So when I was a kid, the first basketball video game I ever played that used real life players was a game for the Sega Genesis called Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs. It sort of reproduced the final eight of the 1990 playoffs (ie, the playoffs after the '89-'90 season), and it was a blast. The graphics were terrible but the teams had full rosters and you could make substitutions and Michael Jordan could dunk basically from the 3 pt line.
This year, I'm going to try to reproduce that game on NBA 2K20 for the PS4. That 1989-90 season was the year all the pieces were finally in place for the next decade of NBA basketball. David Robinson was finally in San Antonio; the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, Suns, Pistons, Sonics, Sixers, and Blazers were all title threats but nobody was an obvious favorite.
Within the next five years, Magic and Bird were forced to retire early, Reggie Lewis, Drazen Petrovic, and Hank Gathers all died, Roy Tarpley cocained his way out of the league, and MJ retired and unretired. What we got was a decade dominated by the Bulls and a bunch of other teams punching each other in the mouth. It was all fine, but I've always wondered how the decade would have played out with Magic still playing, with Lewis gradually taking the torch from Bird, with no MJ hiatus, and with all that talent we lost still in the league.
So! I started yesterday. As I finish teams, I will post to describe them here as a way to keep myself moving and honest. Hoping to finish one or even two today!
This year, I'm going to try to reproduce that game on NBA 2K20 for the PS4. That 1989-90 season was the year all the pieces were finally in place for the next decade of NBA basketball. David Robinson was finally in San Antonio; the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, Suns, Pistons, Sonics, Sixers, and Blazers were all title threats but nobody was an obvious favorite.
Within the next five years, Magic and Bird were forced to retire early, Reggie Lewis, Drazen Petrovic, and Hank Gathers all died, Roy Tarpley cocained his way out of the league, and MJ retired and unretired. What we got was a decade dominated by the Bulls and a bunch of other teams punching each other in the mouth. It was all fine, but I've always wondered how the decade would have played out with Magic still playing, with Lewis gradually taking the torch from Bird, with no MJ hiatus, and with all that talent we lost still in the league.
So! I started yesterday. As I finish teams, I will post to describe them here as a way to keep myself moving and honest. Hoping to finish one or even two today!
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