A Look Ahead to the Euroleague - SteveM's Blog

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A Look Ahead to the Euroleague Stuck

Posted on July 11, 2013 at 12:37 PM.

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With 2K Sports announcing that NBA 2K14 will bring 14 Euroleague teams in for Exhibition and Online play, it seems like a good time to consult my favorite man abroad, Noam Schiller, for some lowdown on the the teams included (which, in case you haven�t seen, are listed in this Yahoo! Sports article).

Schiller, who lives in Israel and covers the NBA and Israeli league for Hardwood Paroxysm (a site I also write for), was surprised at some of the omissions, including Galatasaray from Turkey, Partizan Belgrade from Serbia and Ljubljana from Slovenia, as well as the lack of any French teams at all. Certainly, Partizan Belgrade is one of the true European powerhouses; Bogdan Bogdanovic, whose move to the Nets was heavily rumored recently before falling apart, is with the team right now, and former leading lights include Nikola Pekovic and Vlade Divac.

Of course, teams like FC Barcelona and and CSKA Moscow are no slouches, but bringing in the Euroleague at all raises another interesting question that Schiller brings up: How do Euro players� ratings and skills mesh with the NBA players� in the game? Schiller asked, �Acie Law was one of the best players in Europe last year, but he's an NBA scrub. What rating does he get for which team?�

This is, after all, not the same as having the D League in the NBA 2K. The D League is built more or less on the same principles and ruleset as the NBA, whereas the Euroleague has a unique set of rules. Getting Euroleague teams to play like their real-world counterparts means more than just changing the rules; it means different points of emphasis on offense, different defensive structures and philosophies. A player like Pablo Prigioni can be an All-Star and Europe and a very nice bench player in the NBA, but it�s not just because of his age (which is part of it) or his ability. It�s about playing a different kind of basketball.

Will NBA 2K14�s Euroleague teams just feature the names, faces and uniforms of Euroleague teams in lip service to them, or will it actually make an effort to craft a simulation that will give players a real feel for the international game? We�ll just have to wait and find out this fall.

Comments

# 1 tthierjung0411 @ Jul 11

Great point about Acie Law!! I hope they do make sure to edit how the euro league is played because otherwise it will be disappointing. I am looking forward to euro leagues the most for my association because i will be able to scout that talent over seas.

# 2 believeinnow @ Jul 11

I completely agree, this is going to be tough sell. I'm pretty certain that EA has had difficulty pushing the various European teams included in their NHL games. Also, it is a bit of surprise that they didn't get the entire league, especially the omission of the powerhouses you mention. Heck, even the Berlin squad that made the game didn't qualify for Euroleague this year.

But, apparently, developers have had issues dealing with Balkan/Eastern European teams for years. It's one of the reasons why the Greek and Turkish soccer leagues have been omitted for years in FIFA. They all want a larger piece of the pie.

# 3 ViperXX79 @ Jul 11

I'm glad we got this instead of Crew. Yay Euroleague...

# 4 ericem @ Jul 11

Quote:


	I am looking forward to euro leagues the most for my association because i will be able to scout that talent over seas.

Unfortunately, Euroleague teams are for Exhibition and Online Play only. I hope we can replace teams in Association to include them though, just a change of pace from playing against the worst teams like the Bobcats.