Classic Teams

by **jaywv30** on Wed Aug 06, 2003 8:15 am

I was really excited about the classic teams being added to 2004 (96 Bulls, 86 Celts etc).

Then I heard they are taking them out due to liscensing issues. What players besides Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have liscensing issues? I think Barkley does but he was never on a championship team. Most of the stars from these teams are on the game anyway on the legends teams and I doubt that most if any of the role players from these teams have liscensing issues.

Kareem would only affect the 71 Bucks and 80 82 85 87 88 Lakers..and even then I'm sure fans of these teams would love to play as them with Magic, Worthy, Robertson etc.

Does anybody else know of any players that had liscense issues?

YouTube · by **Andrew** on Wed Aug 06, 2003 1:08 pm

I'm not sure of any other players that could not appear due to their committment with another developer. I'd say some important players on the championship teams just weren't interested in signing with EA.

by **carlos** on Thu Aug 07, 2003 6:22 am

I've always wondered why Kareem didn't appear in NBA Live Series...

YouTube · by **Andrew** on Thu Aug 07, 2003 10:36 am

Kareem is under contract to appear as a Legend in another game - I forget which.

by **carlos** on Thu Aug 07, 2003 8:52 pm

Andrew wrote:Kareem is under contract to appear as a Legend in another game - I forget which.

Ok, thanks.

by **chipper** on Fri Aug 08, 2003 3:08 pm

Would historical leagues ever be possible?

Suppose we can start 1990-91 season with Bulls dynasty. All teams have their old jerseys and all players have their custom faces. And as the seasons progress real rookies of the 90's comes in.

by **Swoosh** on Fri Aug 08, 2003 7:01 pm

Wouldn't that be a little farfetched? I mean, its not a bad idea, but first of all it's history and i personally like to play basketball with the players from now and like franchise mode play further in the future(though going back and changing history can be kinda cool), i would be a lot happier if the gameplay lost most of it's flaws and dynasty mode works out fine (like fixing salaries and FA signings and stuff), if that's done there should b thought about classic team and stuff(which imo wont be used to play that often, only when normal modes start to bore and to do something else for a change)

YouTube · by **Andrew** on Fri Aug 08, 2003 8:17 pm

Would historical leagues ever be possible?

Suppose we can start 1990-91 season with Bulls dynasty. All teams have their old jerseys and all players have their custom faces. And as the seasons progress real rookies of the 90's comes in.

If classic teams are proving to be too difficult to implement due to legal issues, I doubt we'd ever get that kind of mode.

by **Vins15** on Fri Aug 08, 2003 8:30 pm

that'll be really cool..say i take Jordan instead of Bowie...now Portland would have number 23 on their raft on their it wrote..Jordan...

by **Metsis** on Fri Aug 08, 2003 9:03 pm

Historical league is another feature that might just be cool. Think of drafting Shaq or Kobe or TD or T-Mac etc. That would be just way cool. You could actually get to see how the league would mold with these people inserted.

History has it's bearings too... Wouldn't it be cool to play with the Michael of the early 90's and seeing the excellent centers duke it out like Ewing, Olajuwon and Robinson. I'd love to see the old gang back in their prime...

But again with the leagal issues, well don't count on anything like this happening.

I can't believe that someone would hold back the right use their name a couple of decades after they stopped playing. I would consider it a great honor to be included in an NBA live game. I certainly hope it's not about the money... EA propably ain't paying that much to the veterans... They should do it for the love of the game...

Basket ball, gotta love it...

by **OldFoolStyle** on Fri Aug 08, 2003 9:37 pm

I thought who was included in the legends teams had more to do with the NBA players association than anything else. At least thats why EA lost exclusive rights to Jordan after the league re-negotiated with the players. This also explains Kareem, his contract was with the same game Magic used to be with.

As far as I know Kareem has severed all ties to the NBA and the NBA Players association. If he does decide to buy a team like he plans, he would loose any exclusive rights anyway. Barkley severed all ties with the NBA and the NBA players association to make him seem unbiased as a brodcaster, and also to avoid any fines for his commentaries. No one asked, but Bill Bradley also has no current ties to the NBA.

Now on to a couple of rants.

First, while Barkley was not a part of a championship team, his influence on the game is equal to(if not more importaint than)many that won championships. Anyone that would play historical teams without him, John Stockton, Dominique Wilkins, or Elgin Baylor just because they didn't win championships, is cheating themselves bigtime.

Secondly, some of us find past teams to be more chalenging. It's not about "living in the past", it's about having tougher teams. Why play the Fakers against 31 interchangable teams of role-players and glorified bench warmers, when you can have a league with 7 or more potential champions, 12 potential scoring leaders, 80 potential all-stars, actual one-on-one defenders, high scores, higher field goal %, much higher free throw %. It can also be fun to pit together teams that never faced each other, Fakers vs Lakers vs Showtime, ABA vs NBA, Jordan vs Wilt, Russel vs Bird.

by **Vins15** on Fri Aug 08, 2003 10:43 pm

does anyone know wut video game contract Kareem signed with?maybe Sega?

by **Ruff Ryder** on Fri Aug 08, 2003 11:29 pm

Vins15 wrote:does anyone know wut video game contract Kareem signed with?maybe Sega?

Probably or NBA Street 2(<--Not sure its an EA game).

by **OldFoolStyle** on Sat Aug 09, 2003 10:40 am

The only game that I can think of that had Jabbar was the old Acclaim basketball with Magic Johnson, and that was back in 96 or so. Thats why I think his absence has to do with the NBA Players association.

YouTube · by **Andrew** on Sat Aug 09, 2003 12:13 pm

Thats why I think his absence has to do with the NBA Players association.

He's not an active player so he's not part of the NBAPA, hence he is not automatically included in any video games with an NBA license.

I believe he's either signed with Sega (2K series) or Microsoft (Inside Drive series), but I could be wrong.

by **jaywv30** on Sun Aug 10, 2003 7:05 am

Well the reason I said Barkley wouldn't be included is because I was implying that classic teams meant championship teams.

However, it would be cool to have runner-ups like the 93 Suns, 95 Magic..etc.

In a perfect situation they would have all four conference finalists from every year 46-47 through 02-03.

I was hopin at least for championship teams to have a playoff of all the best teams. Maybe something like:

East
1. '96 Bulls
8. '64 Celts

4. '67 Sixers
5. '73 Knicks

2. '86 Celts
7. '92 Bulls

3. '83 Sixers
6. '97 Bulls

West
1. '72 Lakers
8. '77 Blazers

4. '54 Lakers
5. '87 Lakers

2. '71 Bucks
7. '00 Lakers

3. '95 Rockets
6. '03 Spurs

YouTube · by **Andrew** on Sun Aug 10, 2003 4:09 pm

Classic teams did indeed refer to championship teams. I don't think any runners up or great teams that didn't win a title would have been included.

by **DaManFromGapo** on Mon Aug 11, 2003 3:53 pm

if that's the case then what a waste if we couldn't be able to use teams such as the 80's bucks (moncrief, pressey, johnson), 80's Mavs (Lever, blackman), 70's and 80's Sixers (Erving, collins, McGinnis - well maybe the 83 Sixers because they won it that year) or the Runnerup lakers
(when they ran into the 11 of 13 boston celts).

Cheers!

by **ReyJ** on Mon Aug 11, 2003 4:25 pm

Would it really matter if Barkley or Kareem was in Live 2004 anyway? :roll:

Some patcher would just have to create a cyberface for that player, all you'd have to do is create them and WAHLA! Barkley and Kareem are in the game!

by **Vins15** on Mon Aug 11, 2003 5:47 pm

ReyJ wrote:Would it really matter if Barkley or Kareem was in Live 2004 anyway?

Some patcher would just have to create a cyberface for that player, all you'd have to do is create them and WAHLA! Barkley and Kareem are in the game!

Sum ppl are too lazy to put it in the game :roll:

...and yes there are lots more players that should be added to the legends team....

by **EGarrett** on Tue Aug 12, 2003 12:20 am

ReyJ wrote:Would it really matter if Barkley or Kareem was in Live 2004 anyway?

Some patcher would just have to create a cyberface for that player, all you'd have to do is create them and WAHLA! Barkley and Kareem are in the game!

The game also comes out for Playstation 2...where it can't be patched. In Live 2001 (a game that also curiously boasted the best gameplay IMO of any Live so far) you could edit Legend teams so it was no big deal...but since that featured vanished like so many other features from the game due to constant restructuring of the game engine...now the only way most players will get Barkley or Kareem on Legends teams is if they are included.

Sum ppl are too lazy to put it in the game ...and yes there are lots more players that should be added to the legends team....

Agreed...Kareem (70's) and Barkley (90's) should be in the game. I would also like to see George Mikan (50's) and Connie Hawkins (70's). Shaq, for one, should disappear from the 90's team (his career has peaked in the new millenium) to make room.

YouTube · by **Andrew** on Tue Aug 12, 2003 10:12 am

I don't think Kareem can actually appear in the game though, due to his contract with another developer.

by **chipper** on Tue Aug 12, 2003 2:53 pm

Can EA SPorTS use the players they used before?
I mean, say, the players who were included in nba LIVE 96 and since retired.. Can EA sports include them in future games as well ?
It will be cool just to start of with historical leagues starting from 1994 and so on.

YouTube · by **Andrew** on Tue Aug 12, 2003 3:41 pm

No, they'd have to get their permission.

by **OldFoolStyle** on Tue Aug 12, 2003 7:24 pm

I realy can't find any evidence that Jabbar has a contract with any game company, his contract with Acclaim has expired long ago.

I could also be wrong about retired players and the NBA-PA, I'm trying to refer to whatever organization handles the pensions.

I do know however that there is a provision in the NBA-PA for active players, so companies like EA no longer have to get individual permissions. I was thinking that some sort of similar retired players group was what opened up the idea that classic teams could be made in the first place.

As far as what teams should have been included, look at Madden. They don't stop at championship teams, or even just teams that made the Superbowl. They use any team that made a signifigant impact.

Classic Teams

Classic Teams

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