Wayback Wednesday: 2026 Rosters in NBA Live 19
This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m combining past and present by creating some 2026 rosters in NBA Live 19.
Much as I was getting back into NBA Live 18 prior to its server shutdown last year, I’ve been on a bit of an NBA Live 19 kick this year. To that end, you can expect to see it covered in future Wayback Wednesday features, including a new retrospective that reflects my current opinion of the game. It probably isn’t a huge spoiler to reveal that I’m enjoying it far more than I have previously! Indeed, my enjoyment has led to a playthrough of The Streets World Tour, completing a Legends Fantasy Challenge in Ultimate Team, and even customising the game’s rosters.
That brings us to the topic at hand: 2026 rosters, as represented by NBA Live 19! Portraying the present with a game from the past has become an enjoyable staple of my retro basketball gaming. Previously, I revisited NBA Live 10 to see how many players were still active in 2021 and 2024. Creating 2024 lineups in NBA 2K14 led to a couple of games using those makeshift rosters. Earlier this year, I played NBA Live 18 using a minimalist 2025 roster update. And now, with the 2026 season underway, I’m demonstrating how it looks in NBA Live 19! Let’s take a look back…way back…
Whenever you attempt to update an old game – whether it’s for an activity like this, or a comprehensive current season roster – you’ll soon notice how quickly the landscape of the NBA changes. It only takes a couple of years for several teams to overhaul their rosters, and for dozens of players to retire or wash out of the league with new faces taking their place. As such, given its age, there’s no way to comprehensively update the rosters in NBA Live 19 for the 2026 season without adding any new players. With that being said, many of the players found in NBA Live 19 remain active today, and the number of 2026 season lineups that are viable using its rosters may be surprising.
Teams With Viable 2026 Rosters in NBA Live 19
By viable, I mean at least five players who are on the roster in real life that can form a playable lineup. Even if a couple of players must be out of position and there are no substitutes, I’ll still count that as viable for the sake of assembling a current season lineup in a seven-year-old game! To that point, the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers, Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Golden State Warriors can all field viable makeshift 2026 lineups using the original players in NBA Live 19.
Out of those 14 teams, only four meet the minimum requirement of eight players. The Clippers are the closest to having a complete roster with 11 players, while the Knicks, Rockets, and Kings have eight. The Warriors and Bucks have seven players, while the 76ers, Jazz, Lakers, Mavericks, and Nuggets have six. Finally, the Cavaliers, Spurs, and Timberwolves have five. Obviously, you won’t find any notable names that have come along since 2019, from Zion Williamson to Cooper Flagg. Some teams have changed their branding, so there’s a lack of authenticity there, too. Nevertheless, almost half of the league can have playable 2026 season rosters in NBA Live 19.
Predictably, 12 of those teams rank amongst the oldest squads in the league as we enter the 2026 season. While only four of them can be used without the possibility of an inaccurate player being subbed in, it is possible to stage a variety of quick 2026 season matchups in NBA Live 19. Moreover, it’s a novelty to be able to place players such as Kevin Durant, Luka Doncic, Russell Westbrook, Karl-Anthony Towns, Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, and other familiar faces in places that we probably didn’t ever expect to see them in. It underscores just how much the NBA can change in less than a decade, not to mention the longevity of a number of players.
Teams That Are Close to a Viable Roster
Next up, we have the teams that fall just short of having viable 2026 rosters in NBA Live 19, at least without creating any new players. Unfortunately, we can’t play with the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, as only four players on their 2026 roster can be found in NBA Live 19. It’s hardly surprising given that they boast one of the youngest rosters in the league! Their opponents in last year’s Finals, the Indiana Pacers, have an even thinner roster; more on them later. Of course, it’s still possible to snap some screenshots of the four Thunder players in uniform, which includes Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Notably, rookie SGA is missing his headband here.
The other teams with at least four players from their 2026 rosters in NBA Live 19 are the Chicago Bulls, Charlotte Hornets, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, and Portland Trail Blazers. The Miami Heat can actually field a full lineup if you include free agent Alec Burks, though he remains unsigned as of writing. As I said, you can absolutely still capture some screenshots spotlighting the players on these teams, relying on careful and creative angles to avoid showing any inaccuracies. Furthermore, if you don’t mind using inactive players as placeholders, there’s nothing wrong with playing with these teams. Eight of the players will be correct, after all.
If you’re a stickler for accuracy though, that might not be satisfactory! If you’re keen, you could always create a few missing players for these squads. While you’re at it, you might consider adding players to the teams that do have viable lineups, and get some of the newer stars and other notable names in 2026 into NBA Live 19. There are a few frustrating bugs with player creation in NBA Live 19 though, so it may be safer to stick with a minimalist approach. Incidentally, while the 2026 Celtics do have five players who were active during the 2019 season, Chris Boucher isn’t in NBA Live 19. Prior to them releasing Spencer Dinwiddie, the Hornets also had a viable starting five.
Teams Without Enough 2026 Season Players in NBA Live 19
Eight teams in NBA Live 19 feature three players or fewer from their 2026 rosters. The Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors, and Washington Wizards all have three apiece, while the Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, and Detroit Pistons have two. The Brooklyn Nets only have one: Michael Porter Jr., acquired during this past offseason. Once again, it is possible to capture some screenshots showcasing the players on these teams, though you’ll really have to isolate them to ensure that you don’t see any players that you shouldn’t! There’ll also be far more players to create if you want to go that route, but again, Create-a-Player is buggy.
As you can probably guess, six of these seven teams rank amongst the ten youngest squads in the league this year. The Nets are the youngest team, with no players having more than six years experience (though last season would’ve been Porter’s seventh had he not missed the entire 2019 campaign). Unfortunately, by landing on these young, rebuilding teams, players such as Brandon Ingram, Khris Middleton, CJ McCollum, Dejounte Murray, and Jaren Jackson Jr. can’t be played with using minimalist 2026 season rosters in NBA Live 19. Players such as Duncan Robinson and Haywood Highsmith aren’t in the game’s rosters, while Tyrese Haliburton hadn’t debuted yet.
I’m actually surprised that almost half the league can field at least five players from their 2026 rosters in NBA Live 19, and that eight more are only one player short of a viable lineup. Conversely, I’m not surprised that eight others only have three players or fewer. Seven years is a long time in the NBA, with dozens of players coming and going. It’s not always obvious with the way that the biggest stars and most prominent role players stick around year after year, not to mention the fact that there’s far more overlap between eras than people often realise. When you revisit an older game and try to update its rosters however, the amount of turnover will become very apparent!
So, why even do this?
I feel as though I pose and answer this question whenever I engage in these exercises! Admittedly it’s a pre-emptive response to unimaginative and judgemental people that can’t respect or appreciate anything that they’re not personally interested in, though thankfully those folks are a vocal minority. At the same time, with NBA 2K26 at my disposal, not to mention current roster mods for better games, updating NBA Live 19 with minimalist 2026 rosters may certainly seem like an odd thing to do. My recent kick with the game is a major factor here, as is my enthusiasm for tinkering with a game’s rosters to create all sorts of different scenarios through minimalist modding.
It’s also an effective illustration of how much the league can change in less than ten years. Between years of maintaining current roster updates for NBA Live, attempting to update NBA 2K11 and other more recent classics, and simply retro gaming, I’ve come to notice just how quickly so many of the names change. It also demonstrates how long the NBA Live series has been dormant. Obviously we know that it’s been seven years since the last release – the current date is never too far from our sight in the digital age – but when you see how many players in NBA Live 19 aren’t on an NBA roster in 2026, it really emphasises how the series now belongs to a bygone era.
On a more positive note though, messing around with rosters and setting up some fun scenarios is one of my favourite retro basketball gaming activities, so this is also me sharing my enjoyment of those efforts with the community! I want to get the most out of NBA Live 19 while I’m hooked on it, scratch the modding itch that never truly goes away, and maybe increase my excitement for the 2026 season by familiarising myself with this year’s rosters…or at least, the veteran contingent of them! Ironically, until such time as I warm up to NBA 2K26, a minimalist roster update for NBA Live 19 has given me the most enjoyable 2026 season experience on the virtual hardwood.
Screenshots
2026 Lakers vs. Warriors in NBA Live 19
Note: The number of active players on each team is accurate of writing, and may well change in the very near future. Seth Curry – who was on the Warriors’ roster while this feature was being drafted – was released for salary cap reasons, and is expected to rejoin the team at some point.
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