April is a notoriously seminal month in the calendar year for the sport of basketball. Usually, April kicks off the NBA playoffs and brings an end to both the men's and women's NCAA March Madness tournaments. This year, it's only providing for the latter, as the NBA season was delayed by about a month and a half. But there are still so many opportunities for basketball fans to get their fix.
After all, the regular season is still ongoing and a long-gestating sequel to Space Jam is due out over the summer, with LeBron James taking over the mantle. For basketball fans who also happen to be gamers, though, there are plenty of opportunities to bring the fast breaks to the home court with this flurry of classic video games themed around the sport. Outside of the popular 2K franchise, that is.
NBA Ballers
NBA Ballers is an incredible concept for a video game. Released in 2006, the story centers on the player and a man named Hot Sauce who threatens his basketball ability and begins dating the player's girlfriend. The player then competes in one-on-one games and earns things like cash and swag.
The Ballers franchise continued with "Phenom," "Rebound," and "Chosen One" installments over the years. But "Phenom's" inclusion of stars like Chingy and Ludacris alongside the NBA elite of Chauncey Billups remains wholly unique.
NBA Playgrounds
Released four years ago, NBA Playgrounds kickstarted a simple franchise that zeroed in on fans' interest in sending classic NBA players into the tournament mold. It's like street ball taken to the extreme extent.
NBA Playgrounds is also fun for the whole family, as it celebrates cartoonish designs that will entice children who haven't quite hooked an interest in professional sports yet. It's hard to go wrong with a bobblehead version of Allen Iverson.
Wii Sports Resort
Wii Sports Resort blew the Wii Sports franchise wide open for Nintendo. It expanded on the five (admittedly well-executed sports games) with a flurry of bonus options, including basketball games like a three-point contest and a pick-up game.
Not only is Wii Sports Resort a great way to connect with friends over some hoops and "four-on-fours," but it also helps players insert themselves into the games. That remains one of the best aspects of Miis, which still tops the Create a Player mode in some basketball franchises.
Mario Party 6
The Mario Party franchise is filled with a myriad of mini-games, but in Mario Party 6, an iconic Nintendo rendition of basketball was put onto the consoles. Referred to as "Dunk Bros.," it was easily one of the best "rare" mini-games in the mode.
It was thrilling to watch characters like Toad and Yoshi prove they had major hops when soaring to the rim and dunking in the faces of opponents. It's all the more fun when it comes in with the mix of other Mario mini-games.
Mario Hoops 3-On-3
Continuing on the Mario train, a full-fledged basketball game starring the flagship Nintendo characters entered onto the DS in 2006. Mario Hoops 3-on-3 is not as acclaimed as the plumber's foray into baseball or tennis, but it's still a ton of fun.
It prioritized the most thrilling aspects of basketball, even if it occasionally felt unrealistic. That's the beauty of Mario sports games; they never had to be by the book. Anything goes when they play sports with their kidnappers.
NBA Street
The NBA Street franchise is twenty years old now and while it didn't have the longevity that many other basketball games have, it still has fond memories for those who dabbled with the game during the 2000s.
The goal of NBA Street was to allow players to perform incredible tricks to the point where they were pulling off physically impossible shots. It helped bring the best of "arcade-style" basketball right into the parlors of players.
Backyard Basketball
Obviously, the Backyard Baseball game will always be remarkably iconic. But the Backyard Basketball rendition deserves some nostalgic love, too. In the classic design that Backyard fans adore, the franchise has always depicted NBA stars in a cartoonish, accessible fashion.
The franchise has spanned some of the most ferocious defenders of yore, like Kevin Garnett, to the most limber shooters of the present, like Stephen Curry. Its masterstroke, however, was including Lisa Leslie in the earlier day, providing a path forward for more than just NBA legends to hit the consoles.
NCAA March Madness
Beyond the NBA realm, there have also been games that explore what the sport is like on the college level. There have been many stops and starts when it comes to putting the NCAA sports into the video game lens, but the classic March Madness games will always be treasured.
March Madness was once a singular sporting event that was more delightful than even the Super Bowl. The chance to play that was always fun for college basketball devotees. It's just that the players who are so obviously depicted in these games deserve a lot better from their organizations.
NBA Jam
The NBA Jam franchise has spanned three decades and while it remains to be seen if it'll enter a fourth, it has certainly carved out an unimpeachable reputation for itself as one of the most fun basketball games ever made.
There was perhaps no better sports game to spend nights playing with friends, as NBA Jam encourages players to take their athletes to extraordinary, superhuman heights. Thrilling sensational moments like these always make for boundlessly delightful ribbing among groups.
NBA Live
The sister franchise to 2K is undeniably NBA Live. While the future of this similarly ultra-realistic franchise is somewhat in question, there have been many splendid iterations of the game over the years.
The gameplay is almost on par with 2K and the various modes available to players allow the game to change with each incoming class of future stars. Among the best versions are NBA Live 08 and NBA Live 19.