The Sunday Substitute: The MyPLAYER Transaction Report (Part 4)
Welcome to another week of The Sunday Substitute! It’s a collection of articles where I document some of my basketball video game memories. Once again, I’m continuing with my series within a series: The MyPLAYER Transaction Report.
Part 4 of The MyPLAYER Transaction Report is where my interest in career modes starts to wane. I begin to load manage my gaming habits, spending my time more evenly between the modes. Rather than completing seasons, my eyes are more firmly on PSN trophies. As a result, there’s only one completed season here, and it’s spread across two entries.
There are some noteworthy moments here, though. I’m involved in my first-ever trade, and I played for both 2022 NBA Finals teams in the same season, the Warriors and the Celtics. It’s also very Junior-centric, with three different builds across NBA 2K21. Can you believe I had five builds in NBA 2K21 all up?
Like Part 3, we start this edition of The MyPLAYER Transaction Report in Los Angeles. This time, it’s with a Clippers roster that made waves in the previous season by trading for Paul George.
The Los Angeles Clippers Draft Junior – NBA 2K21 (PS4 Secondary Build)
We begin with a number one overall pick who only played a total of two games. With my main build only shooting an abysmal 6% from beyond the arc, I needed a three-point specialist to pick up the “Tre’ Bomber” PSN trophy.
Enter my 6’11” Stretch Four. In my two-game career with this alternate build, I was given the greenest of green lights. My debut included 23 points off 9-22 from the field – 7-20 coming from beyond the arc. My only other stats in that game were 3 rebounds and 1 foul. Game two was a slightly more well-rounded effort, with 29 points off 13-15 shooting (3-5 3PT), 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. The stat I’m most proud of, though? Zero turnovers across both games; gotta love that efficiency!
This is arguably my greatest “what if” story of them all. My player drew comparisons to Kevin Love, Dirk Nowitzki, and Danilo Gallinari – all three players whose careers I’ve enjoyed. A big three Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Junior could have contended in the West for many years. However, I wasn’t willing to put time into another MyCAREER when my PS5 was on the way. But hey, at least I could skip the story on this one.
The Detroit Pistons Draft Junior – NBA 2K21 (PS5)
My first foray into MyCAREER on Next Gen was with this Two-Way Facilitator build. It was essentially my Rebounding Rim Protector build from NBA 2K19, but with higher passing attributes. This version of Junior was compared to Dikembe Mutombo, Steven Adams, and Rudy Gobert.
This build was my main in the sense that it was the first player I created on PS5. However, in the grand scheme, I didn’t get far with this one. My focus was the Kit and Kaboodle Platinum trophy, so I didn’t want to spend much time on one particular mode. Plus, how many times could I play through that whole Hendrixx Cobb situation? I mean, most MyCAREER stories get stale during the first play-through.
As far as its role in achieving Kit and Kaboodle, it got the job done. With this build, I picked up numerous PSN trophies, including a title with the G-League Ignite.
The New Orleans Pelicans Draft Junior – NBA 2K21 (PS5 Secondary Build)
To keep my chase for the platinum trophy alive, this shooting guard version of Junior played for the UCONN Huskies for the full four years. I thought this was fitting for my secondary build since this is something I would never do as an athlete in this era. I’m not even sure I’d go through the college system at all now, especially with the NBL Next Stars program being an option.
After a storied college career, my Two-Way Shot Creator was drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans. With Pete Maravich, Victor Oladipo and Jrue Holiday being my NBA comparisons, there was serious potential for this Junior to be a great piece for a Pelicans team that included Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
Alas, this career lasted just long enough for me to achieve the PSN trophies for 3 and 5 steals in a game, as well as 5 and 10 threes in a game. I didn’t even stick around long enough to take Hendrixx Cobb’s place in the starting line-up. Oh well; if nothing else, it will be remembered for this incredible pass by Zion Williamson.
The Golden State Warriors Draft MP – NBA 2K22
I decided to take a novel approach to NBA 2K22. At 5’7”, I made my player shorter than my real-life height of 6’4”. Since I was that height at age 13, I also gave MP the same hairstyle I had around that time. I think he kind of looks like the South East Melbourne Phoenix point guard, Kyle Adnam.
Like my teenage years, this MyCAREER campaign had an awkward start as well. After a successful season with the G-League Ignite, I was drafted by the Golden State Warriors – a team that already had a hall-of-fame backcourt. This wasn’t an instance where I could move to another position, either. Even for a point guard, I was undersized.
It wasn’t the worst scenario, though. I would act as a stand-in for Klay Thompson while he was returning to his pre-injury form. Ironically, the trade rumours Kendrick Perkins created out of nowhere would allow me to switch teams rather seamlessly. I never wanted to break up the iconic Splash Brothers, so I was glad I was given that out.
The Boston Celtics Acquire MP From the Golden State Warriors – NBA 2K22
With my time at the Warriors never looking permanent, I was part of a mid-season trade where I was sent to the Celtics for Payton Pritchard. It was a great chance for me to emulate one of my favourite Celtics of all time, Isaiah Thomas. His run in the 2017 NBA Playoffs is still one of my favourites from recent memory.
As a result of getting greater opportunities in Boston, I truly shined in the second half of my rookie season. I picked up two single-game records, eclipsing the previous assists and steals benchmarks. I also went on to break another record in the playoffs – MJ’s single-game points record of 63. However, while I had a great run with the Celtics in 2022, it would ultimately end in the second round.
I finished the season winning the Rookie of the Year, with averages of 27.5 points, 10.8 assists and 4.7 steals per game. That being said, this MyCAREER was a case where the raw stats didn’t tell the whole story.
Although this build did well on offence, it had no shot of making any impact on defence, and that frustrated me to no end. What’s more, there was no advantage to being smaller online either. Bigger players kept up with me just fine and managed to perform several chase-down blocks when I attempted to drive to the hoop.
It’s unfortunate because anyone around this height in real life, looking to create themselves in the game, will likely have a bad time online. Instead, all the builds are becoming more homogenised, as basketball gamers look for exploits instead of creating a realistic version of themselves.
Thank you for reading this edition of The MyPLAYER Transaction Report! Join me next time for Part 5, which will include more from NBA 2K22, as well as the current 2K game, NBA 2K23.
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