The Positive Impact of NBA Street

NBA Street Vol. 2 is my favorite video game of all time and, at the very least, the best basketball game ever made. I’ve always been a very casual gamer, someone who plays for the fun of it, not for the intense competition and sport of it all. As an experience, it serves as either the most relaxing game ever or, if you want to crank the difficulty up, difficult and requires your entire attention. Now, only being a casual fan of video games makes me a little less inclined to talk about gameplay and mechanics. That’s just not my avenue. What I love about NBA Street Vol. 2 and the series itself, outside of the gameplay, is the positive influence and impact it has on culture as a whole.

One aspect that I overlooked for a long time was the inclusivity of the game. Although street basketball is predominantly Black and is mostly a male setting, NBA Street invites the entire crowd. Being able to do this while also maintaining the sacred nature of Black culture is a very difficult line to walk, a failure of such would’ve resulted in an “all lives matter” ass presentation. Yet, no party ever feels out of place. Again, it’s all comes from a feeling of graciousness and admiration. Women were more than able to give men ruthless ankle breakers and annihilate bigger players with alley-oops. One of the fictional founding characters you can unlock is Dime, a woman with wicked handles and an amazing all…