The NBA2K games have been a favourite for basketball-loving fans since it was first released in 1999 and now, for the first time, all 12 of the WNBA teams will be included in NBA2K20.
The inclusion of the female players on the game is a “childhood dream” come true for the players according to Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker.
Speaking to Refinery29, she said, “When you’re younger, you dream of having your own sneaker and being in a video game,” Parker said. “Those are the two childhood dreams. And now, women are able to realize both of them.”
The inclusion of the women is so important and a huge step forward. Breanna Stewart, 2018 WNBA MVP, told R29 she hopes the game will create more visibility to the league.
“There are a whole bunch of gamers in the world… And who knows? Maybe they’ve never watched a WNBA game before, but now that they have the ability to play with us in 2K20, maybe they’ll play with us and then maybe they’ll watch us.”
“When I was growing up, it wasn’t as easy to watch women’s basketball on TV — you just weren’t as in-tune with it.”
“And if I could have played a video game and been Lisa Leslie or Sheryl Swoopes, then you know a lot more about the people and it makes the connection easier.”
Parker added that progress for equality has been slow but is finally happening, “I think it’s a process.”
“I remember being asked when I was a rookie: what is your goal in your career? It’s to leave the game better than when I came into it. And I think that, even though it has been a long process, I think that’s happening and the conversation is happening.”
Unsurprisingly, there are a lot dudes out there criticising the move, proving they don’t understand the fact that it doesn’t take anything away from them, yet means everything to so many women.
Plus, if they paid attention they’d see that NBA stars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Russel Westbrook, Paul George and Kevin Durant, to name just a few, are big supporters of the WNBA.
This is a huge step and incredibly exciting to fans of the game and we’re eagerly awaiting the release of the game next month.