Team rosters reflect the 1997-98 NBA season with two notable omissions: Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan, and Golden State Warriors star Latrell Sprewell.

[11] Critics almost uniformly commented that Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside, while far from perfect, was indisputably the best basketball game for the Nintendo 64 thus far.

[5] Electronic Gaming Monthly's four reviewers all said the biggest problem is that when advancing with the ball, players come to an immediate stop when they touch a defender, opining that this mechanic is frustrating and unrealistic to the point of silliness.

[17] GameSpot judged that the graphics, though impressive by Nintendo 64 standards, seemed modest when compared to some contemporary basketball games for the PlayStation.

Though they praised the flexibility of the camera views, the audio commentary, and the gentle learning curve of the controls, they concluded that the game as a whole was solid but failed to stand out.