NBA Stories: A shout-out to me from Bill Simmons and The Ringer podcast

2020 is a year that started auspicious for Lee Unagi and his YouTube channel. In case you wonder why I am writing this is because...that is me. My actual name is Levy Nagy but Lee Unagi is the version of the name I came up with while I was in Asia teaching English to kids who wanted a more Asian-friendly name for me as they were struggling with my natural Hungarian name in the classroom.

I went to sleep last night getting notifications from YouTube followers and got a bit surprised at the growing numbers of subscribers on my channel in only a few couple of hours. First thing I checked when I woke up was the news. Surprisingly for me, I got a shout-out on Bill Simmons' newest  episode (number 14) of The Book Of Basketball 2.0 podcast on The Ringer network. Even more surprising was that his guest was Steve Nash, my all time favorite NBA player whom me and other knowledgeable NBA fans consider the last pointgod (a point guard who played godlike basketball) in the NBA. 

There was a link to YouTube and a short 7 minute video with Bill and Steve talking face to face while some highlights of the infamous Game 4 of the 2007 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Semifinals between Phoenix and San Antonio were rolling in the background. The poster for the podcast with Robert Horry's hip checking Steve Nash into the sideline boards  was exactly the picture I cropped and used as a cover for the same very game I uploaded to YouTube in May 2019. That felt good but...must have felt awful for poor Steve!

Another quite shocking thing for me after listening to Bill Simmon's latest podcast with Steve Nash was to find out Steve never really watched the Suns games over the last years and especially the fact the game I uploaded - which Bill asked him to watch entirely so they can talk about in this episode on his podcast - gave a whole lot of anxiety to Steve Nash because of the way things were handled back then by the referees, David Stern who died only a couple of days ago, and the over aggressive Spurs players including Bruce Bowen and Robert Horry. I am really sorry my upload brought sadness and desperation to Steve Nash who evidently was lost for words a few times on the podcast. Also I couldn't not notice Nash wasn't really prepared to have this conversation with Bill despite he is in general a great spokesman and well informed.

On the same 7 minute short video from the podcast, people commented on YouTube saying that Steve Nash is underrated although him and the Suns revolutionized basketball and shaped it the way it is played nowadays.

• The problem is you bring on a player and it turns into a boring interview. With another NBA writer/historian it’s an awesome back and forth conversation between knowledgeable people. Nash admits he doesn't think about this stuff and can’t remember half of this stuff 👍 but as player interviews go this one isn’t bad.

• This was the best podcast in the series so far. Well done!
• Nash is underrated.
• True but the man did win not one, but TWO MVP’s.
• Yeah. But he still does not get enough credit for it.
• People spent a decade slandering him because a white boy won an MVP over Kobe, sad people!
• He is definitely properly rated.

• ME: He is underrated! Just because you and me appreciate him doesn't mean the majority of the people do the same. He has been underrated all his career starting at the draft and when signed with Phoenix in 1996 (the best draft in the NBA history!) and booed by Phoenix fans (yes, you read it correctly!).

• Nash is underrated because he played on one of the best teams in the NBA, but really was FAR better than the other two of the "big three". Stoudemire and Marion were both fine, but neither had any chops on their own: Nash was the engine and soul of that team. Think abut it: they were mostly even with the Spurs, who had a "big three" who could each create by themselves of play off the ball. Stoudemire and Marion could really create efficiently by themselves. Each brought something. But Nash was the key. Reminds me of Barkley in Phoenix. KJ was never enough as a second fiddle. Same with Nash. Both first ballot HoF-ers.
• Dude would thrive in today’s NBA, was just a little to early.
• Since 2000 I don’t think there is a pointguard that has gotten more people paid than Nash. A lot of players owe him a few steak dinners for what he did to their career.
• Steve Nash is the player that really "changed the game." Everyone else took the league he made to the next level. Congratulations to them, but don't erase what Steve and those Suns did.

• That Horry hip check killed the series. As Simmons wrote in his book "even a washed up Horry could swing a series". LOL

• One of the most controversial plays in NBA history and no one even scored.
• Refs always ruining something.

• Make no mistake, the Suns CRUSHED Cleveland twice that same year. San Antonio went on to sweep them but Phoenix would have as well. David Stern decided the championship when he suspended the Suns' leading scorer and his main back up at the same time.

• Probably one of the greatest teams to never make a finals. Though once or twice they were clearly screwed.
• Thinking about that series just made me sick. The league hated the Suns.

On that last note, let me add this. The now defunct and much praised David Stern by the media people who didn’t really know him, helped the Spurs back then and robbed the Suns of their chance to advance to the next round. Spurs were a great team but they were preferred by Stern as they better fit the NBA's international marketing agenda (which ironically was the biggest achievement of David Stern's career as NBA commissioner). 

When fans discuss the commissioner's decision to penalize the Suns by the book, they all realize the law was applied wrongfully - and Phoenix fans knew it back then already. One of the comments on my Game 4 video clearly states the undeniable facts. The rule IS NOT if you “leave the bench you get suspended” or “step on the court when a foul has occurred”; according to Stu Jackson, VP of officiating, the rule it is: “if you leave the bench DURING AN ALTERCATION, you get suspended.” If you check the tape, the “altercation” (assuming it rises to the level) had not happened yet when Boris and Amare came off the bench. It’s only well after Amare and Boris come to check on Nash and are right by his side that the altercation takes place. So the suspension of Amare Stoudamire and Boris Diaw was...unlawful but made by David Stern in a "horry" (you get the pun!).

A few more things about me and the passion for basketball and the NBA. I've been listening and reading Bill Simmons analysis and comments about the NBA for about 15 years, never really missing any of his podcasts. Steve Nash is the player I tried to emulate unintentionally during my 13 years of amateur basketball playing. He was my doppelganger in the NBA. I had played football brilliantly until high school when I fell in love with basketball. Technically speaking I turned long 25 meter leg shots on the football field I used to kick (and destroyed a few rusty goal posts!) into later well known long threes on the basketball court opposing teams were afraid of in the 90s because they didn't know how to guard them so far from the basket. I played basketball at semi-pro level until graduating from college when I got my spinal cord injury just like Steve(!), not to mention I am white European and had long hair for years. 

I've watched Steve's career from day 1 and knew right away he would turn out to be THIS good. The rest is just hate and envy coming from low IQ players like Shaq & co. and their so-called "fans" who just jumped on bandwagons like Lakers, Heat and Warriors at the time. Life is unfair but worth living as long as you keep in mind what Steve Nash always said (but not many listened): "Let's have some fun out there!".

NBA Stories: Dirk Nowitzki, not your usual retired basketball player

Another NBA legend came to the end of his career... This time is someone greater than usually. It's Dirk Nowitzki who is the European basketball player with the longest career - even if not the most successful career compared to Tony Kukoc. I watched them both from start till end, and I am more pleased with what Dirk achieved. Tony was a fantastic player and 3 time NBA champion with Chicago Bulls but Dirk was a humble guy who happened to be unguardable in game due to  his size and one leg fadeaway jumpshot. Something that now is forbidden by the soft NBA system just because the 'punk' Reggie Miller abused it with the extra kick he flexed that leg to create space for his three pointer jumpshot.

I remember Dirk Nowitzki from day one he entered the NBA. Because I am a lifetime Phoenix Suns I noticed the trades my team used to make with Dallas Mavericks. So I ended up watching Dallas sometimes because one third of their roster was full with ex-Suns players. A.C. Green, Cedric Ceballos, Michael Finley, Steve Nash are only the most notorious players on that list. But one day this skinny, tall white guy with blond hair was substituted in and life for real basketball fans in Dallas was never the same.

Dirk was an amazing shooter. In case you didn't know the story he destroyed the NBA All Star team when he was only 18 by scoring 42 in one game. That's when Charles Barkley tried to convince him to skip army and go to play college hoops at his Auburn University. Anyway, here comes Dirk straight to the NBA one year later and now everybody is watching him showcasing that typical German precision we all know about if you lived in Europe long enough. What people don't know his humbleness is not German at all. That is only his! I always said Dirk is the nicest German guy you will ever meet.

The time I cheered the most for a player and even a team apart from the Suns was the 2011 Dallas Mavericks. I remember clearly my childhood friends writing me back to my posts on social media about the NBA playoffs and the Finals that year and everybody I talked to agreeing Dallas deserved to win. Some were saying if god existed he would have allowed that to happen. I still have the Dallas 2011 playoffs run along with hundreds of other NBA games in my archives, and watching both the 2006 and the 2011 Finals bring back wonderful memories. All that thanks to Dirk Nowitzki.

The following paragraphs are from the official retirement ceremony reported by the NBA media.

Nowitzki never shared his retirement plans because he didn't want a farewell tour, but he also said he only began serious deliberations on retirement when his lower body gave him issues late in the season. The 14-time All-Star got the farewell treatment on the road anyway, with opposing fans chanting "We want Dirk" and giving him standing ovations, and LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers stopping a game, grabbing a public address microphone and honoring Nowitzki. But the league's 2007 MVP and 2011 NBA Finals MVP also knew how difficult the past two seasons had been physically, including missing the first 26 games of his final campaign after a longer-than-expected recovery from ankle surgery last April. Nowitzki was experiencing flare-ups in his feet and ankles late this season. "It takes a lot at 40 to get ready every night and then with the foot pain," Nowitzki said. "It just took a little bit of the fun away from the sport I love. I think that actually made the decision easier for me." [Yes, the same was the case with Steve Nash and his lower back pain - Me].

Just like that, the best player in Mavericks history officially ended a 21-year, future Hall-of-Fame career. Nowitzki rose from an unknown foreign Draft prospect to a league MVP and NBA champion while revolutionizing the game with his combination of height and shooting touch. In doing so, he lifted Dallas from its doldrums to perennial contention and league-wide respect.

For that and much more, Mavericks fans serenaded Nowitzki with one chant just as heartfelt as the one before: "THANK YOU DIRK." That followed messages of admiration and appreciation NBA legends in attendance. Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Shawn Kemp and countryman Detlef Schrempf spoke in honor of the player who was shown in an old video listing each of them as among those he idolized growing up in Germany. "The only guy that was missing was MJ," Nowitzki said, referring to Michael Jordan - the player he passed to become the oldest to score at least 30 in a game. "That was my No. 1. They brought Larry Legend. I mean, it's, that was an emotional moment when I saw all five of them and I was in shock really."

"This is obviously super, super emotional. Just too many people to really thank. I put you guys on a helluva ride with a lot of ups and downs, and you guys always stuck with me and supported me, so I appreciate it." This is how the NBA report ends.

Well, true fans will support their favorite players no matter what. At least this is what it used to be. Luckily for Dirk, Mavericks fans always had the patience and passion to cheer for their stars. And they deserved to get and keep Dirk Nowitzki until the end. 21 seasons! Basketball players and their so-called fans of this new millennial era will never understand this kind of loyalty. I am so glad I had the chance to witness greatness of the golden era of NBA and international basketball.

Here is the video with the somewhat ad-hoc retirement ceremony that took place on April 9th, 2019.

And because basketball wouldn't exist without fans, I will share some of the most interesting comments I've read on YouTube where the people commented about the ceremony and the legacy of Dirk Nowitzki. I also added a few of my replies to their comments.

JS: I could not believe that Larry bird and chuck actually came. Chuck was just in Minneapolis the night before😂😂and when was the last time Scottie Pippen was social like that

Me@JS: Scottie is very active lately. Check his appearances on ESPN. He even taught NBA teams how to defend James Harden in 2019.

RG: I still dream of mavericks with nash and dirk and what would have happened if they didn't go separate ways

Me@RG: I am the biggest fan of Nash since he was drafted by PHX (and everyone else was booing him!) but I wonder the same.

Mavs got lots of faces that shaped the franchise, and Dirk certainly stood out among the rest. He could have left and joined other teams for multiple rings, but he stayed for 21 years in the franchise that drafted him. Man, humble.

Dirk is one of the best, most loyal player in NBA history. A true role model.

All time great!! Nice and humble guy.. had a great career...  mavs fan are lucky to have had him.

You can't spell DALLAS MAVERICKS without D-I-R-K

More than 31.000 Points, 11.000 Rebounds, 3.000 Assists, 1.000 Blocks, 1.000 Steals und 1.500 3-points. All for the Mavericks.

The perfect example that you don't need to be an asshole to be a great and competitive player. think about it, he came as a young, lanky guy from Würzburg who only had played in the 2. league in Germany. then he won every major award in the NBA, revolutionised his position and by doing so, he kept the same goofy, loveable and most importantly humble human being. that's beyond greatness!

My son now is 4 months old. That's why I name him Dirk because of you Dirk Nowitzki. My Favourite Nba Player Of all Time. #LivingLegend 41/21/1

I flew twice from Germany to Dallas on my own just to see him. It was worth every dollar and every hour of flight time. He is a legend to me because he's one of a kind. I don't know any other athlete who is so successful and at the same time so down-to-earth like Dirk. A role model on every imaginable level. Take care, Dirty and thank you for 21 years!

GV: Mark Cuban should pay Dirk all the paycuts he have made for his entire career. Enjoy your retirement Mr. MVP!

Me@GV: $80M?! Mark Cuban promised to give him a job for life and to build him the biggest statue. I'd say that's not bad.

I am a laker fan and my feelings towards dirk were not positive, but watching this tears come to my eyes...legend

It feels like a part of my childhood is gone

Greatest fade away jump shooter of all time hands down!!!

yo daddy: Lmao in his fade-aways he barely puts his leg up

Me@yo daddy: It's not legal anymore! It's the (NBA) PC era now... You can travel but not compete.

Fan of you from 2006. You are humble and hard-working and talented. Thanks for your guide in my life

Got your jersey hanging in my room right next to the bed to remind me everytime I see it before sleeping why I love the game of basketball so much. Thank you for all the memories and inspiration Dirk. A true loyal legend to the very end.

HH: The first time I watched NBA was during the 2011 NBA finals ... Damn that series ... The mavs and dirk were the reason I started to follow NBA afterwards 😌😌 #MyGOAT #Legend

Me@HH: My first NBA game was...in 1991 but the 2011 Finals were the best and the 2006 Finals the craziest because of Dirk. ;)

I'm Japanese but your are my favorite. Your Championship is the most meaningful of the NBA history I've seen ever. Thank you Dirk.

Hats off to the legend, think about all that money he gave up in order to help the team.

Dirk and Wade both scored 30 on last game and retired the same time!

Comparing to Wade’s circus “last dance”, this is certainly more respectable

H: Dirk will mean more to Dallas fans than Kobe or D-Wade mean to their fans. Only Dirk could do what he did, take PAY CUTS (Kobe) and stay with one team like Dirk did.

Me@H: This is the best comment to all those LAL and MIA fans who hate on DAL and Dirk. Hats off to you, sir! :)

Such a super underrated and humble player... RESPECT THE LEGENDARY DIRK

I will not forget that Dirk destroyed the Super team by D. Wade and L. James(denying he has never been in Super team)

Real champion.. didn't ask for superstar teammates. Won a championship the right way.

Goodbye to the last honest player in NBA history! Not a Mavs fan but this dude is legend!

And now the real test starts for Dirk, good luck

Will gonna miss some legends next year

This new generation of basketball better be good with all these iconic superstars fading away from this league

How can anyone dislike this? I mean srsly... Even if you hate the mavs u gotta respect the man...

It is hard to find negative comment about my man Dirk, this restore my faith in people.

Well, there is always something negative in the comments. Even if not pointed straight to Dirk... Once someone brings up another successful player, the haters come out of their closet. And if it wasn't redundant enough to associate god with a moron's username it would be all swell... I will end with this.

Coin Roll Hunting and Basketball: What the hell, they're not giving credit to Jamal Crawford [from Phoenix]? He had 51 points [against Dallas in Dirk's last home game]. Who was the oldest player ever to score 50+ got 39, and no one's given him credit.

Lolll Jdd: Jamal Crawford as oldest player to score 50+ points.

Swag God: unfortunately no one will give a fuck, dirks career> jamals entire ancestry

jamexxxxxxxx: @Swag God he scored 50 at 39 years old, IDIOT

Hood Rats Unknown accomplice: Swag God why can’t u just be happy for both of them you asshole

Yeah, why can't we all just get along?!...

Levy's 2006-07 Season DLC is launched (as a tribute to the revolutionary PHX Suns from the 2000s)

       Now that I have found the best formula that makes the game even more realistic than it was before, we can apply it to the new season mods I have just created in June and July 2018. :) But let's start with the most recent one.

       It was the summer of 2006 when I realized the NBA Live series after the 2005 edition wasn't just no fun anymore but it became unplayable for serious, experienced gamers like me. Granted, it was the last videogame I enjoyed on Windows XP. Yeah, good old times you might say...

       At that exact time I lived and travelled through half of USA not having much time for gaming nor watching NBA on TV except for a brief moment to enjoy the Finals that year when Nowitzki's DAL Mavericks battled Dwayne Wade's MIA Heat.

       The first laptop I bought was a very nice refurbished Toshiba Satellite that could run the new NBA Live 2007, released in October 2006. Back then one of my European friends hosted me in his small flat in Queens, NY. The game itself was very buggy and used to crash all the time so I got frustrated. My laptop got frustrated too and decided to give blow up the processor exactly one day before my US visa expired and my long flight back to Europe.

       I remember me travelling up and down Manhattan trying to find the Toshiba repair center. Of course they couldn't help fix it in less than 24 hours; luckily my international warranty helped me get a new processor for free in Europe 3 months later. I am sure the greedy corporation don't cover you anymore worldwide nowadays!

      So this is how I missed the NBA gaming experience for about a year because as soon as I interrupted the joy for 4 months, it simply wasn't there anymore for me... My biggest wish was to refresh that year in my mind somehow and be able to play that season where I have left off.

       That being said, you already know I am a huge PHX Suns fan. Well, the NBA today is what it is thanks to coach Mike D'Antoni's Phoenix Suns team from that era! They had the best team in scoring, 3 point shooting and passing those years. Of course they also ruined the defensive side of basketball at that time but people were to busy watching the new showtime so they didn't notice the lack of defense Steve Nash & Co had. Personally I loved the flow of the game but I was a bit concerned with the missing D. And that is exactly why I can rarely watch NBA nowadays...

       Anyway, here I am 12 years later creating this superb 2006-2007 Season DLC for NBA 2K11 so anyone nostalgic like me or simply just curious about that era can play this in 2018 and the following years.

       Now, a few things about this DLC. Since I had to change all players cyberface ID because of the new system I am using, this meant almost every player got a new, upgraded CF. Some of them are more realistic than others, some use lookalike CFs because nobody ever made a cyberface for them. Unlike the 2K12-2K13-2K14 mods at least my game has CFs for ALL players even the obscure ones! Yes, I used everything I could get my hand on to add high definition textures to 3D models I had. The results are great.

       Before haters come and try to bash my work, let me tell you that I have always charged money ONLY for the Roster file that I personally created from scratch, with NO HELP from anyone. The graphic part is an immense collection of pieces I had found over the years on the internet and compiled into my game - you are not paying for those because they were free and remain free. One more thing: although I had them, I chose to eliminate the portraits from all DLCs I created.

       Briefly, the 2006-07 DLC contains:
- realistic gameplay based on a formula I came up with after 3(!) years of testing that gives realistic scores/percentages
- historical accurate skills and tendencies for each player based on a formula that is using real stats from NBA players career (it calculates career average ratings per 36 minutes from the data sheet on https://www.basketball-reference.com)
- some players' names were tweaked so it matches the game's list and the arena announcers can tell it; some players can't be matched with the 2K list so I chose to use the "Money" nickname for at least it sounds like a made basket when they score (if you don't like it, you can change these things in the game by editing the player's bio)
- real coaches names with real height, cyberfaces and experience years
- real arenas and jerseys for each team
- an NBA TV presentation
- a few dornas with ads from that era (this I intend to improve to get a real historical feel)

       This DLC comes with all the necessary files plus the Roster file and the Season Mode file where I set up the historical accurate lineups. Be warned you will need to use my Game Sliders and Coach Profile plus Fatigue as substitution method that is in the Settings file (don't worry it will be all send it to you by email!). If you want to understand how my version of the game works, you should go to the How To Play The Game link on this blog. There are explanations about the Game Settings, Game (Active Coach Mode) Sliders and the Universal Coach Profile.

         In case you're interested in acquiring this mod, send me an email to leeunagi@gmail.com first and then I will provide you with my PayPal account where you can send your payment for this mod. After I cleared your payment, I will send you an email containing the Roster (ROS) file and the Season Mode file.

Levy's PHX Dynasty: The Team

LEVY’S PHOENIX SUNS DYNASTY

(A 2K11 Association Mode based on Levy’s 1997-98 DLC and future updates)

THE TEAM

            Every franchise needs a few great players so I decided to get my hands on the big guns especially since my team lost more games than it won.

            The first addition to the team was PG-Brook Thompson who is an average player but a much needed backup point guard whom I assumed I could use later if one of my main guards gets injured. He was signed as a free agent for 1 year at 1.96 million/year with the player’s option in the 2nd year. I am at the middle of the season when I post this and B. Thompson didn’t do much except playing a few minutes per game as a substitute in the fourth quarter when the team was already losing. Later in the season, I traded him along with C-Charles Jones (whom I acquired from Houston) for a 1998 2^nd round pick and G-Vinny Del Negro who was on San Antonio’s trade list.

            Most of the trades I’ve done were offered by the teams controlled by the CPU. I never forced any trade on the CPU teams in order to keep the realism level high in my game. As a lifelong Suns fan, I wanted to stay loyal to the real life Phoenix Suns but some of these offers were too good to be refused. On 26/11 Milwaukee offered me Ray Allen in exchange for FC-Antonio McDyess and a 2^nd round pick. At that time my starting SG (Rex Chapman wasn’t doing great), so I took the offer. Who wouldn’t want a pure shooter on his roster?

The next trade offered to me was on the 16/12 by the Houston Rockets who wanted a young guard-forward desperately so they offered me PF-Charles Barkely and FC-Charles Jones for GF-Marko Milic and my other starting power forward and really great FC-Danny Manning. I was sad to see Manning leave but couldn’t resist to the idea of a “back to the future” Phoenix Suns from 1993. I already had PG-Kevin Johnson and SF-Cedric Ceballos on my roster so Chuck was the missing link, right? Or was it Majerle…because the next thing I did on 14/1 was to trade SG-Rex Chapman back to where he came from, the Heat, for none else than GF-Dan Majerle. Now my team was about to bring back some sweet memories with Danny Ainge as coach who also played in the 1993 NBA Finals against Chicago.

            Another trade I made was very subjective. My favourite Suns player of all time, Steve Nash wasn’t very happy as the 3^rd point guard behind Jason Kidd and KJ so…I decided to part ways with my starter PG-Jason Kidd in exchange for a player I always admired on and off the court, FC-Brian Williams aka Bison Dele from Detroit Pistons who in real life died in mysterious circumstances in Tahiti being probably killed by his money hungry brother – which was really a modern Cain & Abel story.

            And one last notable acquisition was signing a giant who was a novelty in the NBA at the middle of the 90s, the tallest player at 7’7’’ C-Gheorghe Muresan who in reality was born not far from where I was born. He fit in perfectly and started to dominate the boards and collect game MVPs one after another.

            There were a few minor injuries happening to my players this season: Marko Milic, John Williams, Horacio Llamas-Grey, Chapman, Thompson, Ray Allen were all on the injured list for 1-2 weeks. During SG-Ray Allen’s two weeks injury, my team had the longest winning streak (8!) which can hardly make sense. Ray-Ray is my 3^rd best scorer and my team owes him the recovery at the beginning of the season. But while he was out, other players stepped up.

            At the moment my team leaders are:

And my roster looks like this:

Levy's PHX Dynasty: Intro

LEVY’S PHOENIX SUNS DYNASTY

(A 2K11 Association Mode based on Levy’s 1997-98 DLC and future updates)

We all remember the 2006 NBA Live basketball PC game which came out in the autumn of 2005. That’s when I played a ‘dynasty mode’ last time. So this year it’s been exactly 12 years since then! All this time I craved for a decent game to exercise my itchy fingers to play something similar – and that is happening NOW with NBA 2K11, still the best basketball videogame up to day. ;)

            I remember I liked the NBA Live series by EA Sports but they were missing some visual aspects that nowadays the market is oversaturated with. Unfortunately the NBA 2K series has taken a step back starting with NBA 2K12…which is why I enjoy using 2K11 and have modded the shit out of it too. :)) If you followed my work on the infamous NLSC website and Moddingway, you know I am talking volume here. :)

            So let’s get going with what seems to me to be the biggest NBA gaming experience so far over the last 20+ years (I started playing basketball videogames in the late 90s).

I am huge Phoenix Suns fan since I watched the Suns playing for the first time in 1991-1992 and then of course my basketball world was shaken in 1993 when Barkley & Co. lost to the UnstopaBulls following an injury of Cedric Ceballos who was a starter and possibly a Scottie Pippen stopper. Therefore I always chose Phoenix when playing NBA games no matter if it was on PlayStation 1 or 2 or PSP or PC.

            This year I thought of trying something new. I got tired of screwing around with the controller settings because the game always evolves. Actually the game is a code and it doesn’t evolve only adapts to us. The gamers evolve by becoming better at controlling the players in the game. That means we end up changing the game settings and sliders every now and then to make it more challenging. Well, you might like to do that every second week but I got bored of it!

Another aspect of basketball I like is coaching and managing. I did that in real life for a short time too. Because there is NO decent basketball manager game on the market although I tried pretty much all of them, I decided to try the Coach Mode in NBA 2K11 (which stupidly enough doesn’t exist in the newer instalments of NBA 2K!). And this is when the biggest surprise happened. With all the adjustments to the gameplay and the realistic player attributes I made over the years, with this mode on the game looks completely different. It is so good that beats the real NBA games on TV nowadays. You should try it sometimes but don’t forget to use my DLCs if you want realistic results! :)

Enough said. I will dedicate the following pages to write about the evolution of my Phoenix Dynasty game. And I will start by saying I was so busy having fun with it that I didn’t have time to even write about it. I only saved some in-game print screens and kept some important moments from several games I managed this first season.

The starting year is 1997 to be exact which was a great time to watch NBA as opposed to what is going on these days. Of course the whole 90s decade was dominated by Chicago with the exception of 1994 and 1995 when Michael Jordan decided to focus on his personal life and Houston had a great champion calibre team which brought them two trophies in a row.

            Before I go any further, I have to share some tips with you about the game settings so you understand why things happen the way they happen in my game.

            The general rule if you want my DLC to work is let the game handle the player skills I adjusted with REDeditor. As you might know, I used some formulas to insert realistic values in the Roster file based on real NBA stats taken from Basketball Reference website. I used the 36 minutes factor – that’s why we got high values for players who maybe never had the chance to play many minutes in real life but their skills are absolutely impressive. An example on the Suns is Horacio Llamas-Grey who’s rating is 80(!) but…his stamina and durability are extremely low. That means he will score and rebound at will if you let him unguarded but will play only a few minutes before being substituted for another player who’s durability is higher. And believe it or not, that is all realistic!

Oh, and players will get injured too based on those attributes! This is how I lost a couple of players on my roster to minor injuries this season for example John “Hot Rod” Williams who was at that time the starting center. But that opened my franchise to a new level because I started trading players. I will get into that soon.

Now, if you want to see realism in your – alas, simulated game – you will have to use my settings and sliders along with the “universal” Coach Profile (they all come set up and delivered by email if you ordered any of my DLCs). You can read about them and find them in the How To Play The Game section on my blog.

Levy's 1997-98 DLC is launched (as a tribute to STEVE NASH)

Hello gamers from all around the world! The 1997-98 Season DLC is now launched and available for all my paying fans. Check the page with the mod at top, read the description and feel free to contact me. :)

This represents the biggest contribution I ever done for NBA 2K11 from both graphical and database perspective. It also emphasizes the appreciation I always had for STEVE NASH who is one of the greatest players as the best free throw shooter, one of the best shooters and the 3rd best passer in the history of NBA. Therefore the 1997-98 Season DLC is my tribute to my hero Steve Nash who in 1997 was in his 2nd season and still with my favorite team - Phoenix Suns - that drafted him in 1996. 

There were very few people who gave Nash a chance as a rookie (most of the Suns fans were actually booing him in 1996!) but I remember seeing him for the first time on TV and telling to my friends that a player with such unbelievable court vision and unorthodox moves will reach stardom one day. Now, after almost 20 years, some of my friends call me and tell me that if I was an NBA agent at that time I would be probably rich. :))

Steve Nash recently announced his retirement after several years of back pain (coincidentally I played basketball for 13 years as a hobby with the same symptoms!). Nash always played for fun instead of fame - something that players nowadays rarely do - but when pain overcomes joy, you have to make your final choice. Thank you Steve from the bottom of my heart for all those memorable moments, you will always be present in my game! :)