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 provides five examples of coincidental names in various basketball video games.

Something that I’m sure is readily apparent across my various articles is that I’m a fan of interesting trivia and obscure tidbits. Whether it’s the players that appeared in more video games than real NBA games, phantom stints captured on the virtual hardwood, rare features, or other unusual facts, I find them fascinating, and enjoy talking about them. Strange and humorous coincidences would definitely fall under that umbrella. To that end, today I’m talking about coincidental names that I’ve encountered in various basketball games over the years.

Generally speaking, the default rosters of an NBA game likely won’t have too many coincidental names. At least, nothing out of the ordinary, or anything that doesn’t reflect a real life coincidence, such as the time there were two players called Marcus Williams in the NBA. “Coincidence” is also a word that we use, shall we say, quite flexibly. Sometimes “coincidences” have flimsy connections, or are in fact deliberate and thus not coincidental at all. To that point, I’m taking some liberties with the term, as I suspect some of these coincidental names were intentional. They are fun though, so if you’ll indulge me, here are five coincidental names that I’ve encountered.

1. Purple Guy in Slam ‘N Jam

I’ll admit that I’m not extremely familiar with the Five Nights at Freddy’s series, as I’ve never played any of the games. I used to watch Game Theory with MatPat a lot though, so I’m aware that the series has extensive lore, leading to countless theories. A central figure in the games and theories surrounding it is a purple man who came to be known as “Purple Guy”. It appears as though his real identity and back story have been revealed, but it’s that original fan-given name that’s relevant here. In Slam ‘N Jam – a game featuring Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and fictional players – there’s a bonus team with classic monster characters, mostly from Universal movies.

You’ve got famous characters like The Invisible Man and The Mummy, an orange player with a basketball for a head, The Fly…and Purple Guy. That’s his name: Purple Guy, wearing #99. I’m not an expert on classic horror films, so I don’t know if he’s based on a specific character, or just a generic monster that’s purple in colour and name. Whatever the case may be, even though he came first, the popularity of Five Nights at Freddy’s compared to the relative obscurity of Slam ‘N Jam – even among basketball gamers – makes his name retroactively coincidental. Somehow, I don’t think that there’s much lore to be explored here, but hey, that’s just a theory…

2. A Coincidental Pairing of Names in Fallout: New Vegas

Speaking of names that are retroactively coincidental, I stumbled across an example while taking some screenshots for a few articles I have planned. Scrolling through the rosters in NBA Live 06 PC, I remembered that Joe Johnson was still in Phoenix, as the trade to Atlanta for Boris Diaw occurred after the game’s release. He was of course in the Suns’ starting lineup alongside Steve Nash, resulting in a backcourt of Johnson-Nash. That probably doesn’t jump out to anyone who hasn’t played Fallout: New Vegas, which features a character named Johnson Nash, who resides in Primm. All these years later, completely by chance, those coincidental names clicked.

Now, I’m not suggesting that this is an intentional reference. Fallout: New Vegas is set in Nevada – obviously – and there are references to the neighbouring state of Arizona where Caesar’s Legion originated, but a five-year-old Phoenix Suns nod is unlikely to say the least. If there’s any intentional reference there at all, it could just as easily be to the show Nash Bridges, which starred Don Johnson. The Fallout Wiki doesn’t have any notes about the character’s name, so the team at Obsidian likely just picked a name that they liked. It’s funny how the coincidence stood out to me all of a sudden, though it’s probably an indication of how much I’ve played New Vegas.

3. Player Names in All-Pro Basketball

All-Pro Basketball is a forgettable hoops game released for the NES in 1989. As it doesn’t have the NBA license, its eight teams have names that parody actual clubs, except for Seattle which are called the Sonics (but hey, they did drop the “Super”!). It’s similar to Super Dunk Shot in that regard, and as in that game, players also have fictional names. There are some obvious pop culture references here. There’s a Zappa and Rooney, which could easily be shout outs to Frank and Mickey. There’s a Ewing in Dallas, as on TV. Phoenix’s Rivera, Winfrey, and Donahue, seem clear references to hosts Geraldo, Oprah, and Phil. Seattle’s Sulu suggests a Star Trek fan was on deck.

Other likely pop culture references include a (Marlon) Brando, (Hulk) Hogan, and (Tom) “Sellick” (sic). Then, we have some names that have become retroactively coincidental. Dallas has a Nash; like Steve from 1999 to 2004. The New York Slicks have a King, James, and Nichols; LeBron James and Rachel Nichols. Boston has a Murphy; like Troy in 2011. The Los Angeles Breakers have a Malone and Anthony; Karl and Carmelo have both been Lakers. Goldberg also stands out thanks to Bill. And, on the subject of wrestling, the San Francisco Bayriders have a McMahon and a Trump; possibly a Wrestlemania IV reference then, and a Wrestlemania 23 one now.

4. Custom Teams Names in NBA Full Court Press

Considering that there are certain names that are popularly used for sports teams, it may be a stretch to call these coincidental. Nevertheless, the names of fictional and custom teams in various basketball games have proven to be prophetic, eventually becoming the monikers of real NBA (and sometimes WNBA) clubs. Microsoft’s NBA Full Court Press gives us a great example with one of its custom teams: the Thunder. Not only did it go on to become an NBA team name when the Seattle SuperSonics relocated and rebranded, but the fictional Thunder’s orange jersey is reminiscent of an alternate uniform that OKC have worn. Arguably, the fictional Thunder logo is better.

There’s also the Titans, a name that’s since been adopted by two Australian sports teams – a defunct National Basketball League club, and an active National Rugby League side – as well as the Tennessee Titans of the NFL. All of these teams began using the name after it appeared in Full Court Press, though that’s not to suggest it was the inspiration. On that note however, the one that leapt out at me the last time that I fired up Full Court Press was The Impact, since my favourite pro wrestling tag team – The IInspiration – are currently signed to IMPACT Wrestling (formerly TNA). Coincidental names have a way of presenting themselves when you least expect it.

5. So Many Generated Rookie Names

While NBA-licensed games don’t get to play around with coincidental names the same way that titles with fictional rosters do, it’s clear that the developers have had some fun with generated rookies. Some of the names are purely coincidental, such as the Jesse Kay I encountered in my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER. It’s possible that there was a dedicated wrestling fan on the NBA 2K dev team in 2013, but Jessie McKay – one half of The IInspiration – wasn’t well-known back then, and wouldn’t get the Billie Kay moniker until years later. Still, I enjoyed seeing that – especially as she played basketball – along with Jermaine Sherman, Mark Everett, and fake Brendan Haywood.

As I said though, developers undoubtedly have had fun with generated rookie names that clearly aren’t coincidental. If you open up the names database in NBA Live 2005, you’ll see that “Tupac” and “Shakur” are both present, and there’s a decent chance that they’ll be combined. In an NBA Live 2001 Franchise, I saw a “B. Cosby” on the Draft board, and sure enough, his name was Bill. I have no doubt that over the years there have been many coincidental combinations that have turned out to be the names of future NBA players, or other celebrities and athletes. This absolutely plays a role in those generated rookies becoming certified virtual hardwood legends in our games.

What are some of the coincidental names that you’ve encountered in basketball video games, whether they’re pre-existing fictional players and teams, or generated rookies? 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.

The post The Friday Five: 5 Coincidental Names in Basketball Games appeared first on NLSC.