NBA 2K12 Greatest Teams Revealed ( HD Screenshots )

Today I’m going to be talking about a feature that many of you have heard of, but may have questions about how exactly it works.  Enter NBA’s Greatest.  Built off the success of The Jordan Challenge from 2K11, NBA’s Greatest pays tribute to 15 of the most influential and game-defining players the NBA has ever seen. Painstakingly re-created, the players, teams, and, even the presentation elements were built with no detail left behind. 

I realize you’re probably chomping at the bit to learn who we selected to feature in NBA’s Greatest, so in no particular order, here we go…
 

Michael Jordan

The Teams

1992-93 Bulls: B.J. Armstrong, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Bill Cartwright, Scott Williams, John Paxson, Rodney McCray, Stacey King, Will Perdue, Ed Nealy

1992-93 Hornets: Muggsy Bogues, Kendall Gill, David Wingate, Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, Dell Curry, Johnny Newman, Kenny Gattison, Tony Bennett, Sidney Green, Kevin Lynch

 

Magic Johnson

The Teams

1990-91 Lakers: Magic Johnson, Byron Scott, James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Vlade Divac, A.C. Green, Larry Drew, Mychal Thompson, Elden Campbell

1990-91 Trail Blazers: Terry Porter, Clyde Drexler, Jerome Kersey, Buck Williams, Kevin Duckworth, Cliff Robinson, Danny Ainge, Mark Bryant, Drazen Petrovic

 

Larry Bird

The Teams

1985-86 Celtics: Dennis Johnson, Danny Ainge, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Bill Walton, Jerry Sichting, Scott Wedman, Sam Vincent

1985-86 Hawks: Doc Rivers, Randy Wittman, Dominique Wilkins, Kevin Willis, Tree Rollins, Cliff Levingston, Eddie Johnson, Jon Koncak, Spud Webb, Antoine Carr, Scott Hasting

 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The Teams

1986-87 Lakers: Magic Johnson, Byron Scott, James Worthy, A.C. Green, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Cooper, Kurt Rambis, Billy Thompson, Mychal Thompson, Frank Brickowski

1985-86 Celtics: Dennis Johnson, Danny Ainge, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Bill Walton, Jerry Sichting, Scott Wedman, Sam Vincent

 

Julius Erving

The Teams

1984-85 76ers: Maurice Cheeks, Clint Richardson, Julius Erving, Bobby Jones, Moses Malone, Clemon Johnson, George Johnson

1984-85 Bucks: Craig Hodges, Sidney Moncrief, Paul Pressey, Terry Cummings, Alton Lister, Mike Dunleavy, Ricky Pierce, Paul Mokeski, Randy Breuer, Charles Davis

 

Bill Russell

The Teams

1964-65 Celtics: K.C. Jones, Sam Jones, John Havlicek, Tom Sanders, Bill Russell, Tom Heinsohn, Larry Siegfried, John Thompson, Mel Counts

1964-65 Lakers: Jerry West, Dick Barnett, Elgin Baylor, Rudy Larusso, Leroy Ellis, Jim King, Darrall Imhoff, Walt Hazzard, Don Nelson

 

Jerry West

The Teams

1970-71 Lakers: Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, Keith Erickson, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Jim McMillian, Willie McCarter, Rick Roberson

1970-71 Hawks: Walt Hazzard, Pete Maravich, Lou Hudson, Bill Bridges, Walt Bellamy, Jim Davis, Jerry Chambers, Len Chappell

 

Isiah Thomas

The Teams

1988-89 Pistons: Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Mark Aguirre, Rick Mahorn, Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, Vinnie Johnson, James Edwards, John Salley, Darryl Dawkins

1988-89 Bulls: John Paxson, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Bill Cartwright, Sam Vincent, Brad Sellers, Craig Hodges, Dave Corzine, Charles Davis, Will Perdue

 

Hakeem Olajuwon

The Teams

1993-94 Rockets: Kenny Smith, Vernon Maxwell, Robert Horry, Otis Thorpe, Hakeem Olajuwon, Mario Elie, Sam Cassell, Scott Brooks, Matt Bullard

1993-94 Nuggets:  Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Bryant Stith, Reggie Williams, Rodney Rogers, Dikembe Mutombo, Robert Pack, Tom Hammonds

 

Oscar Robertson

The Teams

1970-71 Bucks: Oscar Robertson, Jon McGlocklin, Bob Dandridge, Greg Smith, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor), Bob Boozer, Lucius Allen, Dick Cunningham

1970-71 Lakers:  Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, Keith Erickson, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Jim McMillian, Willie McCarter, Rick Roberson

 

Karl Malone

The Teams

1997-98 Jazz: John Stockton, Jeff Hornacek, Adam Keefe, Karl Malone, Greg Foster, Byron Russell, Greg Ostertag, Howard Eisley, Shandon Anderson, Antoine Carr

1997-98 Spurs:  Avery Johnson, Vinny Del Negro, Sean Elliott, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Jaren Jackson, Chuck Person, Will Perdue, Monty Williams

 

Scottie Pippen

The Teams

1995-96 Bulls: Ron Harper, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Luc Longley, Toni Kukoc, Steve Kerr, Bill Wennington, Dickey Simpkins, Jud Buechler, John Salley, James Edwards

1995-96 Sonics:  Gary Payton, Hersey Hawkins, Detlef Schrempf, Shawn Kemp, Ervin Johnson, Sam Perkins, Vincent Askew, Nate McMillan, Frank Brickowski, David Wingate

 

Patrick Ewing

The Teams

1994-95 Knicks: Derek Harper, John Starks, Charles Oakley, Patrick Ewing, Anthony Mason, Hubert Davis, Anthony Bonner, Greg Anthony, Monty Williams, Herb Williams, Doug Christie

1994-95 Magic:  Penny Hardaway, Nick Anderson, Donald Royal, Horace Grant, Shaquille O’Neal, Dennis Scott, Brian Shaw, Anthony Bowie, Jeff Turner, Tree Rollins

 

Wilt Chamberlain

The Teams

1971-72 Lakers: Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, Jim McMillian, Leroy Ellis, Wilt Chamberlain, Flynn Robinson, Keith Erickson, Elgin Baylor

1971-72 Knicks:  Walt Frazier, Dick Barnett, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, Jerry Lucas, Phil Jackson, Earl Monroe, Willis Reed, Luther Rackley

 

John Stockton

The Teams

1997-98 Jazz: John Stockton, Jeff Hornacek, Adam Keefe, Karl Malone, Greg Foster, Byron Russell, Greg Ostertag, Howard Eisley, Shandon Anderson, Antoine Carr

1997-98 Lakers:  Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Eddie Jones, Robert Horry, Shaquille O’Neal, Elden Campbell, Corie Blount, Jon Barry

 

We also feature a number of bonus unlockable teams that can be unlocked while playing through NBA’s Greatest:

 

*1990-91 Warriors: Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, Chris Mullin, Tom Tolbert, Alton Lister, Rod Higgins, Sarunas Marciulionis, Mario Elie, Paul Mokeski, Vincent Askew

*2001-02 Kings: Mike Bibby, Doug Christie, Peja Stojakovic, Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, Bobby Jackson, Hedo Turkoglu, Scot Pollard, Gerald Wallace, Lawrence Funderburke

1976-77 76ers: Henry Bibby, Doug Collins, Julius Erving, George McGinnis, Darryl Dawkins, World B. Free, Steve Mix, Harvey Catchings, Mike Dunleavy, Joe Bryant

1989-90 Cavs: Mark Price, Craig Ehlo, Larry Nance, John Williams, Brad Daugherty, Steve Kerr, Reggie Williams, Tree Rollins, Paul Mokeski

1985-86 Bulls: Kyle Macy, Michael Jordan, Orlando Woolridge, Sidney Green, Charles Oakley, George Gervin, Dave Corzine, John Paxson, Rod Higgins

1990-91 Bulls: John Paxson, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Bill Cartwright, B.J. Armstrong, Stacey King, Will Perdue, Cliff Levingston, Craig Hodges, Scott Williams

1997-98 Bulls: Ron Harper, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Luc Longley, Toni Kukoc, Steve Kerr, Bill Wennington, Jud Buechler, Dickey Simpkins

* Bonus Gift with Purchase – The 1990-91 Warriors and 2001-02 Kings are only available to those who purchase their copy of NBA 2K12 early. This bonus content will be available in launch orders only, while supplies last.

Whenever you win an NBA’s Greatest game with the highlighted player, you unlock both teams in the matchup for use all throughout the game.  In total, NBA 2K12 features 34 classic teams (including gift-with-purchase teams) that can be unlocked for you to play with.   As I’m sure you have noticed from the above, our classic team rosters are considerably deeper than last year, where a number of teams only featured the 5 starters.  Many teams this year run 10-deep, and a few, even more than that.  We truthfully left out no detail in putting together the NBA’s Greatest package for all of you this year. 

Amongst those details, our gameplay and presentation teams have painstakingly researched player tendencies, rule changes, and even television presentation styles for these games.  It’s really an astounding experience to play  a game in grainy black & white with no 3PT shots, old-school scorers tables, baskets, and of course, the shortest of shorts.  You’ll be doing that in NBA 2K12, and let me tell you, it’s a lot of fun!  There are many, many more era-specific details we have put into the NBA’s Greatest, but in the interest of not spoiling future developer insights, I’ll let those details be…for now.