Basketball, being one of the most popular sports worldwide, has inspired many talented video game developers to capture its dynamic spirit in the digital realm. Among these, the NBA 2K franchise stands out for authentically representing the exciting world of the NBA (National Basketball Association) – the league renowned for its legendary players. While you’re here, why not test your knowledge of the game’s latest edition with our NBA 2K23 Quiz?
The league has a format of a regular season, and playoffs. 30 Teams play 82 games in order to qualify for the playoffs, with 16 total representing the east and west conferences post qualification. Post season, and more importantly the Finals, where all is left are two of the individual conferences best teams, have given us many incredibly memorable moments. Iconic NBA finals performances, such as 1969: Jerry West and 2000: Shaquille O’Neil, have granted the players a legendary status – however, do esports leagues capture it as well?
Emulating all the thrill and excitement real games brought to the fans is quite the challenge, a challenge that has been tackled by many franchises like NBA Live, NBA Playgrounds etc. The one franchise that has been consistently on top of the market though, is NBA 2K.
What is NBA 2K?
Before we get to the actual league, it is important to discuss the mechanics from 2K that are relevant. Obviously, the history of the franchise began in the year 2000, with their first release. Since then there were naturally many technological improvements in terms of looks and performance, but more importantly, there were also many gameplay changes and innovative ideas that separated 2K from the competition.
In addition to having the 30 teams for a basic mode of player V Ai, 2K added interesting modes such as MyPlayer, and MyTeam. MyTeam in particular was extremely popular in NBA 2k15-19, with many popular basketball social media creators focusing on the mode and collaborations. The format revolves around a user trying to collect cards of players from all across NBA history, in order in to create the best team possible and take it online against others. It is important to note that there were tons of criticism thrown at 2K due to the mode pushing in-game micro transactions for packs and chances at getting the highest rated cards.
The mode that was almost universally well received happens to be the one extremely important to the 2K League, and that is MyPlayer. Intuitively, the format revolves around the user forging their own unique player and trying to have the best career possible. From the appearance and physical attributes such as height, to play style, strengths and weaknesses, the choices are extremely diverse. In the later installations of the 2K, franchise user even has the face scan option, to fully immerse themselves in the created player.
Typically, the user starts at a 60 overall, has an immediate opportunity to get the player at 85, while having the ultimate ceiling of 99 overall. Through single player, as well as multiplayer myPark modes, the user levels up, develops badges and skills unique to their style and improves dramatically.
Of course, 2K does have other modes, notably myGM, where the user goes beyond the court and assumes the role of the general manager, responsible for making leadership decisions, and trades, focused on getting their team on top. These other modes are great on their own, but are not relevant to the 2K league.
The NBA 2K League
First founded in the February of the year 2017, the 2KL is an Esports league featuring the best NBA 2K players in the world. It was created via the collaboration of NBA and take-two interactive, which is the parent company of 2K sports. Originally, the league was missing 13 teams from the actual NBA, including big names such as the Lakers, but currently they have expanded and added 8 additional teams, making 25 total. Obviously, there are hopes of getting all 30 of the NBA teams in the league in the future.
The format of the league is quite simple. Mechanically, it utilizes something very similar to the myPlayer mode described above, where competitors choose from rich, prescribed player archetypes, best suited for their role and play-style, and play 3v3, or 5v5 basketball. The reason these archetypes are pre-created, is to make the games entirely depend on the skill level of the users, as opposed to the strengths of the virtual players, making the tournaments fair for everyone.
The games are broadcasted online through social media, with an impressive prize pool of 2.5 million dollars. What is great to hear, is the fact that these players might not even have to depend on the pools, as the 2K league promises a stable competitive salary, as well as housing in order to efficiently train for tournaments.
As far the actual format and the schedule of the league, for both 3v3 and 5v5 it is a double elimination method. In the former, a team qualifies to 2KL playoffs through performing well in previous tournaments. As for 5v5, the five best teams in regular season from each conference automatically make it to the playoffs, with two additional teams fighting for their spots in The Ticket tournament.
Other notable information may include the fact that one has to be at least 18 to sign up for the 2KL, as well as the information that the current president of the league, Brendan Donohue is a known industry veteran, with experience serving as the NBA Senior Vice President in the past.
