The Evolution of Basketball Video Games

From 8-bit ballin' to a virtual LeBron James.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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If you go back and look at the earliest basketball video games, it’s stunning how far we’ve come in the 30 years since Basketball! arrived on the Magnavox Odyssey. The evolution of basketball video games seems like it’s largely about features: the ability to dunk, to call plays, to draw charges, to play as one player for the whole game. But the steps games have taken also reveal something about the game in the real world and how we think about it, from the over-the-top antics of NBA Jam to the struggles of game companies to keep some semblance of Michael Jordan in their games through the mid- to late-’90s when Jordan opted out of the National Basketball Players Association.

From dozens of franchises, we’ve been reduced—more or less—to just one: NBA 2K. But a new generation is promising to bring the return of NBA Live. It’s a tune we’ve heard called before by Electronic Arts, and they have a lot of catching up to do after sitting out the last several years. But if they can bring their own unique take on the game, we might just witness a renaissance of the kind of competition that drove basketball video games to become what they are today.

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Basketball! (1973)

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Basketball (1978)

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NBA Basketball (1980)

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One-on-One (Larry Bird vs. Dr. J) (1983)

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Basketball (1984)

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GBA Championship Basketball (1986)

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Double Dribble (1987)

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Fernando Martin Basket Master (1987)

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Great Basketball (1987)

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Street Sports Basketball (1987)

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Fast Break (1988)

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Jordan vs. Bird One-on-One (1988)

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Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs (1989)

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Arch Rivals (1990)

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TV Sports: Basketball (1990)

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David Robinson's Supreme Court (1992)

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Team USA Basketball (1992)

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Tecmo NBA Basketball and Super NBA Basketball (1992)

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NBA Jam (1993)

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Michael Jordan In Flight (1994)

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NBA Live 95 (1994)

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Coach K College Basketball (1995)

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NBA Action '95 starring David Robinson (1995)

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NBA Live 96 (1995)

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NBA Shootout (1996)

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NBA Live 98 (1997)

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March Madness '98 (1998)

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NBA 2K (1999)

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NBA Live 2000 (1999)

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NBA Shootout 2000 (1999)

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NBA 2K1 (2000)

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NBA Street (2001)

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NBA Live 2003 (2002)

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ESPN NBA Basketball (2003)

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NBA 06: The Life (2005)

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College Hoops 2K8 (2007)

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NBA 2K8 (2007)

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NBA Elite 11 (2010)

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NBA 2K11 (2010)

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NBA 2K13 (2012)

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