Monday Tip-Off: The Easiest Old Basketball Games To Get Into

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some thoughts and advice on the old basketball games that are the easiest to get into.

If you’ve been around a while, reading my articles and listening to Dee and I on the NLSC Podcast, you’ll know that we’re enthusiastic advocates for retro basketball gaming. It’s not that we won’t play newer titles – and of course, the term “retro” is also subjective in that regard – but we love to revisit the classics, and encourage anyone who feels disappointed with modern games to do the same. Whether it’s a brief trip down memory lane or it becomes your primary means of hitting the virtual hardwood, there are many old basketball games that hold up and are still worth playing.

With that being said, some old basketball games are easier to get into than others. Needless to say, the further back you go, the more primitive the games, and everyone has a threshold as far as what’s too old to enjoy all these years later; at least on a regular basis. There’s also the matter of feasibility. You obviously need to be able to run the games, and that requires the necessary hardware, and sometimes technical savvy. There are ways to play pretty much any old basketball games that you can get your hands on, but some are definitely more accessible. To that end, here are my recommendations of where to begin if you’re interested in retro basketball gaming.

First of all, let’s talk about collecting old basketball games. My advice for collectors is that unless you have a ridiculous amount of disposal income, start small, focusing on the titles that you’re interested in. A good place to begin is with your old favourites, if you’ve parted with them over the years. These are the old basketball games that you’ll have the most nostalgia for, and thus they have the best chance of holding up. Bargain hunting is also essential when collecting video games of any genre, especially with so many sellers overpricing everything old under the guise of it being a rare collectible. Start with your favourites, shop around, and expand your game collection gradually.

I realise that it’s stating the obvious, but when it comes to any console games, then you need to have those systems on hand and still functional. If you’ve held onto your old consoles, so much the better; if not, that’s something else you’ll need to budget for. Any console that you still own is the logical place to start, even if you need to pick up a couple of affordable games. It’ll let you know whether you can still enjoy releases from that generation, or if they’re now too old. That may sound strange coming from a confessed retro gamer, but the fact is that while it’s an advantage if you can still enjoy old favourites, it’s no moral or character failing if a game is now too dated for you.

Unless you’re a particularly adventurous retro gamer, a serious collector, or a content creator interested in covering old basketball games, then I wouldn’t advise going back further than your introduction to the genre. While I disagree with the suggestion that nostalgia is the only thing that makes old basketball games enjoyable, it undoubtedly smooths over some of their rougher edges. To that point, the ideal generation to start with is the one that felt like the peak of basketball gaming to you, or at least one of the noteworthy high points. Once again, the hardware that you have at your disposal is also a factor and a potential limitation: you can’t play what you can’t actually run!

That brings us to retro basketball gaming on PC. Modern gaming rigs have the power to run basically anything, but not necessarily the compatible hardware or operating system. Games developed for DOS and earlier versions of Windows can still be played on a new PC, but there are a few additional steps that require some technical knowhow (or at least, enough understanding to follow the instructions). I will come back to playing old basketball games on PC, but I’m deliberately focusing on consoles first because they’re unquestionably easier for anyone to set up. It’s just a matter of hooking up the console, popping in the game, and you’re ready for some retro fun.

Well, if it’s a PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 title, you may have to download an update first, but there are no additional or complicated steps involved with getting everything going! Indeed, the PS3 and 360 would be my universal suggestion as far as the easiest old basketball games to get into, for a few key reasons. One, they’re quite likely the oldest consoles that most people still have on hand, or in storage. Two, they’re easier to get up and running than older PC titles, unless you also have an old system. Three, games for those consoles are easy and affordable to source on the retro/second-hand market. Fourth, and finally, you’ll find some real gems on the seventh generation!

Old basketball games for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube rank up there as well as far as accessibility, availability, and enduring quality. They are older still of course, and while I do think that was a great generation for basketball games with excellent releases in the NBA Live, NBA 2K, and NBA Street series, they may be too dated for some gamers. The sixth and seventh generation consoles are going to be the safest bet for most people interested in revisiting old basketball games though, along with any PC ports. If you’re after a general recommendation, I’d suggest PS2, PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360, and GameCube are the easiest platforms for getting into retro basketball gaming.

That’s not to say that you can’t and shouldn’t check out earlier classics, but it can be harder to appreciate or at least spend more time with them. Some of them are also difficult and/or expensive to track down, if you didn’t hold onto your copy. Age and personal preference/nostalgia are factors here, and as an Elder Millennial who loves revisiting games from the 90s and even 80s, I’m not about to tell you not to venture into the fifth generation and older! The early 3D era is when games will start to feel more dated however, and even if you don’t mind the graphics – which can of course be enhanced via emulation – the lack of depth and modern conveniences may be an issue.

So, let’s get into retro PC basketball gaming. Again, it is still possible to play basically any basketball game for PC that you can get your hands on, on a modern gaming rig. You will need some compatibility fixes and workarounds though, including virtual machines. DOS releases such as NBA Live 95, 96, and 97 can be run using DOSBox and its various forks, but if you don’t know how to use DOS, that can be intimidating. Earlier Windows releases are a mixed bag. Some of them will work fine with modern hardware, while others require solutions such as nGlide to emulate old video cards. Also, any game with a 16-bit installer is no longer quick to set up on 64-bit Windows.

Additionally, many PC titles from the early 2000s, including a few old basketball games, use a copy protection method that isn’t supported in Windows 10 and 11. There are ways around this, and we have a few fixes for the affected NBA Live titles in our Downloads section. While I wouldn’t call it a particularly difficult procedure, that’s admittedly coming from someone who grew up a computer geek and got into IT as a career! It can certainly be intimidating if you’re not all that technically savvy, or you may just feel like it’s too much trouble. I don’t want to discourage anyone, but if we’re talking about ease and accessibility, then retro PC basketball gaming is tougher.

Much like consoles however, if you begin with the mid 2000s onwards, it becomes easier to play some classic hoops releases on PC. NBA Live 2005 through 08 can be easily installed and played on modern systems, and Murat has even been working on widescreen fixes for those games. Any NBA 2K titles released via Steam or on disc are also simple to set up and play nowadays. The catch here is sourcing some of those titles. Once a game’s servers are shut down, it’s no longer readily available digitally. You can sometimes still access the Steam Store page via Google, but you won’t be able to complete the purchase in all regions. At that point, it’s grey market or bust.

To that point, NBA 2K10 to NBA 2K14 are the easiest PC releases to get hold of, because they have disc releases. NBA 2K9 was also a disc release, but as I’ve covered in Wayback Wednesday, many copies shipped without a CD key, and thus can’t be activated properly after installing it via Steam. Notably, NBA 2K10 PC has also shot up in price since Kobe Bryant’s passing, and I’ve encountered some weird issues with two separate discs becoming unreadable. Nevertheless, those releases and the last four NBA Live games on PC are the most feasible options. NBA 2K15 onwards were all exclusively on Steam, so if you don’t have them already, you may have missed out.

Those are some broad suggestions regarding the generations and platforms that are the easiest to play old basketball games on these days, as well as an overview of some of the challenges you’ll face. While it ultimately comes down to personal preference, I’ll throw some specific suggestions out there as well. Beginning with console releases, for the sixth generation, NBA Live 2003 through 06 hold up well, though 2004 to 06 are the best choices for sim heads. NBA Street, NBA Street Vol. 2, and NBA Street V3 all remain a blast to this day. I think NBA 2K6 onwards have the most accessible controls on that generation, but a lot of people rightfully still enjoy ESPN NBA 2K5.

As far as the seventh generation NBA Live releases are concerned, it’s difficult to recommend anything other than NBA Live 09 and 10, though 08 does have its charm. Again, you can’t really go wrong with NBA 2K6 onwards on 360/PS3, though I’m partial to 2K6 and 2K7, and 2K10-2K14. If you can’t adapt to the original Isomotion controls however, then stick to NBA 2K13 and 2K14. NBA Jam: On Fire Edition is unfortunately no longer available, but NBA Jam 2010 discs are quite easy to track down, and that’s still a great reboot of the series. NBA Street Homecourt is also worth playing, though I’d actually recommend the PS2 releases over it, particularly Vol. 2.

When it comes to NBA Live on PC, the easiest releases to still play and get into are NBA Live 2005 and 06. If you don’t mind a little troubleshooting, 2003 and 2004 can be played with the fixed executable files in our Downloads section. There are still a host of mods available for those titles, and a renewed interest in releasing work for 2005 and 06 specifically. The plethora of mods for NBA 2K13 and 2K14 PC, as well as having controls that resemble modern games, tend to make them the best choices. It’s also a bit easier to track down the DVD-ROM releases if you don’t already own them, whereas NBA 2K10-2K12 are getting tougher and more expensive to collect.

Now, if you’d like to go back even further than the sixth generation, I’ll recommend some titles that can provide a great retro gaming experience. I don’t think you can go wrong with pretty much any port of NBA Jam or NBA Jam Tournament Edition, or the arcade originals if you can get your hands on them. They are more expensive now, though! Likewise, NBA Hangtime was the true successor to TE, and holds up just as well. The 16-bit version of NBA Live 95 may surprise you with how fun it remains, and it’s not tough to find. World League Basketball, aka NCAA Basketball, aka Super Dunk Shot, is one of the most accessible SNES hoops games from the early 90s.

A few other old basketball games on console that are worth checking out include NBA in the Zone 2, NBA Fastbreak ’98, and the PS1 NBA Live releases. To that point, while I do think that NBA Live 95-97 on PC are still tremendous games, NBA Live 98 to 2000 are deeper and better-looking releases, and probably a bit easier to set up on a modern system, too. You may also want to check out NBA Action 98; the PC version of the aforementioned Fastbreak ’98, and predecessor of NBA 2K. And of course, with all the progress that’s been made with emulation, you can play several generations of classic console basketball games on a suitably powerful gaming PC.

Once again, I must emphasise that I’m not suggesting that these are the only old basketball games that are worth playing. They are the easiest to revisit and get into though, when taking into account availability and price, accessibility of gameplay and depth of features, visual quality, selection of mods, and overall feasibility, including any technical challenges in getting them to work with modern hardware. They’re just starting points; a way of dipping your toe into retro basketball gaming. If you’re my age or older, then your nostalgia will probably make it easier to get into the even older games, though again, getting really old PC releases to run requires additional steps.

At the risk of sounding snobby, I will say that if you’re interested in retro basketball gaming on PC – or indeed, retro gaming on PC in general – it is advisable to brush up on your computer skills. Again, I realise that it’s easy for me to say that it’s a fairly simple process to get vintage games to run on modern systems, given that I work in computer services and repairs. However, I’ve noticed some people will throw up their hands and quit trying when they see there are a few steps to follow; even something as straightforward as downloading and replacing a single file. It may seem complicated at first, but if you follow the instructions carefully, and ask for help, it can be done.

It’s our goal to continue to advocate for retro basketball gaming, on PC and console alike. As much as we’ll always cover the latest game and future titles, we do want to cover the classics as well, and also help our fellow gamers revisit old favourites. To that end, we’ll do what we can as far as providing guides to getting old PC games to run, and advice on collecting games and which titles we believe stand out. The ones that I’ve mentioned here are, I believe, the easiest for most people to revisit and enjoy today. If you’re bold and don’t mind some old school graphics however, I’ll certainly encourage you to wade into the deeper waters of even older basketball video games!

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