Throwback Thursday: Street Dreams are Made of These: "NBA Street" for the PS2

Officially, AND1 sold shoes and athletic wear, but what they really sold was hip-hop attitude. Their slogans and branding valued individualism, brashness, and alpha status above all else. Nike and Reebok were multi-million dollar empires with family friendly philosophies. The Harlem Globetrotters had the streetball moves, but none of the vibe. AND1, on the other hand, provided something a little more edgy. Their marketing sold basketball as a competitive, gritty manner of life and expression—not merely a game.

You began the City Circuit Campaign by designing your own baller, and you set his abilities with a limited number of Skill Points—you earned more Points as the campaign progressed. There were a lot of categories to spend the points on—2 Pointers, 3 Pointers, Dunks, Power, Blocks, Steals, Handles, and Quicks. You could either spread the skill points over several categories, or you could focus on making one skill particularly strong. I always chose to max out my Blocking first—more on that later.

So after you designed your player, you started the single player campaign, and you got your first big surprise. Not only was Michael Jordan in the game, but you got to start the campaign with him on your team! This felt like a gift from heaven. Most games would make you earn MJ, but NBA Street’s developers realized a fundamental truth—that playing three shitty players with shitty stats would not make for a fun experience. Aside from Blocking, MJ’s stats were through the roof, and he made it easier for you to learn the basics, adjust to the difficulty, and level up your character.

You leveled up by playing against NBA Teams, which were divided into Regions—in Region #1, you had to beat the Grizzlies and the Raptors. If you won, you earned Skill Points, plus the ability to recruit someone from the losing team. So, when you beat the Raptors, you could recruit Vince Carter. When you beat the Spurs, you could recruit Tim Duncan. When you beat the Pacers, you could recruit Reggie Miller. And so forth.

At the end of each conquered Region, you faced off against a Streetball Legend, who could then be recruited as well. Each of these Streetball Legends had a single, highly specialized skill that could turn the tide of any game. Bonafide was a quick handler who could steal the ball with ease. Drake was an Eminem wannabe with range for days. And my personal favorite, Takashi, was a massive, gangly monster with maxed out Blocking stats.

Just like its spiritual predecessor, NBA Jam, NBA Street had several unlockable characters. There was Rafer ‘Skip To My Lou’ Alston and Stephon ‘Starbury’ Marbury, and there were also some off-the-wall characters, like Magma Man, an Alien, and a massive, 8-foot-tall Yeti. In what might be the weirdest cameo ever, you could also play as 3LW, the R&B girl group from the early 00’s.