The Sunday Substitute: The MyPLAYER Transaction Report (Part 5)
Welcome to another instalment of The Sunday Substitute! After another lengthy hiatus, I’m coming back and continuing with my series within a series, The MyPLAYER Transaction Report. For anyone new here, it’s a series where I document the teams I’ve played for across the NBA 2K and Live titles.
This edition includes the two latest titles – NBA 2K22 and NBA 2K23 – with a detour in between. Indeed, this is the beginning of me getting a taste for the older titles. I’m noticing many of them are holding up better than I expected, even without their online features.
Perhaps it’s out of me longing for a time when MyCAREER wasn’t a gigantic cutscene with some basketball attached. Or maybe I just like going back and seeing the names that are no longer in the league. Shoutout to Gary Forbes, Toney Douglas, and Justin Harper – they were all my teammates at some stage in NBA 2K13. In any case, expect to see some older titles in future entries of this series.
For now, we start Part 5 with a familiar scenario: an alternate build. This time, I find myself north of the border, backing up a rising star in Pascal Siakam.
The Toronto Raptors Draft MP – NBA 2K22 (Secondary Build)
When I buy NBA 2K, I usually spend all my VC on my primary build. I try to make them as well-rounded as possible, but ultimately there are at least one or two PSN trophies I can’t achieve with one build. Since it’s difficult to grab rebounds and block shots with a 5’7” point guard, that was the focus of this Two-Way-Facilitator power forward.
I made this player 6’10” and maxed out his wingspan to best achieve the rebounding and blocking trophies. I also put him through the college system with Texas Tech, as my main MP for 2K22 made his way up through the G-League. Unfortunately, I could not pick up the PSN trophy for winning the national championship. This build was also selected 47th overall in the draft, making him the first second-round pick I can remember.
Within a handful of appearances, I picked up the trophies for 5 blocks and 10 rebounds in a game. After that, I had no reason to return to this save, unfortunately. I guess I wasn’t keen on replaying the Kendrick-Perkins-heavy MyCAREER story. In six games, I averaged 11.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. I could also hit the odd shot from three with this build, shooting 33.3% from beyond the arc.
Looking back, it probably would have been the better build than my main. Comparisons to Jaren Jackson Jr, John Collins and Tom Chambers suggest some highlight plays with the right team. Plus, I wouldn’t be constantly disadvantaged by my height (or lack thereof). Perhaps I’ll return to a build like this in future games.
The Utah Jazz Sign MP – NBA 2K22
Previously in Part 4, I mentioned how Isaiah Thomas became an inspiration for this player. So, after carrying a Celtics team into the playoffs, I decided they wouldn’t want to keep me around. Where would the next stop for the single-game assists and steals record holder? What better place than the home of the career leader in both categories?
Unlike its real-life counterpart, this 2022-23 Utah Jazz team was still competitive. In this universe, Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell weren’t traded. Unfortunately, the great Joe Ingles would still leave the team, albeit through free agency. Aside from Jingles, though, the nucleus of those competitive teams from the previous years was still there for the most part. They needed just one more piece.
This is where I come in and win the Jazz an NBA championship, right? Sorry, Utah fans, but like many of my recent MyCAREER saves, I didn’t finish this second season. My player was destined for great things as well. I averaged 35.5 points, 14.6 assists, and 5.5 steals for the Jazz through 23 games. Among my highlights were this dime to Rudy Gobert and an almost-assist to Jordan Clarkson. Perhaps I’ll return to this save before 2K inevitably pulls the plug on the servers.
The Houston Rockets Draft MyPLAYER – NBA 2K13
No, that’s not a typo – I went back in time for this one. I travelled a lot last year and revisited NBA 2K13 on my Steam account while hanging out in hotel rooms across different cities. I never played MyCAREER during its original lifecycle, so I decided to give it a go and see how it holds up.
My 26-year-old, all-around shooting guard was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 18th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. The Rockets were a classic bubble team, with the likes of Kevin Martin, Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin. These days, I imagine they would be a tough match-up in the play-in tournament.
So, how would I fit into this dynamic? The short answer: I didn’t. A combination of low ratings and getting used to the controls and gameplay of NBA 2K13 meant that I had a slower start than usual to this campaign. I couldn’t finish at the hoop, and I was bricking those outside shots worse than I do in real life.
It was also clear that the Rockets didn’t know where to play me. Despite being listed as a shooting guard, I spent minutes at small forward and even at the point. As a result, I forced a trade. I figured my player would suit a lottery team more than a fringe playoff team.
My tenure in Houston lasted just 25 games, where I averaged 6.8 points on an abysmal 31.4% from the field. At this point, I was shaping up to be a bust for the first time.
The Orlando Magic Acquire MyPLAYER from the Houston Rockets – NBA 2K13
I could imagine the NBA talking heads pondering the cynicism around the Magic’s acquisition of my player. After all, getting an irrational-confidence guy to chuck up 20+ shots a night is a great tanking strategy. Plus, it only cost them a second-round pick. It wasn’t a bad gamble for a shot at the first overall pick in 2013.
However, instead of getting a guy that could help them tank, the Orlando Magic inadvertently acquired someone who could be the face of their franchise. My player’s potential was unlocked, first as an impact player off the bench and later as a starting small forward. I couldn’t quite get that starting shooting guard spot from Arron Afflalo.
Sure, there was still some inefficiency – 36.8% from the field for the season isn’t great – but my player ended the season on a tear. I averaged 39.6 points over the last 10 games, including a 57-point finale against the Big Three of Miami.
In a class with Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis and Bradley Beal, my player emerged against the odds. I ended my first season picking up Rookie and Sixth Man of the Year honours, with averages of 18.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 6 assists. I’m still playing through this campaign, so the sky is the limit for this zero-to-hero MP.
The Minnesota Timberwolves Draft MP – NBA 2K23 (PS5 Secondary Build)
We now jump ahead 10 years to the present game, NBA 2K23. Inspired by my NBA 2K13 build, I created a Three-Level Scorer at the shooting guard position. I would team up with KAT, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell in Minnesota this time.
Like my NBA 2K13 campaign, this player would have an erratic start to the season. However, unlike NBA 2K13, NBA 2K23 already had a story in mind for this player. Within a handful of games, my coach decided that I had earned a starting spot on the team, despite averaging 11.3 points off a woeful 28.7% from the field. Yep, they definitely had to rush a 17.1% three-point shooter into the starting line-up. I was even on par with Ben Wallace with my free throw shooting, hitting only 41.1% from the stripe.
I have so many problems with the MyCAREER story in NBA 2K23, but this highlights how immersion breaking it is. Worst of all, the mandatory quest lines meant I couldn’t avoid it, even though I skipped every cut scene. Please, 2K: can we stop with these horribly contrived narratives? There are better ways to spend your microtransaction revenue.
I can’t completely blame the story for turning a primary build into a secondary build, though. My biggest reason for switching archetypes is that I can’t stand the green-or-miss shooting mechanics in the game. Sure, you can turn on Real Player % offline, but that doesn’t help you online. It also didn’t fix the punishing shot selection grading early on (side note: please don’t be one of those guys defending 2K in this instance).
My main takeaway from this MP? It will serve as a lesson to test out MyPLAYER builds before investing all my pre-order VC in them. Unfortunately, I was a little too eager to start the MyCAREER campaign. I guess I couldn’t wait to get into that story!
Thanks for reading the latest edition of The MyPLAYER Transaction Report. Join me next time for Part 6, where I will discuss my main build for NBA 2K23 and some campaigns from games I picked up from the EB Games bargain bin.
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