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 Part 4 in an ongoing series where I look at players who only appeared on certain teams in video games.

It’s time for some more video game roster trivia! As I’m so fond of saying, old NBA video games are like interactive almanacs, capturing snapshots of the league at the time of their release (or indeed, their most recent roster update). Revisiting those titles reminds us of players who became familiar faces in strange places, as well as those who later returned to familiar places. We can see comebacks that were over before they began, as well as odd situations such as Michael Redd’s appearance on the Dallas Mavericks in NBA Live 2003 PC.

Those are the stints I’m taking about again today: the players that only appeared on certain teams in video games. There are several reasons why this happens, from an offseason acquisition that was cut in between the rosters being finalised and the real season tipping off, to injuries resulting in a stint that only occurs on paper and the virtual hardwood. Unless you have an encyclopaedic knowledge of trades and free agent signings over the years, it may not be until you dust off an old game that you remember a player only technically appearing on a roster. Of course, you may not be a crazy collector of old games like I am, so allow me to provide some more examples!

1. Steve Francis (Memphis Grizzlies, NBA Live 09 & NBA 2K9)

There’s something poetic about Steve Francis technically ending his NBA career with the Grizzlies. I say technically because he never played for them after being traded there in 2008; obviously, since he’s on a list of players who only appeared on certain teams in video games! Francis had also technically begun his NBA career with the Grizzlies when they drafted him 1999, which he infamously wasn’t pleased about. It was a stance that didn’t do wonders for his PR, but it did get him to the Houston Rockets in what was then the largest trade in NBA history. Though he alienated some fans by forcing his way out of Vancouver, his spectacular play won many others over.

Francis was traded to Orlando for Tracy McGrady in 2004, and in 2006, was sent to New York; examples of a familiar face in strange places. After being traded to the Blazers and released during the 2007 offseason, Francis then became a familiar face back in a familiar place when he signed with Houston to play with T-Mac, three years after being traded for him. Injuries limited him to 10 games, and he hadn’t recovered by the time he was traded to the Grizzlies in December 2008, a move reflected in the updates for NBA Live 09 and NBA 2K9. It meant his first and last games were with the Rockets, while technically beginning and ending his career with the Grizzlies.

2. Brian Grant (Boston Celtics, NBA 2K7)

Although he effectively finished his career with the Phoenix Suns in 2006 following a year with the Los Angeles Lakers, Brian Grant officially retired after being acquired and subsequently released by the Boston Celtics. While it wasn’t much of a send-off for one of the key free agents of the 1997 offseason, it was a rather significant deal for the Celtics, as they also acquired the Suns’ first round pick that year: Rajon Rondo. The trade was made during the 2006 Draft, and Grant wouldn’t be released until October 27th, just a few days before the Celtics’ season tipped off on November 1st. As such, there was more than ample time for the deal to be included in video games.

Interestingly, Grant doesn’t appear on the Celtics in NBA Live 07. Roster updates would’ve removed him anyway, but he’s not there in the default roster either. He can be found on the Celtics in the default rosters of NBA 2K7, though. Nagging injuries ended his career and rendered his stint in Boston exclusive to NBA 2K7, where he likely helped a few gamers pick up some extra wins. As for the real Celtics, their struggles that year ultimately paved the way to acquire Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, and win the championship in 2008. Grant, known for his charity during his career, now focuses on causes related to Parkinson’s disease following his own diagnosis.

3. Matt Barnes (Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA Live 2003)

We go from a player whose video game exclusive stint occurred at the end of their NBA career, to a player who has one at the beginning of their professional journey. Matt Barnes was a second round pick of the Grizzlies in 2002, but was immediately traded to the Cavaliers. He was assigned to the D-League, but ultimately cut by the Cavs in October. Since he was under contract when the rosters for NBA Live 2003 were finalised, Barnes was included in the game. He wouldn’t make his official NBA debut until the following season, when he latched on with the Clippers after a pair of 10-day contracts. However, he wasn’t available in the default NBA Live 2004 roster.

On top of giving Matt Barnes an appearance that only came to fruition in a video game, it also makes him a player whose NBA video game debut came at least a year before his first official minute in real life. As he didn’t sign his next NBA contract until midway through the next season, it also makes him an example of a player that didn’t appear on the virtual hardwood the year he debuted. Although he was a career journeyman, Barnes was a mainstay in the league from his second season through to his fourteenth, and thus consistently appeared in games as well. His final season with the Warriors ended with a championship, a stint seen in roster updates for NBA 2K17.

4. Evan Eschmeyer (Golden State Warriors, NBA Live 2004)

While Matt Barnes finished his career with the Warriors – and became a familiar face back in a familiar place in the process – Evan Eschmeyer’s stint with Golden State only occurred on paper…and of course, in video games. Eschmeyer was drafted by the Nets and played two seasons in New Jersey before signing with Dallas in 2001. After two seasons with the Mavericks, they included him in the deal that landed Antawn Jamison, who was definitely a familiar face in a strange place backing up Antoine Walker for a year. As for Eschmeyer, he may have been spared having to wear the infamous “trash bag jersey“, but his 2004 season was still an undesirable campaign.

Persistent knee problems resulted in four surgeries in five years, one of which ended up sidelining him for the entire 2004 season. As such, while he was a member of the Warriors’ roster that year, he never played for them outside of video games. In the following offseason, Eschmeyer was traded back to Dallas – as seen in NBA Live 2005 and ESPN NBA 2K5 – but ultimately retired. This makes him a player who only appeared for a team in a video game, a familiar face back in a familiar place, and an example of a comeback that was over before it could begin. It’s not too often that you’ll see a player whose NBA journey produces that much video game trivia!

5. Martynas Andriuskevicius (Chicago Bulls, NBA 08)

Outside of a few examples, such as Johnny Newman’s Clippers stint being present in NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, this series has mostly focused on NBA Live and NBA 2K. There’s a reason for that, of course. The arcade games feature smaller team rosters, so outside of situations such as the aforementioned one with Johnny Newman, the chosen players tend to be established members of the rotation in real life. On top of representing a full rotation, NBA Live and NBA 2K also have the most titles, and were the most prominent of the annual releases. Generally speaking, other series had identical rosters to NBA Live and NBA 2K, or didn’t feature any stints like these.

Enter one of the exceptions I’ve discovered so far: NBA 08. The 2008 season release in Sony’s NBA series (aka NBA: Featuring the Life) includes a stint that didn’t result in any on-court appearances in real life, and wasn’t reflected in NBA Live 08 or NBA 2K8. Martynas Andriuskevicius played just six games for the Cavaliers in the 2006 season before being traded to the Bulls in August. However, while playing for the Dakota Wizards in the D-League, a devastating punch from teammate Awvee Storey resulted in serious head injuries. He missed the entire 2007 season and later returned to Europe where he played until 2019, but was still on the Bulls roster in NBA 08.

Do you remember seeing any of these players on these teams in video games? Can you recall any other players who only appeared on certain teams on the virtual hardwood? 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 Players Who Only Appeared on Certain Teams in Games (Part 4) appeared first on NLSC.