Coming next year, 85 talented players will be drafted into their respected markets with 17 NBA teams entering the fray of esports in March. Scheduled for April is training camp in the NBA 2K League where the newly drafted break into their newfound careers. Players can develop their team chemistry by getting a feel of how everyone plays together within the system. Although there isn’t any information on training camp or personnel it’s fun to theorize the potential possibilities for player and team development.
Emulating NBA training camps
Is there any translation between traditional basketball coaching and training camps that can operate in the NBA 2K League? In a recent podcast by BBALLBREAKDOWN, Coach Nick talks about how NBA teams run their practice with Chris Oliver, head coach at the University of Windsor, and shared his thoughts on attending 4 different NBA teams practices during training camp.
In Oliver’s observation basically there are pre-practice, scrimmages and post-practice routines that players do for individual and team development. Each coach has a philosophy about giving feedback and a certain attention to detail from their own experiences. There’s no doubt that there’s structure for the NBA 2K League training camps made by their managers.
Even though the sport of basketball and the esport of NBA 2K18 are vastly different but similar in areas. Both are the game of basketball and even NBA players admit that playing NBA 2K18 gives them a better understanding of the game including their teammates and it can be a likewise tune for NBA 2K League players as well.
Should the NBA 2K League have coaches?
https://twitter.com/AnthonyMuraco/status/922243536602382336
Anthony Muraco, esports Manager for the Dallas Mavericks, opened a question on Twitter whether the NBA 2K League should have coaches. 58% say Yes and 42% say No out of 1,764 votes which suggests the unknown certainty for NBA 2K18 coaching. Some esports managers would elect themselves to handle both managerial and coaching positions while others may differentiate the two.
Another set of eyes that can view the game outside the perspective of a player is one benefit to coaching. Coaches point out adjustments and nuances in the game that the players didn’t realize. Other benefits include another voice of leadership and empowerment for the team in a multitude of situations. Bringing players back up on their feet mentally and give them the belief to rise to the occasion.
Most of us can agree with Cody Parrent, Director of Esports Operations for the Indiana Pacers, on his thoughts on coaching in the NBA 2K League, “If their role is clearly defined and the team can see how it gives them a competitive advantage over opponents – I’m all for it.”
Team Practice Facility
You know what would be fun idea? If Take-Two developed a team practice facility similar to MyCareer that can have unlimited drills and powerful tools to create in-game situations. Similarly to the Situation mode introduced in NBA 2K11 where there’s a setup for creating in-game situations and scenarios. Introducing different tools to improve their in-game skills almost instantaneously through a team practice facility mode is an innovative idea.
There’s an amazing opportunity to emulate NBA team practices and training camps for players. Whether or not teams decide to hire more personnel still doesn’t hide the fact that 85 players will be given the best resources needed to be the best. There’s no better time to be a 2K fan and future prospect than it is right now.
Featured image courtesy of Tito Sar.
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