By Jylen Harrell
The unbelievable partnership of the NBA and the creators of 2k18 has formed an e-league. Once the news flooded social media, NBA 2k enthusiasts wanted a chance to be professional gamers.
For a base salary of $35,000, participants get an opportunity to play in a huge tournament that will be streamed and is marketed by NBA teams.
The wide spread news garnered the attention of gamers at PSC.
Micah Johnson, a shooting guard in the league combine, provided insight within the system.
“There are over 72,000 players in this combine. We have to do this combine just so we can fall into the draft,” Johnson said.
To participate in the draft, players must play a total of 40 games in the combine, which will be reviewed by scouts.
The game will record the statistics for you, which will also play a role of the scouts decision.
Many people from around the world with different gaming consoles are participating. This 2k league allows players to be drafted on teams owned by NBA organizations.
The combine have scouts from NBA teams watching the players, assisting their decision on who they want to draft.
The combine has a matchmaking system that pairs you with five random people, each filling a certain position to play a fiveon-five game. The purpose of the five-on-five technique is to simulate a real-life basketball game, but you will be playing with other gamers you may not be familiar with.
This negates friends having the possibility to play with one another and padding stats since friends are more likely to pass to one another.
However, some players feel as though this system is flawed. One being a teammate and friend in the 2K. Donovyn Morris
“I understand what they were going for, but even though you are running with randoms [random teammates], there isn’t a guarantee that you will get the ball,” Morris said. “Sometimes people will hog the ball and wait for an easy assist, or shoot the ball often to attempt to reach a high scoring average.”
There is also server lag.
Players may face heavy lag when playing in the combine. Many people may experience a brief pause in the action and then the game resumes back. It takes away from the immersion of the game and hinders the player because lagging is out of their control.
Is it fair to be judged by a scout if you rarely get the opportunity to play? Would anyone have fun playing a game running down a basketball court without the opportunity to get involved? That is the issue many 2K Youtubers voiced. Players may feel like they are not getting fair treatment when they don’t get the ball.
Nevertheless, for a game that wishes to see itself in the grand stage of an E-league sports title, it brings good opportunity. It isn’t perfect, but it helps give the spotlight to players who are good 2K players.
No more bragging and boasting. It is time to put up your controllers and flick those analog sticks to impress the scouts.