What’s up Nerd Lighters! Welcome back to another glorious day in this Black History Month of 2021! So throughout the month, I will be showcasing different Black Voices in the space. Not only will I mention bloggers or YouTubers, but I am also including black video game and anime characters. So let’s light it up!
Today’s spotlight goes to not just one black video game character but multiple characters all from this throwback video game. This is going to be the only sports game I’m going to talk about this month and it is NBA Street Vol. 2. I can’t tell you how nostalgic this game is for me. I can recount so many weekends making and creating a character to go play street ball all across the states. The games were in prominent Black cities and neighborhoods in the career mode called Be a Legend. My younger brother and I would argue about who were the best people to choose for your team as a newbie. Not only did this game have all of the famous players at the time in the game, in the career mode you could unlock specific characters, called Street Legends,who had mastered one of the many skills. These are the characters I want to focus on for this spotlight.
First up is Stretch. This cool cat clocks in at 6’11 and is best at fundamental basketball. He doesn’t have to be flashy because he has his skills on lock. I loved playing with Stretch and being able to use him for blocks and his signature dunk. He is the first legend you can get as you play your way to Legend status. You may be thinking that because he’s the first, his game will be easy. But Stretch will make you work for that win.
Next is one of the coolest kids on the block, Biggie Little. He is a shorty with a master on handles. He hails from Chi-town and he is ready to put the City on his back. I loved playing with Biggie Little, but you better be paying attention when playing against him because he will set you up! You can be playing thinking you’re about to make a steal when this boy has literally done a flip and yelled: “in yo face!” The disrespect. But man I knew I had to have him on my team. He was on deck whenever 1 needed to pull off an “off da heezy” real quick.
Lastly is the only female legend (At least till I pulled up with my OC ) Dime was one of the coolest legends the game had. You travel all the way to la. For a chance to battle her on her home court. She has a master level on stealing the ball and she can with ease. She also a couple of cool signature moves which included her catchphrase “take a seat!” it was really cool seeing another female who had status. Out of all the legends, I definitely wanted Dime on my team.
Of course in the game, there were other street legends like Osmosis and Bonafide (and Whitewater, but we’re talking about the black ballers) that you would have to beat to ascend to being a Legend. And it wouldn’t be proper if I didn’t also shout-out the fact that in this game you could also unlock the St. Lunatics. I mean how many games do you know( besides Def Jam Vendetta and the like)could unlock Black characters like that?
For some, you might not understand why Black History Month is such a big deal, or why people go for it so hard. It’s because for so long we weren’t taught about our history and how we contributed to this country (the U.S.). So while some of us are being educated on Black advancements and accomplishments in the past, others are bringing awareness to the advancements and accomplishments happening now. I wanted to show you guys how much a video game with characters that look like me, my son, my husband, and my friends could leave a lasting impact even years later.
If you ever played NBA Street Vol. 2 who was your favorite player?? Let me know if the comments and I’ll see you in the next post! Peace! ✌🏾
