NLSC Your source for basketball video games.
We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some reflections on playing half a decade (and counting) in NBA 2K14 MyCAREER.
It’s wild that my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER is now in Year 6. That would’ve been unthinkable just a few years ago, as it took me a long time to warm up to the game! On top of that, I began a proper playthrough of the mode for a Wayback Wednesday feature posted in August of 2021, and by October that year, I’d decided that finishing my rookie season would be a good way to say goodbye to MyCAREER; at least for the moment. Three years later, I’m not only still playing that game, but I’ve finished four more full seasons on top of that!
There’s no doubt that it’s become one of my all-time favourite basketball gaming experiences. NBA 2K14 still holds up superbly on the sticks, and while MyCAREER is missing a few key features that I’ve enjoyed in later iterations of the mode, I also appreciate its simplicity and focus on the NBA. As far as the journey itself, I’ve been impressed by how each season has held my attention and provided its own subplots, even though the cutscene-driven story basically concluded after my rookie year. It’s been fascinating to see how the league has changed, and also, how some things have stayed the same. As I’m sure you can tell from my recaps, it’s been a fun half decade.
During the 1998 season, one of the basketball magazines I regularly bought – possibly Australian publication Jammin’, though I could be wrong – posted a somewhat tongue-in-cheek article predicting the future of the NBA. The feature glanced into the crystal ball and cast its eye all the way to the far-off year of 2001 (cue the “In the Year 2000” song from Late Night with Conan O’Brien). I haven’t been able to find that magazine in my collection, but from memory, they didn’t get many predictions right; at least, not the specifics. Some of the players they pegged to be traded or sign elsewhere did in fact move on, though I don’t think the article correctly picked many of the teams.
I bring this up because just a few years later, franchise modes became a staple of most sim basketball games. You were bound to see plenty of fictional moves as you played through multiple seasons, which you could also look at as wild speculation for the future in the real NBA. The same phenomenon is obviously part of career modes as well. In playing through five full seasons and counting of NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, I’ve seen a combination of real moves coincidentally occur – though not necessarily in the same timeframe as in reality – and some crazy fictional ones. It’s been interesting to see how the league develops as I’ve progressed through to the 2019 campaign.
At the same time, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly disappointed with the overall lack of player movement. Sure, it’s fun to see some players enjoying extended stints with teams, but there are too many journeymen that haven’t had much of a journey! There are teams that should’ve attempted a rebuild or shaken things up with a major move after a couple of years, yet they’re still fielding familiar lineups. It hasn’t ruined the experience at all, but if you look at how much the real NBA changes within half a decade – outside of a couple of contenders that hold onto their core – you’d expect to see far more movement. With that being said, there have been some major changes.
As I observed when I reflected on the revelations that come with playing through multiple seasons in a franchise or career mode, you realise just how quickly turnover occurs in the league, with a number of new names throughout the rosters. It can be harder to notice in real life because the players are real too, and we come to know them as much as the players that we were already familiar with. With the generated rookies, it’s very noticeable when fictional players begin making up an increasingly larger portion of the league! You also realise that some familiar names can disappear without fanfare, after losing their roster spot to younger players with more potential.
For example, in the alternate timeline of my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, Draymond Green was out of the league after his rookie contract was up, having never developed into a key cog in a championship-winning machine. Similarly, in this reality, Giannis Antetokounmpo is still a bench player who’s barely clinging to his spot on the roster. The Milwaukee Bucks are instead led by an All-Star backcourt of generated players: Tracy Brock and Pat Clemons. Klay Thompson is now coming off the bench behind the fictional Lonny Fowlkes. Other prominent names have simply wasted away after going unsigned in free agency, though again, that’s on the player movement logic.
Conversely, other players have stuck around longer than they did in reality. It wasn’t a case of “Mamba Out” in 2016, as Kobe Bryant’s career continued for two more years, teaming with LeBron James in Los Angeles. Although Ben Gordon’s minutes and role would keep dwindling, he too wouldn’t depart the NBA until 2018. Meanwhile, Dirk Nowitzki retired a couple of years earlier, and as a member of the Brooklyn Nets to boot. James Harden is a San Antonio Spur, Carmelo Anthony has joined me on the Philadelphia 76ers (and re-signed despite seemingly wanting out), Russell Westbrook left the Thunder while Kevin Durant stayed, and DeMar DeRozan went to Memphis.
While I would’ve liked to have seen more player movement from role players and a couple of big names alike, there certainly have been eyebrow-raising moves to keep things interesting. Speaking of keeping things interesting, as I also noted in my Friday Five discussing multi-season play, being locked into a four-year rookie contract (and automatically re-signing, thanks to a bug), and enduring some frustrating moves and rotation choices, has made me reconsider my stance on player loyalty. I can definitely see why players feel trapped and taken advantage of, or simply desire a change of scene. I still admire loyalty, but I also now have a slightly different perspective on it!
Of course, while I haven’t loved every move that the 76ers have made and I continue to plot ways to get Terry Hanson back into the starting lineup, I appreciate how each season has stood out and found a way to keep me hooked. Year 1 obviously had the pre-made story, in which I had to earn a starting spot and ultimately emerged as a star. Year 2 was all about repeating as a champion, and integrating free agent signee Melo into the system. Year 3 saw us lose Jason Richardson, but gain Terry Hanson, who soon became one of my all-time favourite teammates. Melo going down with a major knee injury that also kept him out of most of Year 4 was likewise an interesting twist.
With Melo out of action, Hanson became an All-Star in Year 4, but then missed the entire Playoffs after suffering a serious ankle sprain early in Game 1 of the first round. He was then relegated to the bench in Year 5, only to suffer a knee injury and be out for the rest of the season. A disgruntled Melo was seemingly eager to leave once his contract was up, but as I mentioned, he re-signed for one more season heading into Year 6. Hanson isn’t getting nearly enough minutes as a reserve, and Michael Carter-Williams is an overpaid and underperforming starter who’s redundant given that I’m a star point guard. It goes against my principles, but I’m still trying to get him traded!
The fun part of all of these different storylines is that they’ve happened organically. Even the predetermined tale during my rookie season didn’t have an unwelcome impact on the experience. The rest have come about thanks to the moves the team has made, injuries that have occurred at random during gameplay, and the chemistry that I’ve formed with my virtual teammates. It’s also meant that while my play style has produced familiar stat lines year-to-year, my scoring has gone up and down as I’ve had to carry more or less of the load in different seasons. My numbers are actually down a bit in Year 6, as we’ve been winning despite me playing less aggressively.
I hope that my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER will continue to present me with interesting scenarios that make each season a fun ride. I’ve taken pride in not simulating any games to date, meaning that all of the stats that I’ve accumulated so far have come from my efforts on the virtual hardwood. I’ve already met all possible requirements to eventually go into the Hall of Fame, but I’m not ready to call it a day just yet. I’d love to be able to catch up to the current year, and take a run at the record for career points. It’ll take several more seasons, and some big numbers to do it in less than 20 in-game years, but with my Hall of Fame ticket secured, that’s become the new long-term goal.
Since I still have a few seasons left before I catch up to the current year, it’ll be quite interesting to see how many players who are still active retire much sooner, which big names move on, and how many more real life moves will coincidentally occur. I’m also interested to see if it’ll become difficult to remain as invested as the league is further taken over by generated players. I’ve enjoyed seeing some of them become All-Stars, and it’s fun to imagine nicknames and back stories for them, but half a decade in, there are still plenty of real players to balance things out. Once the ratio really shifts in favour of fictional players, there’s going to be much less familiarity.
In the meantime, I’m enjoying the ride, and keen to keep it going! This is my longest multi-season game that hasn’t involved any simulating, and I’d prefer to keep it that way. The original goal was to hit the Hall of Fame milestones legitimately and then consider simulating ahead, but I’m too into playing all of the games to do that now. With NBA 2K24 failing to hold my interest, I’ll have ample opportunity to finish Year 6 and possibly a few more seasons before we’re even talking about NBA 2K25. After years of setting aside games to immediately begin grinding in a new one, it’s been a fun journey through half a decade in NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, and it’s not over yet.
