Earlier this week, we saw the news that LeBron James was finally making his grand appearance outside of an NBA-licensed videogame. The 4-time NBA Finals MVP is coming to Fortnite (what else?!?) and we thought we'd ask our staff to come up with their ultimate NBA star X videogame crossover. Back in the 90s, we saw titles like Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City and Shaq-Fu, so a precedent for this type of tomfoolery has already been established.
Question: Which NBA star would you like to make an appearance in one of your favorite video games?
Steph Curry x Everybody's Golf - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Vacationing Editor
I'm currently on vacation, but I did want to weigh in on this topic. One of my favorite activities, which I've actually gotten to do while away from home, is miniature golf. As you might imagine from reading that, one of my favorite shows has become Holey Moley. If an NBA player is going to make a cameo in any of my favorite games, then let's have Holey Moley creator Stephen Curry jump into PlayStation's Everybody's Golf series. Go ahead and even give him some input on designing some of the game's courses. See what creative stuff he can come up with and give some Holey Moley flavor to the next chapter of the series.
Can we also get Rob Riggle to do commentary?
Vlade Divac presents: Human Fall Flat 2 - Chris Jarrard, Has better opinions than fellow staffers
The Serbian Sensation Vlade Divac has always been one of my favorite NBA players. Noted for his strong passing, aggressive demeanor grabbing boards, and his ability to flop like a champion, Divac is an underrated basketball legend. I would like to see Vlade be the frontman for a Human Fall Flat sequel. The game is all about watching ragdolls take dives, so why not bring on the best-possible celebrity endorser? There could also be additional flopper DLC additions like Cristiano Ronaldo, Manu Ginobli, LeBron James, and Hedo Turkoglu!
Michael Jordan x Grounded - Sam Chandler, Make me feel shorter
I’ve been playing Grounded quite a bit lately. It’s a fantastic game that feels like seeing the world through the eyes of a child. In fact, you play as a tiny child, one that’s smaller than a baseball. I’d like to see Michael Jordan inserted in Grounded. Make him full size and walk through the backyard. It’d be great to be dodging his foot falls or seeing him in the distance as a landmark. Or, why not shrink him down too! Though, he’d still be huge.
Steve Nash x Red Dead Redemption 2 - Bill Lavoy, Moose Hunter
I don’t really watch the NBA these days. The only time I watch it is if the Raptors make it to the Conference Finals. That’s when I become a fan. In fact, I probably can’t name 10 players in the league and the teams they’re on, so I’m going with a throwback to a Canadian legend, Steven Nash.
Why would Steve Nash be good in Red Dead Redemption 2? Well, maybe he wouldn’t, but that’s the game I’m playing right now so when his name popped into my head I started to see him as a cattle farmer, complete with coveralls, a straw hat, and missing front teeth. He could run a farm somewhere near Emerald Ranch, and would absolutely need his own batch of Stranger missions. You can already steal sheep in RDR2, but you can’t steal cattle for Steve Nash. Let’s get on that.
Reggie Miller x Phoenix Wright game - TJ Denzer, really liked Clerks: Animated Series
I only know so much about basketball. I’ve followed off and on throughout the years in various points of my life, but I’m not too up and up on the current stars outside of the names that are almost impossible to avoid. That said, I was thinking about this question when the episode of Clerks: The Animated Series in which various NBA stars act as the jury in a court case. Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson, and Patrick Ewing are among them, but leading the bunch was former Indiana Pacers Shooting Guard and 3-point ace Reggie Miller, who acted as the jury foreman.
Miller had a pretty big part in that episode and based on that and little else, I have to surmise that he’d be perfect for a courtroom drama game like Phoenix Wright. The Korean animation ending of that episode also already gave us a pretty good look at what it would be like if Reggie Miller was all anime’d up. Based on all of this very well-informed information, I’d be happy to have Miller along for the ride in some thrilling testimonies and nail-biting court verdicts.
Detlef Schrempf in a Clone High game - Bryan Lefler knows nothing about the NBA
This Shack Chat is fairly outside of my wheelhouse with the topic being “Which NBA star would you want to see in a video game?” I don’t know much about the NBA and even less about notable players. I do recall Detlef Schrempf being a power and 3-pointer machine in NBA Jam and I loved his appearances in various television shows over the years. One such role was the “minister of comedy” for Genetically Engineered Superhuman High in an episode of Clone High. I think that could make an excellent video game adaptation and Detlef could have his first non-NBA-centric starring role in a video game. Everybody wins!
Well, there you have it, folks. The staff has spoken. While not all of them are big-time NBA buffs, the answers were pretty solid. We now shift the question to you, Shacknews reader. What NBA star X video game crossover would wet your whistle? Let us know in the comments below.
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