EA Sports should bring back NBA Street

The NBA 2K series is excellent. The games are extremely realistic, fun to play, and often fulfilling. The graphics, especially on the PS4 version are unbelievable. To the untrained eye, and trust me I deal with a few of them, a game of 2K looks like the real thing. And it plays like it too. Long gone are the days of being able to secure a defensive rebound with a center, bring it all the way down the court and finish with a flush; if a player can’t do it in real life, he can’t do it in 2K.

The realism in the 2K series is awesome for true fans of the game who want that real feel and genuine experience when they press the PS button on their Playstation controller. But, there are times where I may not be in the mood for the most realistic experience, or don’t have the time to dedicate to an entire game, and it is then that I yearn for arcade-style action. 

This is where NBA Street came in. For those that don’t remember, NBA Street was a pick-up-style, 3-on-3 basketball game that took place on the blacktop. All of the NBA teams and players were in it, and you could control your favorite players in a crazy, up-tempo, streetball style game. In true streetball style, all games were to 21, and you had to win by two. The game was known for over-the-top dribbling moves, dunks, and alley-oops that made it incredibly fun to play, while not all the realistic.

A few different versions of the game came out over the years: NBA Street, NBA Street 2, NBA Street V3, and NBA Street homecourt, and spin-offs including FIFA Street, and NFL Street were also released.

A new version of NBA Street hasn’t been released since 2007 however, shortly after Playstation 3 released, and that version, Homecourt, had Carmelo Anthony in a Denver-colored uniform on the cover; clearly an update is needed.  

With the release of the next-generation consoles last winter, it seems that now would be an ideal time to re-launch the series for the future. There is a whole new cast of NBA superstars, and the League’s landscape looks completely different than it did in 2007. 

Playing Street with a team of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, or LeBron and Dwyane Wade would be an awesome experience, and the graphic ability of the new consoles would really allow Street to shine.

I remembered beating every iteration of Street, collecting Gamebreakers, admiring the courts, which are detailed to look like actual streetball spots, and battling the bosses.

Since NBA Live, EA Sports’ current basketball simulation, can’t hold a candle to 2K, it seems that the company’s time would be better spent developing a basketball game with a proven formula and fanbase, especially considering how long it has been since a Street game has released.

It would be awesome to see NBA Street 4 popping up on shelves sometime soon.