New patch for NBA Playgrounds adds Sonics, players, tournaments and more

Another significant patch is rolling out for NBA Playgrounds – available already on PS4 and PC and coming soon to Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. The update adds 35 more players to the roster (the previous patch brought in 15 new players), the Seattle SuperSonics are now a team within the game with versions of Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp available so far, four new offline tournament locations have been introduced, and changes have been made to improve gameplay and other aspects of the game. 

Meanwhile the Switch version is still waiting on a first patch there which will add online play. It’s now been over a month since online functionality was supposed to have been added. Owners on Switch will be getting a free game from Saber Interactive due to that delay.

New Players
Ben Wallace, Bernard King, Earl Monroe, Elvin Hayes, Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, John Havlicek, Julius Erving, Kevin McHale, Manute Bol, Muggsy Bogues, Steve Nash, Yao Ming, Joakim Noah, Joe Johnson, Andre Iguodala, Bismack Biyombo, D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Justise Winslow, Kyle Korver, Manu Ginobili, Nick Young, Robin Lopez, Serge Ibaka, Tyler Johnson, Adrian Dantley, Arvydas Sabonis, Bob Cousy, David Thompson, Larry Nance, Mark Price, Detlef Schrempf, Wes Unseld, Lou Williams

Players Getting Second Team
Lebron James (Miami Heat), Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat), James Harden (Oklahoma City), Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City), Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls), Gary Payton (Seattle Sonics), Shawn Kemp (Seattle Sonics), Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics), Alex English (Dallas Mavericks), Walt Frazier (Cleveland Cavaliers), Clyde Drexler (Houston Rockets), Alonzo Mourning (Charlotte Hornets), Jason Kidd (New Jersey Nets)

New Teams
The Seattle SuperSonics and Playgrounders were added to the team selection. 5 Playgrounders, this time famous YouTubers, join the roster as “The Playgrounders” in red card packs

New Tournaments
You can now play tournaments in Venice Beach, Seattle, Madrid and Chicago

Gameplay Adjustments
New Dunk, Crossover and Finger Roll animations were added
Now when the time of the match reaches zero and the ball is still in the air the match won’t end until the shot is resolved (either by scoring or failing)
The execution time for throws was reduced

Miscellaneous
Reduced the probability of receiving duplicates in card packages
Actions from teammates count now towards finishing the tournament challenges
The penalization received from disconnecting from matches has been increased
New Ball styles can be unlocked in the tournaments