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The Friday Five: 5 Cover Players You May Not Recall (Part 3)

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Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! The Friday Five is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games, as well as the real NBA, and other areas of interest to our community. The feature is presented as either a list of five items, or in the form of a Top 5 countdown. This week’s Five is yet another list of five cover players that you may not recall.

Yes, we’ve made it to Part 3 in this series! There have been a lot of NBA video games over the years, which has resulted in a number of different cover players. Obviously, some of the greats have appeared on the covers of multiple series, or multiple games within a series. Over the years, publishers have been able to sign the NBA’s biggest names to promote their brand of virtual basketball, especially with gaming increasing in popularity, and players who grew up playing video games subsequently entering the league. Regardless, not all cover players have been superstars.

While these names may not be obscure or forgotten – again, some of them were very prominent names in their day – one may not recall that they were cover players at one point. Video game series come and go, with some games being far more popular and successful than others. In some cases, you might remember the game, but – contrary to Fort Minor’s famous song – you might not remember the name. And of course, there are regional covers that aren’t as well-known, some of which have become appealing collectibles for anyone into that sort of thing (not mentioning any names here). With that being said, let’s refresh our memories about these five former cover players.

Marcus Camby (NBA in the Zone 2000)

Cover Player Marcus Camby in NBA Inside Drive 2000

Taken second overall in the 1996 Draft, Marcus Camby was never an All-Star, though he was All-Rookie in 1997, All-Defensive four times (two first, two second), a four-time leader in blocked shots, and the Defensive Player of the Year in 2007. He’s also a one-time cover player, but it’s understandable if you’ve forgotten that. Konami’s NBA in the Zone series – also known as NBA Pro in PAL regions – came to an end with its 2000 edition. It’s not the worst basketball game ever made, or the worst 2000 season title for that matter. However, it was unquestionably inferior to brand leader NBA Live 2000 from EA Sports, as well as Visual Concepts’ new release, NBA 2K.

With all due respect to Camby – who had established himself as a good young player and went on to have a solid career – he wasn’t ever going to be a name that elevated the brand. The NBA in the Zone series itself isn’t talked about all that much these days, and if you had to name players that might have appeared on a cover circa 2000, Marcus Camby probably isn’t the first one that comes to mind. It stands as one of the last examples of games featuring cover players that weren’t big names, or at least stars on their own team. Camby is also unique in that among primary cover players, he’s the only one that never was, or went on to be, an All-Star at any point in his career.

Amar’e Stoudemire (NBA 06 & NBA 08)

Amar'e Stoudemire in NBA 08

Given that he was a prominent and popular star just a few years into his career, you may wonder why Amar’e Stoudemire never appeared on the cover of NBA Live or NBA 2K. That’s because he signed on with Sony to appear on the covers of NBA 06 and NBA 08; titles in the NBA series that was a spiritual successor to NBA ShootOut. The series wasn’t obscure, but it did suffer from being both a PlayStation and (mostly) North American exclusive. To that point, only one game in the series received a PAL release: NBA 08. However, the PAL version had a different cover featuring Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Carmelo Anthony, Yao Ming, and Steve Nash.

By that point, Sony’s NBA games were one of the last sim titles competing with the big two of NBA Live and NBA 2K. Throw in the limitations of their exclusivity, and I’m guessing that fewer gamers recall Amar’e Stoudemire appearing on those two covers, compared to the cover players of NBA Live and NBA 2K during that same span. Opportunities to appear on the covers of those games also dried up with NBA Live’s struggles and cancellations, and Stoudemire’s career reaching a decline by the time NBA 2K was the only consistent title in the space. Nevertheless, he did get the chance to be the cover player for a couple of games that are worth remembering.

Baron Davis (NBA Street V3)

Baron Davis in NBA Street V3

NBA Street V3 is by no means a bad game, though it’s definitely the most overlooked release in the series. The first NBA Street is memorable for paving the way, while Vol. 2 is often hailed as one of the best basketball games of all-time. Homecourt has drawn some mixed reactions over the years, but it was visually impressive at the time, features Carmelo Anthony on the cover, and is noteworthy as the final console release in the series. It’s therefore easy for V3 to get lost in the shuffle, and if so, you may also forget that its cover player was Baron Davis. The cover design doesn’t feature his New Orleans Hornets jersey, so you may just remember a player with a headband.

Although he was a two-time All-Star, there was never a point at the height of Baron Davis’ career that he was one of the players who were frontrunners to appear on the cover of any of the sim titles. That’s not a knock on him; it’s just that there was stiff competition among rising stars and established names. As a point guard with great handles who was also quite popular in the mid 2000s, Davis was a solid choice to appear on the cover of NBA Street V3. When the game was ported to the PlayStation Portable however, LeBron James replaced him as the cover player. There’s no erasing Davis from the original cover though, and like V3, he deserves more recognition.

Alonzo Mourning (NBA ESPN 2Night)

Alonzo Mourning in NBA ESPN 2Night

Can you name the Miami Heat alumni that were also cover players? Dwyane Wade was on the cover of NBA Live 06 (and reportedly was set to be the face of NBA Live 13 before it was cancelled), while LeBron James graced the cover of NBA 2K14. If you’re a 90s basketball gamer, you’ll likely also remember Tim Hardaway appearing on the cover of NBA Live 98. If we include cover players that played for the Heat at some point in their career, there’s Steve Smith (Fox Sports NBA Basketball 2000), Eddie Jones (NBA ShootOut ’97), and Glen Rice (NBA in the Zone 98 & 99). Heat Legend Alonzo Mourning is one cover player that we tend to overlook, though.

We can attribute this to the obscurity of the title in question. After NBA in the Zone, Konami released two games with ESPN branding and presentation: ESPN NBA 2Night, and ESPN NBA 2Night 2002. The PAL versions of both games had multiple players on their cover, similar to the aforementioned international release of NBA 08. The NTSC version of ESPN NBA 2Night featured Mourning, whose career was on a downward trajectory due to his kidney problems. In a way, it was kind of apt given Konami’s NBA games were likewise losing their prominence and popularity. Then again, rising star Tracy McGrady was on the cover of ESPN NBA 2Night 2002.

Andrea Bargnani (NBA Live 08 & 09)

Italian NBA Live 09 Cover Player Andrea Bargnani

Let’s wrap up with another international cover player. By the mid to late 2000s, NBA Live may have been sticking with recognisable names as their main cover players, but when it came to their regional covers, they were willing to make exceptions. Andrea Bargnani is not considered to be one of the best first overall Draft picks, but in all fairness, his ten year career wasn’t a total bust. He was a double digit scorer in nine of those campaigns, and a stretch big during a time when hoisting more than ten threes per game was considered excessive, no matter what your position. Bargnani wasn’t a great defender or rebounder though, and definitely not the best player in that Draft.

He does of course hail from Italy though, which facilitated a regional cover for his home country. Bargnani was the Italian cover player for both NBA Live 08 and NBA Live 09, which at a glance, is an extremely difficult version to collect. The addition of FIBA teams in NBA Live 08, which included Italy, also made his appearance on the cover particularly relevant. International cover players do tend to be overlooked even when they’re bigger names than Bargnani, but their games can become collector’s items due to their oddity and relative rarity compared to the main release. As I noted, Bargnani’s cover appears to be quite rare, so one may not recall that it even exists.

Do you remember these cover players? Are there any more obscure or somewhat forgotten cover players that I haven’t noted here or in my previous articles? Let me know 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 Cover Players You May Not Recall (Part 3) appeared first on NLSC.

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