Welcome to another edition of The Friday Five! Every Friday I cover a topic related to basketball gaming, either as a list of five items, or a Top 5 countdown. The topics for these lists and countdowns include everything from fun facts and recollections to commentary and critique. This week’s Five is a list of five real events that I wish had happened during the course of my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER.

My offline MyCAREER in NBA 2K14 continues to be a blast. I’m sure that much is obvious from the fact that I’m in my sixth season, to say nothing of how often I’ve talked about it in articles and on our podcast! In any case, it’s been a fun ride so far, and I’m eager to continue the journey. For the most part, there isn’t much that I’d change. Sure, it’s unfortunate that my bid to go 82-0 was thwarted once again in Year 6, but the elusiveness of that goal is now part of the story. As much as I like realism, the unlikely results and fictional moves have made my virtual career enjoyable.

Of course, it’s also been entertaining to see my game mimic real life in unexpected ways, such as LeBron James joining the Los Angeles Lakers (albeit much earlier in this case). This combination of real life and fiction forms the alternate realities that make multi-season play in career and franchise modes so fun and rewarding. All the same, I’d be lying if I said there weren’t any real events that I would’ve liked to have seen come to pass in my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER. Again, I do enjoy the fictional and unusual outcomes as well, but both the on-court experience and the narrative of my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER would’ve benefitted from reflecting a handful of real events.

1. Michael-Carter Williams Traded to Milwaukee

I’d like to state for the record that I have absolutely nothing against the real Michael Carter-Williams! I watched his NBA debut, in which he flirted with a quadruple-double in an opening night victory over the defending champion Miami Heat. I certainly wanted to see him succeed when he landed in Chicago in 2016, and it’s a shame that winning Rookie of the Year was the peak of his career. I’m not so fond of virtual MCW, though. Sure, he was magnanimous when I leapfrogged him for the starting role and won Rookie of the Year instead, and he has his moments on the virtual hardwood. Right now though, he’s standing in the way of my enjoyment.

Despite his relegation to the bench and subsequently pedestrian numbers, a generous potential attribute has allowed MCW’s ratings to shoot up over time. That in turn has led to him being made the starting point guard, moving me over to shooting guard and Virtual Hardwood Legend Terry Hanson to the bench. I’m still able to handle the ball, get my assists, and generally run the offense, but Top Floor Terry isn’t getting nearly enough minutes thanks to Carter-Williams remaining a 76er. If only we’d shipped him to the Bucks halfway through the 2015 season, as in real life. Sure, it wouldn’t be the best outcome for his virtual career, but I’d be throwing way more lobs to Hanson!

2. Carmelo Anthony Signs With Houston

When Carmelo Anthony joined us in Philadelphia in 2014, it was a pleasant surprise. As I said, fictional events have made the game enjoyable, and it’s not as though Melo was destined to retire a Knick in real life anyway. Furthermore, when Hanson came along, I was flanked by two scorers on the wing that I enjoyed feeding the ball to. Unfortunately, both players are listed as small forwards. That wasn’t an issue when Hanson was the highest-rated player that could feasibly be slotted in at the two spot, but with MCW’s aforementioned promotion that saw me slide over to shooting guard, both he and Melo are combining to keep Top Floor Terry on the bench, barring injury.

It looked like the problem might resolve itself come 2018, with Melo’s impending free agency. After going down with a torn MCL in the 2016 Playoffs and missing most of the 2017 campaign, Melo’s morale was low after seeing us do so well while he was sidelined. He remained unhappy even as we were winning and he was getting the ball throughout the 2018 season, and the in-game rumour mill pointed to him leaving. Lo and behold, he re-signed for a year, perpetuating the frustrating situation with Terry Hanson! If only he’d signed with the Houston Rockets, as he did back in the real 2018 offseason. With his current contentment, I fear Melo could be a 76er a while longer!

3. Kevin Durant Signs With Golden State

Talk about an alternate reality! In my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, Kevin Durant is the player that stuck with the Oklahoma City Thunder, while Russell Westbrook took his talents to South Beach. Although that’s a fun twist on what actually happened, I kind of wish that my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER reflected real events here. If nothing else, it would’ve been fun to see NBA 2K14 mirror a future move that it couldn’t have ever predicted, especially with Durant tending to have a maxed-out loyalty attribute in the games around that time. It’s obviously become one of the most important events in NBA history, affecting not only Durant’s legacy, but also how we view the entire era.

However, it could’ve also been an interesting part of the alternate reality in my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER. The Warriors haven’t emerged as a powerhouse, with Draymond Green surprisingly out of the league early, Klay Thompson coming off the bench, and Steph Curry a star but not an all-time great. Had Durant joined them – which wouldn’t be such a controversial move in the context of my game, as the Thunder have likewise struggled – it’d be a compelling twist on a real event. To that point, I would’ve gotten a kick out of his Next Chapter taking him pretty much anywhere, but deciding to throw his lot in with Curry and an underdog Warrior squad makes for a whole new narrative.

4. Emergence of Giannis Antetokounmpo

One of the drawbacks of video games diverging from reality is that players who have become huge names may not even develop into borderline All-Stars. It doesn’t help when you’re stuck with outdated official rosters that lack crucial updates that were made during a player’s rookie season. That unfortunately is the case in my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, which I began many years after the servers were shut down. Although that’s allowed me to continue playing into my sixth season without any fear of being locked out of my save file, it means that some players who were destined to be stars are instead warming the bench, thanks to starting out with extremely low ratings.

That includes Giannis Antetokounmpo. In real life, he’s a multi-time All-Star and a one-time NBA Finals MVP, leading the Bucks to a title in 2021. There shouldn’t be any doubt that The Greek Freak will one day be enshrined in Springfield. Sadly, in my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, not only are those real accomplishments and any future events unlikely, but his even his prospects of just topping 70 Overall and becoming a solid starter for the Bucks (or anyone else for that matter) aren’t at all promising! It all comes down to those preliminary pre-release ratings and his potential attribute, and with that in mind, I wish the default roster had the foresight to allow him to be a star.

5. Dirk Nowitzki Retiring a Maverick

I’ll admit that when I first saw Dirk Nowitzki on the Brooklyn Nets in my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, it was entertaining. Ever since my first foray into Franchise mode way back in NBA Live 2000 PC, seeing players end up on teams they never played for in real life has made multi-season play interesting, and often been pretty funny. While the specific moves may be fictional and quite unlikely, the amount of familiar faces that we’ve seen in many strange places makes it a realistic phenomenon to represent. Nevertheless, as much as it’s amusing to see loyal and long-tenured players wearing new uniforms in franchise and career modes alike, sometimes it just doesn’t feel right.

To that end, one of the real events that I would’ve liked my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER to reflect was Dirk Nowitzki’s loyalty to Dallas, and his retirement as a Maverick in 2019. As it stands, he still stuck around for a few years in my game, calling it a day in 2017. For the sake of the narrative, we can imagine that he signed a one-day contract to retire a Maverick, a practice that is becoming more common in real life. Still, his final game in this reality was with the Nets, which is a little too bizarre; especially as Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan still retired with the Lakers and Spurs respectively. It hasn’t ruined the mode for me, but as far as things I’d change if I cold, it’s up there.

Have you ever wished that your career or franchise modes have featured more moves from real life? What are your favourite moments and outcomes in MyCAREER, in NBA 2K14 or otherwise, and have they involved real events coming to pass? Have your say in the comments, and as always, feel free to take the discussion to the NLSC Forum! That’s all for this week, so thanks for checking in, have a great weekend, and please join me again next Friday for another Five.

The post The Friday Five: 5 Real Events I Wish Happened in My NBA 2K14 MyCAREER appeared first on NLSC.