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 a list of five offseasons that ended up being quite exciting for basketball gamers.

As another offseason draws to a close and a new season gets ready to tip off, we’ve got some new lineups to look forward to in the NBA this year. To that end, for those who play with current season rosters, the offseason always sets the table with some intriguing scenarios for the upcoming campaign. Whether you want to play with a team that just made a big trade or signing, or defeat them if they’re a bitter rival of your favourite club, gamers are just as invested as seeing those stories play out on the virtual hardwood as in real life.

Some offseasons are wilder than others of course, leading to lineups that make the games set in the forthcoming season even more memorable. With that in mind, I’ve compiled a list of what I believe are five of the most exciting offseasons from the perspective of basketball fans and gamers alike. Before I get into them however, I’ll give an honourable mention to the 2003 offseason, which saw Gary Payton and Karl Malone join Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant on the Lakers. It’s an honourable mention because it feels like a played-out example, and other offseasons were arguably more exciting league-wide. With that being said, here are my five picks!

1. 2000: Big Signings, Familiar Faces In Strange Places

Like many long-time basketballs fans who remember the 90s and 2000s – or even earlier for that matter – I miss the days when fewer stars were nomadic, and thus were synonymous with one particular club. At the same time though, big names have been jumping to other teams ever since I’ve been watching, and I can’t deny that it makes offseasons exciting! 2000 was a particularly interesting summer in the NBA, with the free agency of Tim Duncan, Grant Hill, and Tracy McGrady. They almost ended up as a trio in Orlando, but Duncan ultimately opted to remain in San Antonio. Still, the new duo of T-Mac and Hill undoubtedly had everyone buzzing, Magic fan or not.

There was plenty of other activity that offseason as well, with some familiar faces ending up in strange places. Patrick Ewing being traded to the Seattle Supersonics made for a very strange sight indeed! The Hornets and Heat made a huge deal that involved Eddie Jones, Anthony Mason, Jamal Mashburn, and P.J. Brown, among others. Thanks to the sign-and-trade of Grant Hill, Ben Wallace began his first stint with the Pistons. Glen Rice ended up in New York in the Ewing deal, and Shawn Kemp was traded to a stacked Trail Blazers team. These moves involving well-known names set up exciting scenarios for the next twelve months of basketball gaming.

2. 2001: The Return of MJ…Again

While I’m partial to Michael Jordan’s 1995 return, there’s no denying that his 2001 comeback was a big deal. Indeed, it had been a major story throughout the previous season, as rumours swirled that he’d descend from the owner’s box and don a jersey that wasn’t Chicago’s. ESPN even maintained a “Return-O-Meter“, which swung back and forth with each report that made a comeback seem either more or less likely. On top of the excitement and intrigue it brought to the real NBA heading into the 2002 season, gamers had another reason to care about MJ’s return for the Wizards. For the first time since the early 90s, he’d be officially included in games as an active player!

MJ’s comeback may have understandably been the top story, but the 2001 offseason featured other moves that created appealing lineups in video games. A year after he was traded to the Sonics, Patrick Ewing joined the Magic for his final season. Glen Rice likewise moved on when he was traded to Houston. Speaking of the Rockets, they traded Hakeem Olajuwon to the Raptors, when he made it clear he didn’t want to take a backseat in their rebuilding efforts. The Nets also traded Stephon Marbury for Jason Kidd; a deal that ultimately took them from the lottery to two consecutive NBA Finals appearances. From weird sights to new contenders, it was an eventful summer.

3. 2004: An Eventual MVP & Runner-Up On New Teams

The 2005 season was a great one for basketball gamers, as NBA Live 2005 and ESPN NBA 2K5 are both rightfully fondly remembered as classic releases. They would’ve been fantastic no matter what happened during the offseason, but again, the prospect of playing with new lineups following big moves always adds even more excitement. Shaquille O’Neal being traded to Miami and Steve Nash signing with Phoenix were easily the biggest headlines of that summer. On top of the on-court ramifications, the drama of Shaq’s feud with Kobe preventing him from being a Laker-for-life, and Nash returning to the team that had drafted him, made those moves all the more interesting.

Shaq vs. Kobe was now a matchup to circle on the calendar, and even an episode of Scrubs made a reference to it! Under Mike D’Antoni, Nash led the Seven-Seconds-Or-Less Suns to a huge turnaround from the year before. Nash vs. Shaq was even a thing, as the former beat out the latter for MVP; something Shaq was still sore about years later (imagine that!). Elsewhere, Kenyon Martin was traded to Denver, Carlos Boozer joined the Cavaliers in controversial fashion, Dallas and Atlanta swapped Antoine Walker and Jason Terry, and the Bulls sent Jamal Crawford to the Knicks. It’s about the action between the lines at the end of the day, but the subplots do keep us hooked.

4. 2010: The Decision (And Other Decisions, Too)

Although there have been many eventful offseasons – indeed, I can’t think of any offseasons where absolutely nothing noteworthy happened – 2010 will always be one of the most significant. In addition to being one of the defining moments of LeBron James’ career – positively and negatively – it set a precedent, changing the way that top players approach free agency and loyalty to their teams. In the moment of course, it created a new Big Three in Miami, as Chris Bosh also joined the Heat (and ruined Jalen Rose’s confident prediction from a couple of years prior). While the Mavericks triumphed in the 2011 Finals, the Heat won two out of the next three championships.

LeBron and Bosh taking their talents to South Beach grabbed the headlines and made the Heat a team to use on the virtual hardwood, but other free agents made some big decisions of their own in 2010. Amar’e Stoudemire signed with the Knicks, a move that was soon overshadowed after they traded for Carmelo Anthony midseason. The Bulls finally added some inside scoring with Carlos Boozer. Shaq signed with the Celtics, as did Jermaine, giving Boston a pair of unrelated O’Neals. As for trades, the Mavericks’ acquisition of Tyson Chandler played a huge role in defeating the Heat in the Finals. As a result, NBA 2K11 and NBA Jam 2010 had some fresh new lineups.

5. 2016: Durant’s Defection (But Not Just Him)

If you get a kick out of irony, go back and look at Kevin Durant’s Loyalty attribute in NBA 2K16. Now, playing through multiple seasons in NBA 2K14’s MyCAREER without having an opportunity to enter free agency due to a weird bug has given me a new perspective on player loyalty, but it’s still funny to see Durant’s maxed-out rating in NBA 2K16, right before he joined the team that came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat his Thunder! Love it or hate it – love him or hate him – Durant signing with the Warriors created a lineup that was as deadly in video games as it was in real life. They were already going to be a popular team to use, but Durant took them to another level.

Much like LeBron’s Decision in 2010 however, while Durant’s defection may have been the top story, there were other moves creating appealing scenarios on the virtual hardwood. The Bulls signed Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo, while sending Derrick Rose to the Knicks. New York also picked up another former Bull when they signed Joakim Noah. Al Horford joined the Celtics for his first stint with the team; his second has obviously been more successful. Dwight Howard signed with Atlanta, beginning a string of single-season stints with five different teams. The 2017 NBA Finals may have turned out somewhat predictably, but we had some fun squads for video games.

Did these offseasons increase your excitement to hit the virtual hardwood? What are some other offseasons that produced memorable lineups to play with in video games over the years? Have your say 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 Offseasons That Were Exciting For Gamers appeared first on NLSC.