if they could all be together on the team in their prime? Such What Ifs are impossible to conclusively prove in reality, but they’re a great idea for fantasy matchups in video games. Even in the early days of NBA Live modding, the community was creating Legends and All-Time Teams rosters.

Those projects have remained popular over the years, so it’s no surprise that with all of the other historical content in NBA 2K, All-Time squads were eventually added for each franchise. As I noted when I covered those teams in a previous article, while the concept was nothing new, it saved us a lot of time by ensuring that certain players and assets would be in the game by default. However, I neglected to mention that NBA 2K18 wasn’t the first game in the series to feature All-Time Teams, as a few such squads were unlockable in earlier releases. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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NBA Live 18 Ultimate Team & NBA 2K19 Fantasy Draft Roster Highlights

NBA Live 18 Ultimate Team & NBA 2K19 Fantasy Roster Highlights

In case you missed it, Dee and I both uploaded a couple of new reels to the NLSC YouTube channel over the past week. Dee shared some highlights from a game of NBA 2K19 using an All-Time Fantasy Draft Roster, while mine are from a game in NBA Live 18 Ultimate Team.

Specifically, my reel focuses on Patrick Ewing, who celebrated his 61st birthday over the weekend. I decked out my squad with New York Knicks jerseys for the occasion, and surrounded Ewing with teammates spanning his career with the Knicks, Seattle SuperSonics, and Orlando Magic, as well as his appearances on the Dream Team and East All-Stars. As much fun as I’m having playing with a makeshift 90s All-Stars squad, I enjoyed changing it up to celebrate one NBA Legend in particular!

Once again, Dee’s reel showcases an All-Time Fantasy Draft Roster that he and his brother are playing with in NBA 2K19. The game features the Chicago Bulls taking on the Charlotte Hornets, with some familiar faces obviously in unfamiliar places! Amar’e Stoudamire, Damian Lillard, Julius Erving, Mark Price, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joe Johnson, Charles Barkley, and other stars produced a dazzling array of highlights.

Check out the highlights from my NBA Live 18 Ultimate Team game and Dee’s NBA 2K19 All-Time Fantasy Draft showdown below! Be sure to subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel for more basketball gaming content, and as always, feel free to hit us up with any suggestions of games that you’d like to see us play.

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The Friday Five: 5 Player Absences You May Not Remember

The Friday Five: 5 Player Absences You May Not Remember

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 player absences in various basketball video games that you may not remember.

What’s a sure sign that someone has been playing basketball video games since the 90s? They remember a time when sim titles weren’t guaranteed to feature every player in the NBA! These days, the agreement with the Players’ Association allows all active players to be represented in licensed video games. Roster updates will take care of anyone who’s missing at launch, adding new players as the season progresses. Back in the day, we had to resolve player absences ourselves, either by customising our own rosters, or downloading community-made updates whenever possible.

Even if you don’t remember those days from personal experience, you’ve probably seen and heard people like me talking about them! As such, prominent examples of player absences like Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley are well-known. There have been some other noteworthy player absences through the years however, some of which have likely been forgotten. Since I enjoy NBA and basketball game trivia, I’m sharing five examples of potentially overlooked player absences that I recall. Please note that I’m referring to players who were absent when they were still active in the league, so historical players that remain unlicensed in NBA 2K don’t count here.

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Wayback Wednesday: Revisiting My 1998 Roster for NBA Live 96 PC

Wayback Wednesday: Revisiting My 1998 Roster for NBA Live 96 PC

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 my 1998 season roster mod for NBA Live 96 PC.

It’s overwhelming to think that the NLSC has been around for more than a quarter of a century! Our founders tipped things off in 1996, I took over in 2001, and we’re still around all these years later. Through all the ups and downs, moving to different hosts, and putting up with some nonsense along the way, we’ve managed to outlast a ton of websites. We’ve also outlasted more than a couple of basketball video game series (and indeed, video game studios and publishers). Unfortunately we’ve lost some mods and resources along the way, but we’ve still got some fun stuff from the early days.

To that end, our archives have preserved some of my earliest roster mods for NBA Live 96 PC. Upon discovering the NLSC in 1997 and all of the work that people in the community were doing, I was inspired to try my hand at some modding as well. I released that work through my own site – the NBA Live Domain – and felt immense pride when our founders added it to the database of mods on the NLSC. How do I feel about those mods today? It’s been a while since I’ve played with or taken a long look at them, so I thought I’d start by revisiting my 1998 roster for NBA Live 96, which I actually co-credited to my cousin Clinton. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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1993 NBA Finals Using NBA Jam: Legends On Fire Edition

1993 NBA Finals Using NBA Jam: Legends On Fire Edition

Dee and I have discussed the NBA Jam: Legends On Fire Edition mod for NBA Jam: On Fire Edition at length on the NLSC Podcast, and we’ve also had johnz1 on the show to discuss the project. It’s something that we’ve been waiting for years to see, and we’ve had a blast connecting on Parsec to play with it! Recently, we used the mod to replay the 1993 NBA Finals matchup of the Chicago Bulls vs. the Phoenix Suns.

With Dee as the host and controlling Scottie Pippen, I took control of Michael Jordan as we battled Charles Barkley and Kevin Johnson. Even with our experience playing co-op together and the skill of MJ and Pip, Sir Charles and KJ proved to be an extremely challenging matchup. Needless to say, Dee recorded our arcade take on the 1993 NBA Finals, and put together another fantastic highlight reel for the NLSC YouTube channel!

We’re consistently uploading great basketball gaming videos to our YouTube channel these days, an initiative that Dee has been spearheading with gameplay reels for a multitude of hoops titles, not to mention the weekly Top 10. I’ve also posted a couple of video retrospectives for Wayback Wednesday recently, including NBA Jam: On Fire Edition, so be sure to subscribe for more virtual hardwood fun!

Wayback Wednesday: No Portrait Available

Wayback Wednesday: No Portrait Available

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 the “No Portrait Available” placeholders that are a staple of old basketball video games.

Beyond obvious examples such as dated graphics, fewer modes, and less bonus content, there are some hallmarks that immediately identify basketball video games as old school. They are the approaches and design choices that modern games eschew, either because they’re no longer necessary, or newer technology facilitates preferable solutions. These days, you’d never see a Free Agents Pool that’s limited to the same number of players as a regular team. No active players will be represented by Roster Players, since the entire league is covered by the current licensing agreement.

That brings us to another staple of old games that we no longer see: a generic portrait for players who are missing a proper one. If you’ve been playing basketball games for a long time, these players with no available portrait will be part of the nostalgia that you feel for old favourites, whether it’s the approach in general or some more specific examples. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look back…way back…

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Charles Barkley in NBA 2K6

Charles Barkley in NBA 2K6

Happy Belated 60th Birthday to The Round Mound of Rebound! Since I put together a video re-creating the 1988 Dunk Contest to celebrate Michael Jordan’s birthday, I felt compelled to do something for Sir Charles as well. To that end, enjoy a highlight reel of Charles Barkley in NBA 2K6!

As long-time basketball gamers are painfully aware, Charles Barkley hasn’t officially appeared in many video games, with NBA 2K6 being one of the few following his retirement. He’s a member of both the 80s East and 90s West All-Decade teams in the game, and has a proper face and portrait, but he’s only referred to as Number 34 by the announcers. Nevertheless, he’s a lot of fun to use in NBA 2K6, especially when trying to re-create his signature coast-to-coast plays. Chuck was instrumental in mounting a comeback effort following an early deficit, rocking the rim with some fierce dunks along the way.

NBA 2K6 is a game that I’ve developed something of a fondness for – in no small part thanks to Chuck’s inclusion – so I expect that I’ll be covering it soon in Wayback Wednesday. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed these highlights! I also encourage you to subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel, as Dee and I are frequently uploading videos, from highlight reels to retrospectives and other features. As always, let us know if there’s a game that you’d like to see us play over Parsec!

Wayback Wednesday: Our First Wishlist & How Far Games Have Come

Wayback Wednesday: Our First Wishlist & How Far Games Have Come

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 our very first Wishlist compiled for NBA Live 98, and how far basketball games have come since then.

On February 6th 1997, our founders submitted a Wishlist for NBA Live 98 on behalf of the community. It’s fun to look back at those suggestions now, and see just how many of them have been implemented in subsequent games. NBA Live was able to grant several of those wishes, and as NBA 2K became the premier brand in sim basketball titles, it also introduced features that once seemed like pipe dreams. Of course, going down that Wishlist, we can also see some ideas that unfortunately fell by the wayside after debuting, as well as some suggestions that weren’t so great.

Since Monday marked the 26th(!) anniversary of that very first Wishlist, I thought it’d be fun to go through it section by section, discussing what did eventually make it into video games, what still hasn’t, and in hindsight, what weren’t such great ideas. I believe it will demonstrate that feedback is (or certainly was) never in vain, as well as how far basketball video games have come as far as content, features, and mechanics. It may not always have been as we originally envisioned, but our wishes have indeed come true. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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Wayback Wednesday: Basketball Gaming Urban Legends

Wayback Wednesday: Basketball Gaming Urban Legends

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 some basketball gaming urban legends.

Given the amount of secret content that’s been packed into video games over the years, it’s no surprise that there are more than a couple of urban legends across all genres. TV Tropes creatively titles the phenomenon “Urban Legend of Zelda“, which is extremely apt considering how many examples the Legend of Zelda series itself provides. Basketball games have had their fair share of urban legends, perpetuated through a combination of schoolyard (and later, internet) chatter, misunderstandings, and the occasional trolling hoax.

There have been some interesting urban legends associated with the virtual hardwood, concerning both sim and arcade games. In some cases, you can see how gamers came to believe them, especially before the ins and outs of player likenesses were widely known. I’m sure you’ve heard some of these before, but it never hurts to debunk urban legends, and tell the real story if there is one. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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The Friday Five: 5 Retro Players We’re Unlikely to See

The Friday Five: 5 Retro Players We're Unlikely to See

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 retro players that we’re unlikely to see included in future games.

There isn’t a year that goes by where NBA 2K is missing some noteworthy retro players. Contrary to what some people believe, this isn’t due to laziness or ignorance of NBA history. It’s all down to licensing issues, as NBA 2K – and any NBA video game, for that matter – cannot include any retro players that haven’t agreed for their likenesses to be used. While we have seen some players added (or in certain cases, return) to the roster of retro content, there are some names that just seem unlikely to ever be officially included in NBA 2K moving forward.

Please note that I’m making an educated guess here based on previous remarks and other factors regarding these retro players, at the time of writing. If by some chance they’re included in future games, then this is my disclaimer against a “gotcha”. I’ve been wrong before, and situations can certainly change. However, considering the circumstances for these five retro players, I would be very surprised if we see any of them appear in forthcoming releases. It’s unfortunate as placeholders stick out like a sore thumb, the absence of big names is strongly felt, and it does make certain classic squads highly unlikely. It is what it is however, and in some cases, it’s understandable.

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The Friday Five: 5 Missed Opportunities in Basketball Gaming

The Friday Five

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! The Friday Five is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games, as well as the real NBA, and other areas of interest to our community. The feature is presented as either a list of five items, or in the form of a Top 5 countdown. This week’s Five is a list of five basketball gaming opportunities that developers missed out on.

The phrase “hindsight is 20/20” aptly reminds us that it’s easy to suggest alternative strategies and solutions after the event. All of the information is now apparent to us, and we have tangible results to evaluate and critique. However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t have awareness and foresight in the moment. Furthermore, even with the benefit of hindsight, lessons don’t always stick. To that end, we may recall another useful idiom that was coined by George Santayana, but is often misattributed or paraphrased: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

I’m sure that you’ll agree that this applies to the many missed opportunities we’ve witnessed in basketball gaming. The full scope and impact of squandered chances and design choices isn’t always realised until years later, but we’re usually aware that it’s a bad idea at the time. As the years go by, it doesn’t get any less bewildering that these opportunities in the basketball gaming space – whether we’re talking sim or arcade games – are missed. These missed opportunities range from including appealing and beneficial content to fostering goodwill and creating excitement within the basketball gaming community. Here are five opportunities that developers let slip away.

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The Friday Five: 5 Corrections to Previous Articles

The Friday Five

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! The Friday Five is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games, as well as the real NBA, and other areas of interest to our community. The feature is presented as either a list of five items, or in the form of a Top 5 countdown. This week’s Five is a list of five corrections to previous articles that I’ve written.

Guess what? I’m not perfect. Just ask former Forum members that we’ve had to show the door for one reason or another; especially the ones that email me long diatribes, or bash me in social media and blog posts! Alright, maybe don’t listen to them. For all my faults, I’d like to think I’m not the wretched stain on humanity that they paint me as being. Wry potshots at disillusioned denizens of days gone by aside, I do make mistakes. I’m not infallible in my knowledge of basketball and basketball gaming, and to that end, occasionally I’ve erred and failed to double-check for accuracy.

I’d also like to think that my features, be they articles or videos, have continued to improve. I’ve been able to develop a style, hone my writing and editing skills, and devise some interesting topics to discuss. At least, I hope that’s been the case! I’ve also made it a point to ensure that I do the necessary research regarding details that aren’t widely known, or otherwise embedded in my memory. However, there are still times when I’ve trusted my recollections when I shouldn’t have, as well as a few things that I didn’t know until I expanded my basketball video game collection. In the interests of transparency and accuracy, here are five corrections I’m making to previous articles.

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File Additions for NBA 2K20

NBA 2K20 Cover Art

Not everyone has moved on to NBA 2K21 yet – and indeed, may not – and so we have some new file additions for NBA 2K20 today. Pick up a handful of retro mods from sevin0seven, available at the links below!

sevin0seven
2007 Rookie Monta Ellis Face
1994 Dream Team II Court
1992 Dream Team Mural
1992 Phoenix Suns Logo
1990 Mike Gminski Face
Charles Barkley Portrait & 92 Suns Team Mural

Thanks to everyone who continues to contribute to our Downloads database! If you need help uploading files, be sure to check out this video tutorial. For more information about downloads, the modding community, and File Additions bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.