NBA 2K and it's impact on how I follow the NBA - DutchMastah7's Blog

DutchMastah7's Blog

NBA 2K and it's impact on how I follow the NBA

Posted on August 21, 2015 at 06:53 PM.

Video games and basketball have always been passions of mine. And they've also gone hand in hand for me since I could remember. It all started with NBA Jam and Michael Jordan vs Larry Bird. First basketball game ever for a lot of people my age. I was only around 5 at the time and I think the only players I even knew were Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. I was also slowly becoming obsessed with basketball at a young age.

After those two games though, I don't recall playing any other basketball titles until I got a Nintendo 64. And in came Kobe Bryant's NBA Courtside. I finally saw what every teams roster looked like and the obsession with roster editing started for me. Now from what I remember the editing was pretty limited, but keeping up with trades, signings, and even creating rookies were what I remember most. Vince Carter, Jason Williams, Paul Pierce, I knew nothing about these guys because I didn't follow college ball. But they were now in the league and that meant I'd get to play with them in next years game.

Sadly (sadly, for my 10 year old self) I never was able to get Courtside 2. But my family got a PC, and my uncle, who knew I loved basketball, bought me NBA Live 98 for PC. I was ecstatic. The editing features were way more in depth. I was kind of blown away by something that by today's standards would be barebones. I didn't care. It was enough for me. Eventually I got Live 99. But it was Live 2000 that changed the whole game for me. I finally got to play with a real version of MJ. And not only him, but it also had a ton of other legends. I was able to learn about an entire era I missed out on, on top of being able to play with guys that were missing in Live 99 that should've been there but weren't because of the lockout.

I kept up with the NBA, not just by watching games on tv, but mainly by playing video games. To the point where I could memorize every single player on every team. I knew all the teams in alphabetical order by geographical location. I can't really explain how immersed I was in basketball. My friends thought it was freaky. It was life for me. And in a way it still is. The passion is still there. I just don't consume myself in it like i once did when I was younger. But I've kept up with basketball that way ever since. Every year I know who's on which team, what number they wear, strengths, weaknesses, everything. And it's mainly because of 2K. Like a lot of us, I played Live mainly in the early 2000's.

My first 2K was 2K1. But for some reason I preferred NBA Live over 2K up until around Live 2004. When 2K5 dropped, it completely switched. Live seemed to be getting worse or just staying the same. And 2K kept getting more and more realistic. I still consider 2K5 my second favorite 2K game, behind 2K11. It holds a special place for me because it revitalized my faith in bball gaming. Like I said, Live was getting stale and 2K pulled through with one of their best at the right time for me.

As I got older, basketball took a backseat for me. I still loved it, played it. But didn't keep up like I used to. Partying, girls, I was 18 and trying to discover the world. Got into trouble, learned lessons. I feel like basketball could've kept me out of trouble, but I'm glad I got all BS out the way. It was when 2K11 came out that I dove right back in with roster editing and I really rediscovered something I had lost. Ever since then I've been doing great and 2K has always been something to keep me sane. It's a getaway for me. I can turn on my Xbox and just do what makes me happy for a couple hours. I don't think video game companies realize how much of an affect they have on people. But I can always count on them to put in work every year and make an incredible product that, really, keeps me out of trouble and let's me live out a childhood dream on my tv screen. I'm happy I've grown up in this era of video games where it just gets better every year. Can't wait for 2K16, looking like it's going to be one of the best yet.

Comments

# 1 tril @ Aug 21

great write up. Im older than you, but I made the switch from Live to 2k the same year you did. and its been 2k ever since

# 2 cmehustle @ Aug 24

I didnt make the switch until 2K6 on the 360. I've been converting people ever since. The amount of editing you can do is amazing, and it just gets better every year.

# 3 videlsports @ Aug 25

This is a familiar story, I liked sports by age 4 by watching with my pops. Then video games followed, then my love for sports grew even more. I started editing rosters before they had roster updates, used to do it for my friends and family, Gimmie your memory card and I got you. enjoyed your story

# 4 DutchMastah7 @ Aug 26

Thanks guys, didn't know people could even see this lol