Where To Find NBL Canada Players in a Video Game

More and more, professional basketball is fiercely embracing their equivalent video games. In particular the best-selling NBA 2K series, which sees new updated instalments released year-on-year have taken on a life of their own. NBA players and officials are heavily involved during the creation process of each game, which also has players competing at it in a league-created eSports competition.

This all goes to show how much the sport's elite acknowledge the significance of the popularity of these games and how much they all strive to provide a realistic experience. Since the start of their annual cycle, the games have largely been NBA-centric, only recently have European teams and the WNBA have been included for play. NBL Canada is still absent from any video game, but there is a way to take control of some league favourites.

Those with an old Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 and a little bit of change would be able to find a copy of NBA Live 09 on eBay, Amazon or other second hand retailer, the closest to an NBLC video game that is currently possible to get. Favourably rated at the time and still fun to pick up and play today, this game recognises its fan base extends outside of North America and has a number of options for those playing overseas.

In addition to all 30 NBA teams (Including the new franchise in Oklahoma City, still without a team name in the game), NBA Live 09 also includes a variety of carefully researched national teams as part of their FIBA World Championship mode.

The Canadian team in NBA Live 09 is headlined by the two NBA stars of its time, Steve Nash and Samuel Dalembert, with the remaining spots made up of players gathered from other leagues. St. John's Edge fans would not fail to notice that the game's starting shooting guard for Canada is none other than one of their favourite sons, three-season star Carl English.

The 2018 Most Valuable Player, who was then playing for Gran Canaria in Spain, has transferred into the game as a skilful passer and ball handler and is best on the team for layups. His recognisable

his abilities to both move the ball and retain possession while moving through the lane have transferred well into his virtual counterpart. (Edge fans can also find one of their alumni, Glen Davis, on the roster for the Boston Celtics in the game.)

English may no longer be playing, but those wanting to represent NBLC - in particular the KW Titans faithful - will be happy to find Olu Famutimi in the Canadian rotation. One of the backup shooting guards, his is one of the best on the team for speed and stamina, while his biggest strength in the game is field scoring.

Games from this generation of consoles began the tradition of built-in achievements - acknowledgements of having completed specific tasks within the game designated by the developers. One of the achievements of NBA Live 09 is 'Shock the World', awarded for beating the USA team in FIBA World Championship mode.

This is no easy task: USA boasts the two highest-rated players in the game, in-their-prime Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, as well as three more of the game's top five and all but one a member of the real-life undefeated 2008 Olympic team which brought home the gold medal. Looking at the team ratings there would be easier teams to use to try and take down the Americans other than Canada, but for those faithful to their country, how is it possible to take down the basketball juggernauts and unlock Shock the World?

Team Canada's biggest asset in NBA Live 09 is their team work, in action they excel at isolation and post-up offence and on defence move the ball well and their close-up defence makes them great at blocking shots. It doesn't help that some players on the USA team seem to automatically convert all of their shot attempts, but they can be matched up by Canada's equivalent stars.

Dalembert is key to the Canadian defence here, while Steve Nash can do a lot of damage from beyond the arc and, if the opposing team starts fouling, his free-throw percentage makes him the best player to be in possession when drawing the foul. There's also a lot of bench production to be had from Jamaal Magliore, at the time a member of the Miami Heat.

So while NBA Live 09 is not really the video game of the NBL Canada and would not accommodate fans of every team, it's the closest to it so far. That it contains much-loved NBLC players that can be used to take on the best basketball players of the age can hopefully show that Canadian basketball can be contender in both the virtual world and the real one as well.